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CONTENTS

INSIDE: SOUNDCHECK 08

Publisher: Joel Cook

jcook@reaxmusic.com

introduction

CALL & RESPONSE 10

reader mail / contributors

SEE SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING 11 12

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DEAR GLOFFY A Farewell From Jeremy YOUR BAND BLOWS Woodstock Nostalgia: Hindsight Ain’t 20/20 Step By Step How To: Get Back Into Skateboarding

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TIDES OF MAN Empire Theory SOLILLAQUISTS OF SOUND Moving Body & Mind WYE OAK Wedding Bells

SPECIAL FEATURE 20 22 23

BEHIND THE LENS: Lucky You BEHIND THE LENS: Summer Jam 5 BEHIND THE LENS: REAX Rent Party

REAX INTERVIEWS 24

26 28 30

SUPERCHUNK & MERGE RECORDS

An Interview with Mac McCaughan EVERY TIME I DIE Cult of Personality THE DECEMBERISTS Food For Thought LAMB OF GOD Feel The Wrath

SOAPBOX

32 34 37 38 39

PRODUCT PLACEMENT UPCOMING RELEASES / MUSIC REVIEWS BOOK REVIEW VIDEO GAME REVIEW HANDS ON PRODUCT REVIEW w/ SHAWN KYLE

YOU ARE HERE

Queen: Finnie Cook

finniec@reaxmusic.com

Editor: Scott Harrell

scott@reaxmusic.com

Art Director: Mike Delach delach@reaxmusic.com

Photography: Tony Landa landa@reaxmusic.com

Circulation Manager: Scott Jenson scottj@reaxmusic.com

Sales Associates:

SOUNDBITES 14 16

GUILTY

A LOCAL GUIDE

TAMPA

40 42

HOTSPOTS / SPOTLIGHTS HOTSPOTS / TAMPA BAY EVENTS

44 45

HOTSPOTS / SPOTLIGHTS ORLANDO & CENTRAL FLORIDA EVENTS

46 47

HOTSPOTS / SPOTLIGHTS HOTSPOTS / GAINESVILLE EVENTS

48 50

HOTSPOTS / SPOTLIGHTS HOTSPOTS / NORTHEAST FLORIDA EVENTS

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SPOTLIGHTS / SOUTHEAST FLORIDA EVENTS

Emily LaDuca (Jacksonville/Regional) emily@reaxmusic.com Shawn Kyle (Tampa) shawn@reaxmusic.com Marshall Dickson (Regional) marshall@reaxmusic.com Jimmie Walker (Regional) jimmie@reaxmusic.com Conrad Petzinger (Pinellas) conrad@reaxmusic.com Chris Anderson (Orlando) chris.anderson@reaxmusic.com

Contributors: Timothy Asher Joe D’Acunto Jason Ferguson Chris Gaughan Jeremy Gloff Shawn Goldberg Jack Gregory Justine Griffin Robert J. Hilson Colin Kincaid Joel Mora Becca Nelson Susie Orr Ryan Patrick Hooper Cole Porterhouse Matt Powell John Prinzo Michael Rabinowitz Trevor Roppolo Evan Tokarz Nick Truden Keith Ulrey Susie Ulrey Carrie Waite

Interns: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain Emily Dwyer Benjamin Evans Christopher Golden Palmer Holmes Mary Manchess Laura Marchetta Andrew Pellegrino

Joel tackled the cover for this month’s issue. We know, we know - Jenson’s slagged The Decemberists in the past, but the rest of us kinda like ‘em.

So whatever.

REAX Music Magazine P.O. Box 5809 Tampa, FL 33675 Phone: 813.247.6975 www.reaxmusic.com

ORLANDO

GAINESVILLE

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.

JACKSONVILLE

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA

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REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 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.

SOUNDCHECK INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION Words: Scott Harrell • Photo of Bask, the Birthday Boy: Joel Cook

H

ey everybody, welcome ever digital-only issue of us as we boldly travel media paradigm, cyber-syncing changing data-streams to ...

to the firstREAX! Join into a new with ever-

... uh, to ...

Oh, who am I kidding? This is freakin’ depressing.

Sure, we love the opportunities for information, dissemination and exposure inherent in the digital age. But we came up in the era of print, you know? Our publisher has a graphic arts background. Our art director is amazing. Hell, I got my start interviewing any ska-punk band whose label could buy an ad for my boss’ blackand-white newsprint ‘zine. We like to hold the thing, and smell it, and feel the tangible sum of our efforts.

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REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

This issue is as worthwhile as any we’ve ever put together. We’ve got killer bands you probably know about (The Decemberists, Superchunk, Every Time I Die) and killer bands you might not (Wye Oak, Solillaquists of Sound). We’ve got Jenson’s usual great column, the usual great music and book reviews, a marvelously scene-conscious photo spread, the expected clean, unique layout.

And we can’t print it. We can’t afford to. Too many people owe us too much money in an industry that’s just too screwed.

But we wanted to get it out there anyway, because we still love what we do, and we hope you enjoy it.

Hey, there’s always next month, right?

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SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

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CALL & RESPONSE READER MAIL

JoN BOSWORTH

FROM REAXMUSIC.COM

up [with] ‘Raditude.’”

- Posted by Jeff, Aug. 27

RE: “Donate: Help Us, Help The Scene,”

by Joel Cook:

RE: “Greenland Is Melting’s New CD Rules,” by Scott Harrell:

“Hey, I’m sure you guys have considered this but, just in case … what about a fundraiser? Get bands to play free, get your advertisers to donate stuff and auction it off … I’m sure with your client base, you could end up with some pretty cool shit people would bid on. Get local artists to donate work. Jobsite does this every year and it seems so work well for them. Of course, they’re a non-profit but, shit, you guys might as well be. Which, actually, is something you might consider. You fill a cultural niche.

“You described their recording situation like you were there, and your review of their music is also very real.

“Over at Cigar City Magazine, we feel your pain. Seriously.

AND, OF COURSE, THE RESPONSES TO JENSON’S LATEST YOUR BAND BLOWS COLUMN, “POINT & CLICK DJS: HIDE YOUR SHAME”

“You have the staff to pull it off but, in case you need some help with a fundraiser, I’m more than willing to help. Let me know.”

- Posted by Manny Leto, Aug. 18

RE: “Mark Burgess In Florida This Week,”

by Scott Harrell: “I think you mean AUGUST 26, not September. I noticed because my heart sank when I saw Sept. But it is August.”

- Posted by Harold Valentine, Aug. 24

RE: “New Pelican Track!” by admin: “I’d love them so much more if they got a better drummer.”

- Posted by Brian, Aug. 25 [Ed. note – that’s sarcasm, right?]

RE: “Let’s Kick Weezer Off The Internet,”

by Scott Harrell: “You can’t blame Weezer for the crappy title (just the music). Rivers Cuomo’s good buddy Rainn Wilson (Dwight Shrute from The Office) is solely responsible for coming

10

“They wrote and composed everything on their own terms without the heavy influence of the ‘Record Executives.’

“Their album is a good listen and it grows on you.”

- Posted by Bill Sept. 3

“Wait, Scott Jensen knows about DJs now?

He’s concerned with ‘skills,’ and selection?

Word? I’ve never seen him at the club requesting or even nodding his head to any of these ‘interesting’ songs. But looks like he was an old school hip-hop head down with the X-Men, Scratch Pickles, 1200 Hobos, etc. I mean how else would he pass judgment on someone else or even know what a DJ skill set is? I’m sure he also dabbled in the turntable arts a little himself. I guess during the mid-late ‘90s this dude was in his bedroom practicing his hamster scratch on a Friday night. I mean how else would he be qualified? Turns out he also knew A-Trak back in the day when his name was A-Trac. He still prefers the old spelling. And who knew that the correct, ‘in the know’ name for an Akai MPC was, ‘some weird sampler pad?’ Scott Jensen knows, because he is a DJ and he is better than us.”

- Posted by Cranston Tornmikes, Aug. 10 “A-Trac? Really man?! A-Trac? Are you sure you were there? Seriously, you said A-Trac. you must have been talking about Kanye East’s DJ. ‘Cause Kanye West’s DJ is A-Trak. but I’m not keepin’ score.

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

“If you are going to bullshit about something you know nothing about, please use Google. seriously. It will make you seem that less of a shitty writer and you can totally come off like you know who you’re talking about.

“Or if you don’t believe in the interweb, you could have looked through the issue of the paper, which you write for, and read up on him. Once again, not keeping score.

- Posted by Piston Honda, Aug. 10

REAX’s senior Jacksonville correspondent is not a “music journalist,” he is a writer and a bona fide “hotshot.”

Sometimes his writing is a good excuse to get out of the house and see some good rock shows or just knock back a few drinks. The rest of the time he is writing because it is also his job.

Jon writes professionally for State of the Re:Union, Doorpost Film Project, UrbanJacksonville.info, Entertaining U Newspaper and other regional publications and websites. His prowess has compelled REAX editor Scott Harrell to say “he’s our new hotshot in Jacksonville.”

“I am a ‘point click’ DJ. But when you’re leading this pack into a volcano, I’m totally ‘point and clicking’ on the ladies.”

- Posted by Piston Honda, Aug. 10 “To you DJs unaware that the two tracks you are spinning together are in DIFFERENT KEYS: Are you tone deaf or just stupid? BPM-sync is only half of it. If the song keys clash? Then the songs can’t go together, duh! FM radio DJs pull this bullshit all the time. Learn the difference between dissonance and laziness.”

- Posted by MC Radiance, Aug. 20 “I love it [when] people get pissy. The fact that you’re taking the time to slam me must mean that deep down inside you harbor some guilt for the fact that you’ve never taken the time to really learn your craft.

Or you’re bitter because the weekly dance night at the Ale House you tried to start never caught on. Whatever it is, pointing out a typo does nothing more than make you seem retarded especially when you misspell my name at the end of the post.

Here’s a hint: It’s right at the top of the page.

“Oh, and I guess opening for Donald Glaude and Armand Van Helden in the late ‘90s at festivals attended by 6000 doesn’t really qualify me to speak about DJ stuff, because I really must’ve sucked to get that gig.”

- Posted by Jenson, Aug. 26

DAVE MANACK

Dave Manack is a freelance journalist who’s covered hard rock and metal since 1993. He can be reached at manackmetal@gmail.com.

EVAN TOKARZ

Evan Tokarz attends the University of South Florida. He majors in Journalism (News/Editorial), and hopes to land a (paying) job at a magazine or newspaper. He likes to read and to play basketball. He doesn’t like writing in third-person, but that’s the way the bee bumbles. His e-mail is etokarz@mail. usf.edu, if you want to say hello.

DEAR GLOFFY SEE SOMETHING...

DEAR

GLOFFY

ADVICE FROM JEREMY Words: Jeremy Gloff • Photo: Kriktor Daglian

Dear reax readers, I wrote my first Dear Gloffy column in September 2006. Since then I have answered 70 letters.

There are a couple questions that I never got to. A co-worker of mine is frustrated because she doesn’t like the boy her daughter’s dating. (To which my answer would be let her screw up, she will learn from it.) Someone from overseas wrote an epic letter asking me to decipher the strange politics of a twisted open relationship. (To which my answer would be people do whacky things when they are lonely. Step back and watch with amusement.)

Recently I re-read some of Tori Amos’ book Piece By Piece. Tori talks about how she would never write a book and record an album at the same

time again. In the creative mind, different projects and ideas can be roommates with each other. But the more projects that share breathing space, the less air each project has to breathe.

It was fun solving the world’s problems via the lyrics of obscure pop songs. But first and foremost, I am a musician. It’s time to get back to the music.

Thank you REAX for letting me write whatever I wanted to write, and to the REAX readers for challenging me to be fresh, interesting, and entertaining.

And on to the next thing.

- Jeremy Gloff jeremygloff.com

SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

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SEE SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING YOUR BAND BLOWS being an effortless and sublime experience is ultimately replaced by the boring reality of overdubs and spending 14 hours a day locked in a windowless building for several months, trying not to punch the producer that wants “just one more take” from you. And of course the life-changing experience of festivals and concerts that you’ve experienced on a limited basis becomes days spent just wanting the music to stop so you can go to your van/bus/ tent and sleep for a few hours, hoping that some whacked-out hippie with a rare form of Asperger’s Syndrome that has left him without a sense of rhythm won’t post up outside of your nook and decide to host a clinic on how to play a djembe.

If I sound bitter, it’s because I know that behind every amazing musical experience there are no wizards with the intentions of helping people to transcend their lives in a moment of ecstatic celebration. There are only musicians, people who like money, and a bunch of pseudo carnies who can’t get work doing anything other than pushing amps off of and back onto buses.

This is why I hate all of the hype about the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock.

If you haven’t been living in a converted missile silo since the communist scare days of the ‘50s then you undoubtedly know about Woodstock. so I’ll spare you the detailed backstory. In this context, however, it is important to note that the festival was three days of music that in 1969 drew 500,000 people to a farm outside of Bethel, New York, and that it is now regarded as the greatest moment in the history of rock and roll. This is due to the collection of legendary bands that played and the fact that a half million people didn’t go Lord of the Flies and start eating each other. Looking back, historians and attendees paint the festival to be a perfect example of the spirit of peace and the power of music. This is how it will be remembered by history - and apparently why people feel the need to celebrate and rehash the experience 40 years after it happened.

YOUR BAND WOODSTOCK BLOWS NOSTALGIA: Words: Scott Jenson

W

HINDSIGHT AIN’T 20/20

orking in music can really make you jaded. As a child I was captivated by the magic created through the application of sound. It was amazing to see the power wielded by a few people on instruments or singing, and my first decade as a music lover contained moments of sheer pleasure while enraptured by a live performance.

And then I fucked it all up.

It’s all well and good to go to shows and collect songs by your favorite bands, but when you feel compelled to immerse yourself in the artistic

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and operational side of music, and step into that world, you inevitably end up losing a few things.

The fantasy of living on the road, entering a new city every day, and meeting people who instantly appreciate you for something that you have created sounds like a dream life. But the reality of living in a van with four other dudes, getting little or no sleep, and seeing the back entrance of every shitty rock club in the country is far from the picture you paint for yourself when looking up tour dates for your favorite artists and asking, “why not me?”

The vision that you have of recording songs that you’ve put your heart and soul into as

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

Personally, I think this is retarded. Not “hey this is kind of lame” retarded, but “I am drooling on myself and smell like pee” retarded. Think about it. You remember that guy in gym class in high school who was rocking back and forth and flicking his arms in the air? He had no concept of reality. As far as he knew, he was John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, strutting in a disco with everyone cheering him on. This was his fucking moment! Although the truth was that he was in squalorous surroundings (if your gym was anything like mine) and acting ridiculous, in his mind he felt alive and completely in the moment. Just like those tree-hugging slackers in 1969. People have fond memories of Woodstock and feel that it is culturally significant, but the reality is, it was just a shitload of filthy drugged-up hippies overdosing and having really disgusting sex to bad music.

The proof to this argument is two-fold and I will provide you with the tools necessary to raise your consciousness to my level of understanding.

Firstly, there is the movie. I DARE you to try and sit through all 225 minutes of Woodstock without walking away thinking, “What the fuck

were those idiots doing?” The combination of bad performances (sloppy, loose) and bad white people dancing confirms that drugs were WAY better back then. It wouldn’t have been tolerable to endure that without enough LSD, ‘ludes and weed to sedate a brontosaurus. And if seeing that many people smashed together in a rainy field with no toilets other than the ground appeals to you in any way, then you should clearly stop paying rent and go live in the monkey house of your local zoo. I need a shower and some ear plugs just thinking about it.

Secondly, there is the fact that these types of experiences are currently available in greater quantity and more specified forms. At last count, there are something like 126 X 10 to the 34th power outdoor music festivals that happen here in the States. True, there will not be 500K people there, but that’s a good thing if you like to poop into something other than a hole dug in the ground. True, Jimi Hendrix will not be waking you up with the “Star Spangled Banner;” but coming to with a fuzzed-out guitar and feedback burning through your ears is so horrifying that I’m perfectly sure that Satan wakes up Hitler every day in this same manner.

And true, there will not be people handing out mind-bending drugs for free like candy, but the necessity of Woodstock’s six “freak-out tents” clearly shows that this is not a good thing.

But what you will get in the present moment is bands that are current and even (gasp!) relevant to our times playing to large crowds in sanitary conditions. Depending on your favored genre, there is undoubtedly a festival that caters to your tastes and that won’t force you to sit through Sha Na-fucking-Na to see Hendrix. These festivals aren’t and will never be Woodstock, but they are the SAME FUCKING THING. All you really need to have your own transcendent experience is to go to one and have fun. Whether your idea of fun is chomping on ‘shrooms and wandering around Bonnaroo in a haze or drinking PBR and fighting everyone at Fest, do that and make the most of it. That’s what all of those Woodstock retards did and they didn’t even have a choice about what their experience was.

Once you’ve been to enough of these things, you realize that the mechanics are always the same. There is no magic to any particular music festival except for what you make of it.

Behind every show there is music and logistics and the only thing that makes it special is how you subjectively experience it, that is why when people look back 40 years to try and recreate something that might have been significant, it’s really sad. The truth is that Woodstock was very similar to the Langerados and Lollapaloozas, and that there is so much more to music now that we should appreciate our present and not look to the past. Inevitably, when we do so with an objective look at video and pictures, all we see is a whacked-out mob of retards rocking out. So go and be those present-day retards.

Enjoy the magic for what it is to you. But do it sparingly. Because one day, you might find that the magic pixie dust has run out and you’ll end up wanting to burn all of the pictures from Coachella and forget the two days you spent wandering around with a constant stream of peyote buttons going into your mouth. twitter.com/yourbandblows

STEP BY STEP SEE SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING

STEP BY STEP HOW TO: GET BACK INTO

SKATEBOARDING

Words: Scott Harrell

S

o you used to be really into skateboarding back in the day. And you were good, too. Not, like, sponsored good, but good enough to intimidate the grommets (that’s old-man skater-speak for “little kids”) and get the tail taps for your best tricks on both vert and street.

But then, you know, the whole thing just kind of got too big and commercial for your taste. The X Games came along, and the whole rebellious individual character got a little watered down.

You just kind of faded from that scene.

(Actually, what happened was school/work/ girls/the band/an illegitimate child/hard drugs began to monopolize your time in varying combinations, but the other thing sounds cooler, so whatever.)

Time went by. You still bought cool skate fashion and read Transworld on the john at your younger brother’s apartment, though, and before long that slowly growing jones to get back on your board became all-consuming.

But how to do it right?

Have a deep, meaningful, inebriated conversation about it with a few like-

minded friends your age. After a few more drinks, it’ll actually start to seem like a good idea to everyone, and you won’t have to go to the skate shop by your thirtysomething lonesome.

Have a long, awkward, painful conversation about it with a friend who actually stayed in the scene. Whether you want to come straight-up clean and ask what all the new words, tricks and gear developments are or try to tease out information via circumspect fronting is up to you, but if this step doesn’t frighten or depress you into abandoning your quest right then and there, maybe you’ve got the guavas to get it done after all.

Buy a decent new setup, and for the love of God, at least get knee pads. If you’re the kind of person who’s gonna take your original Vision Mark Gonzalez pro model out and carve around soulfully in cutoffs, you’re already an icon of self-esteem and have no business reading this column in the first place.

Head up to the local skatepark during school hours on a weekday. There are still gonna be a buttload of kids there, and you and your friends are still gonna stand out like kiddie touchers trolling for a bit of the rough, but

at least there will be fewer helicopter moms and 14-year-olds doing tre flips over the fun box.

Drop in on the mini-ramp immediately.

The longer you wait, the harder it’ll get.

Plus, it’s, like, four feet. You’re not 60.

As soon as your confidence is the tiniest bit up, try one of your best tricks from the old days. You’ll fall, and you deserve to fall, because you might as well be 60. You won’t get hurt too badly, but it’ll look painful enough to your friends that they won’t give you any shit when you spend the rest of the hour sitting on the deck of the mini-ramp, then suggest a trip to Wing House.

Weeks later, return to the skatepark for their designated “Old Man Night,” only to discover that some men and women your age still rip. At this point, you are faced with one of two choices. You’re never gonna go on a boxing-movie-montage-style campaign to get back to the athleticism and skill level of your teens or early twenties. So you can swallow your pride and enjoy a few rock-and-rolls and 50-50s every once in a while, counting the rolled ankles and pulled muscles as a suitable price to pay.

Or you can subscribe to Thrasher, and display it subtly yet prominently in your john, and have that same deep, meaningful, inebriated conversation with your friends every couple of years until one of you hurts yourself so badly while emptying the washing machine or getting out of the car that it’s not even fun to talk about anymore.

SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

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SOUNDBITES TIDES OF MAN

TIDES OF MAN

EMPIRE THEORY

Words: Chris Gaughan • Photo: Courtesy of Tides of Man

Synchronicity. It’s a funny word. It’s the experience of two totally unrelated events that, when put together, just ooze with meaning. Sometimes it pops up unexpectedly and other times it just hovers around a person, place, or conversation.

I

t’s like catching an interview with a band that’s just arrived from a tour and is just about to depart on another. It could just be a coincidence, right? How about if the last show that band played was also the first venue that they ever played?

Did I mention the band’s recent album comes from a quote by Montesquieu, the 18th-century social critic about whom I just wrote a paper last week, and that their major motivating theme is the rise and fall of civilizations? Meet Tides of Man. I have to admit, from seeing their promotional shots, I was a little intimidated. Kudos has to be given to their label, because it was doing its job way too well. Their promotion was good. Their online presence is polished and professional. Their images are highly commercial and look like they were designed for consumption. Their MySpace page is riddled with comments from angsty female tweens who are showing too much cleavage and writing wholly in netspeak. I was prepared for Coheed and Cambria clones. I was prepared for too much fashion and not enough depth. What I got when I met the guys was delightfully unexpected. I wasn’t prepared for two awkward guys that just really like to play music and who actually seemed a little nervous.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with two of the band members, Adam Sene (guitar) and Tilian Pearson (guitar and vocals), on a late August night at King Corona in Tampa’s Ybor City district.

What really caught me off guard about Sene and Pearson was their humility, though it’s easily understandable. Life as professional musicians is an entirely new thing to these two guys, and it showed. The first thing Sene mentioned when

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asked about their recent tour was missing his son. When asked why they stay in Tampa, their response was to ask, “Why would we leave?”

Like most of the band, they’re both 22. They joked about bassist Alan Jaye being the grandpa of the group at the ripe old age of 27. The band itself is young, too, having just released its freshman album Empire Theory on Rise Records in July. The band’s musical identity is a little awkward as well. Sene would describe the music of Empire Theory as classical indie rock, while Pearson, a little embarrassed, spoke about his current interest in tech metal. When discussing where they got the idea for a band name, they resorted to metaphors that had nothing to do with music at all.

“Tides of Man came from an idea we got from a photo shoot,“ Pearson said. “We were standing on these rocks by the water and the waves were splashing against them. That’s when we knew what our band was about. It was about the ebb and flow of the tides as a symbol of the rise and fall of empires. How everything is cyclical and civilizations both rise and fall.”

When speaking about their recent album, Sene got just as abstract: “The experiences that inform the way I write songs aren’t even experiences at all. They’re the ways I almost went.”

“Yeah,” Pearson chimed in. “Some people have their heart broken or have these terrible experiences, and go write a song

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

about them. Music doesn’t have to be just that.” “Exactly,” Sene continued. “Empire Theory isn’t even about real experiences.

It’s about experiences that almost happened.”

Confusing metaphors aside, the album showcases a musical confidence and aptitude. The kind that gets you picked up by the same label that hosts The Bled. It was recorded in Atlanta in the same studio that has seen the likes of Lydia, Copeland, and Manchester Orchestra. The music is orchestral and the story it tells is compelling, with the overall sound being something that seems like it would translate very well into a live setting.

Recently having returned from touring with Asking Alexandria, A Static Lullaby, and Vanna, the guys are looking forward to Rise’s upcoming Squash the Beef Tour. Squash the Beef is a fourweek endeavor that sees them playing all across the country on the same bill as Emarosa, Dance Gavin Dance, and Of Mice and Men. Getting signed is the dream of almost any band I’ve ever met, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The guys maintain that creative control of their music is the most important thing to them, with innovation a close second.

“Seventy years after the invention of rock,” Pearson pontificates, “is there still stuff to be done? Of course. In terms of melodies, movements and progressions. There’s definitely still uses of the guitar to be explored.”

See what I mean? They’re genuine. They really just like to play music that appeals to them. It just so happens that the music that appeals to them is readily marketable to the Hot Topic generation. It also just so happens that they’re marketable, and have no problem with being marketed. It’s just another of the synchronous circumstances that seem to follow these guys around.

Tides of Man return to Florida for shows October 5 at Orlando’s Social, October 6 at Ft. Lauderdale’s Culture Room, and October 7 at St. Petersburg’s State Theatre. myspace.com/tidesofman

SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

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SOUNDBITES SOLILLAQUISTS OF SOUND a challenge. But I’m really happy the way it’s worked out, it’s brought our show another dimension. Before, when we went out as an opener, it was more of a mindset of, “let’s go out there and rip people’s heads off,” and then we’re done. Leave ‘em wanting more. This time, since we have so much material, we really needed to think about it differently, make this have some peaks ans valleys, have a show that’s not gonna tire people out.

We wanted to have some sort of evolution, more of a story to the show, more dimension visually, take it in a direction where it’s more of a multimedia thing. And I’m really happy, I feel we’ve matured in that way. And that’s special to me, because before doing it, I didn’t know how we would. It just sort of happened.

REAX: What kind of crowds come out to see you? Indie rock kids, true heads?

D: We all wanted to have a really eclectic audience. We wanted the head crowd to be bumpin’ with the backpack crowd, with the emo crowd, with everyone. I realized that was the case in Denver, walking around during the opening act. I saw a dude with a full-on mohawk and the jean jacket with the pins and patches, and right next to him was the thuggiest of thuggy rap dudes, the type of cat that really loves some gritty down-south stuff. And the juxtaposition was really awesome to see. Next to him was the Goth kid with his emo girlfriend. I don’t want to sound like I’m judging, I’m just painting a picture of what I saw.

I don’t mean to be condescending. But it was just really cool, because next to them, were all these white college girls. It was just crazy. I always imagine that contrast in our audience, but I never thought I’d see it that apparently. That’s pretty much were our audience is, they’re everywhere, and we’re really happy with that.

SOLILLAQUISTS OF SOUND

MOVING BODY & MIND Words: Scott Harrell • Photo: Joey Meddock

Orlando’s Solillaquists of Sound just dropped the second record in their AntiRecords conceptual trilogy, No More Heroes. It’s a raw, bumping slab of socially conscious hip-hop and neo-soul that doesn’t let its thoughtful message get in the way of its edgy, engaging grooves. Here, producer DiViNCi talks at length about the group’s unique blend of brains and beats.

REAX: No More Heroes seems to have more sharp edges than As If We Existed. Was that dictated by the subject matter, or did you just want to make a more aggressive album this time around?

DiViNCi: It was definitely – the subject matter is pretty much usually the same, so that didn’t have any type of influence on what we were doing this time around. When we finished the first album, I know I was feeling like I had no idea how to follow it up.

I has put so much into it, I didn’t know how to do it again and make it a better record, you know? When we let the first one sit a little bit, then we got into a mode when we started to think about the second album, it was pretty clear what we wanted as far as a sound. We all wanted it to be a lot more in your face. Just after hearing the first album as a product … I wanted to punch people in the face a little more, in a good way. [Laughs] The last tour we went on, for the last record, we decided on the name and the theme of this album, and that’s when it really solidified the direction. We know this is part of the trilogy, it was all deciding how we were gonna present this information and still be what we want to be. It was a great, cinematic way of getting [the subject] across.

REAX: Did you find yourself being inspired by different influences this time around? The album sounds, not more mainstream, but maybe more influenced by some more straightforward, upbeat, funky stuff at times.

D: That’s the game, every time, just finding the source material

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that inspires the sound. For the last record, I had a lot of influence from [songwriter and soundtrack composer] Jon Brion, a lot of softer stuff, and that was strategic, we wanted it to be more wellrounded, so the context of the subsequent record could make a little more sense as far as becoming more raw. Show that we can do slow songs, then sort of get rawer and more aggressive as time goes by rather than the groups that come out raw, then soften up after a while. We wanted to do the reverse of that, [follow] the sort of process a free jazz musician goes through, going through the classical school then getting to a point where it’s all free, raw music energy after a while.

On this record, I definitely paid a lot more attention to music that’s out right now, as opposed to music that’s been out for a long time, like I might have done in the past. But saying that, there’s always like this big pool of influence I pull form musically anyway, that consists of anything I’ve ever been inspired by.

REAX: Did all of the touring you’ve been doing influence the sound of the record, as far as seeing what worked best live and what the crowd was most into?

D: Actually, no. I would say that would be more true for As If We Existed. There’s a lot of songs on that that slay live, they’re perfect for that. And a lot of that is because the material was nurtured on stage, before it hit that record, you know? This time around, I really wanted it to be about the songs before anything, which is a slightly different approach than before … when it came time to take this album to the stage, it was really

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

REAX: The album deals with the idea of heroes from both a positive and negative standpoint. Is there a bottom-line message here about admiring these people, but also taking the responsibility of being inspired to be your own hero?

D: I think you pretty much hit it. It’s about all those things. It deals with the idea that - I look at it as a story. It follows a story, talking about finding heroes, like “Marvel” is like a comic book. We’re just describing heroes. Then it goes into some of the acts, the action that plays out in that wold. [The album] defines the world of th hero, defines the world of the people looking up to the hero, defines the state of the world where the heroes we once had are dying off, and how we have to appreciate our heroes while they’re alive, not just recognize them once thery’re gone.

Then it goes more into now that the heroes are gone, it’s up to us to become our own. Throughout this trilogy, that’s the biggest message, that people need to look at themselves, as opposed to outside themselves, to find what they need.

REAX: Putting out such a catchy, funky record, do you worry that people might just want to move, and miss the message? Is that why it ends with that spoken word piece?

D: I wouldn’t say that was the intent for putting that last. At he end of the day, I want it to hit people like that. First and formost, we want it to move people physically. We want it to move them emotionally too, but we want it to hit them in a way that’s fun, and we did that without dumbing down any of our stuff, softening our content, because we’ll never do that. But really, the music we like, it hits you first in a real carnal way, a visceral way. That’s what we wanted to do first and foremeost. So if people get that from the record, then we’ve achieved our goal. Because when a record does move you that way, if you like it enough, there’s no way you can ignore what the content is. Usually, it’s one or the other – the content’s bold and the music sucks, or the music is great, but the content is horrible. It’s always been our goal to give the best of both worlds, and make it one world.

I know that when music moves me that way, I want to look deeper into it. And if people want to look deeper into it, there’s so many layers they can appreciate. That’s what we want to provide, something that has a lot of care put into it, and when people look into it, they discover a deeper value.

Solillaquists of Sound are on tour in the U.S. in September. solilla.com

SOUNDBITES WYE OAK

WYE OAK

WEDDING BELLS Words: Jon Bosworth • Photo: Courtesy of Billions

Every band seems to have a horror story about playing in Jacksonville.

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acksonville is now calling itself “Where Florida Begins,” and for bands brave enough to tour down into our phallic peninsula, it seems performing in Jacksonville is like a tax. Andy Stack recalls the last time he and Jenn Wasner, the members of Wye Oak, stopped in Jacksonville in their desperate march toward Tampa and Orlando.

commercials that people have to take multiple anti-depressants to keep themselves from depression. This album might have been a cry for help. I just want to make sure that no one is ignoring your multi-city cry for help.

AS: Yeah, no, we’ve got it under control, thank you for the concern.

“It was a five-band bill and every single band was from out of town,” Stack says. “It was us and this band that was unabashedly Guns ‘N’ Roses-influenced playing back to back. It was a great night.”

REAX: Where are you now?

AS: Right now we are at home. We played a few shows last week and now we are just hanging out because we have a couple of important weddings that are happening in the next few weeks. My brother is getting married right before we leave again on tour and I’ve been organizing this wedding band to play at his wedding, so we’ve been doing rehearsals for that and getting the old wedding band together. Right after his wedding we’re going to Europe and doing ten days there, and then seven or eight weeks in the U.S.

If you haven’t heard the blurry gothic blues of Wye Oak, a proudly GNR-inspired opener might seem like a fine appetizer, but this duo from Baltimore tends to slow it down. Although often called indie rock, there isn’t much of a rock backbeat to most of their songs. Their wintery music has a dark, dirge-y, slow-paced blues foundation clouded by haunting feedback and ambient sounds. Coasting somewhat gracefully over that tortured noise is the ghostly strength of Jenn Wasner’s vocals, which are reminiscent of Cowboy Junkies. Needless to say, their Florida dates this time around include Tallahassee, Orlando, and Tampa; no Jacksonville stop is scheduled.

Wye Oak signed with Merge Records after they independently released If Children in 2007. Their new album, The Knot, is rich with morose songs of tortured love and internal pain. It’s actually quite depressing, which makes it all the stranger that they seem to have a thing for weddings.

REAX: Are you okay? I mean, are you guys depressed?

Andy Stack: [Laughs] No, we’re getting by. For both of us songwriting has taken on a role of helping us work through dark feelings and dark moments. We’re generally pretty upbeat people. Or at least we’re not completely occupied by depressing thoughts.

REAX: Good, because depression is serious. I see in

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REAX: Your album is called The Knot, you’re forming a wedding band, and your brother is getting married. Is there an intentional wedding theme?

AS: [Laughs] I don’t think we were trying to stretch any kind of a wedding or romance theme with the title of the record, but it’s certainly not an inappropriate interpretation of it. I mean, for us that album title had appeal because it had a lot of different meanings and ambiguity built into the word. A lot of different definitions. Neither of us are really literalists, and we like the idea of some of that ambiguity trickling into the song lyrics and the album as a whole.

REAX: On the album you have so many layers of instrumentation, but obviously there are only two of you making the music, so when you play live, do you bring other musicians, or play to prerecorded tracks, or how do you do it?

AS: It’s just the two of us live. There’s a little bit of prerecorded stuff, but not in the sense of playing to backing tracks or anything like that. All the prerecorded stuff is just very subtle loops and textural stuff that you may not even be fully aware of if you’re

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watching. By and large, the bulk of the work is being done by just the two of us. And we put out a lot of sounds, between the two of us.

REAX: So is your brother’s wedding going to be a really dark wedding, or are you getting together some crazy jams?

AS: You don’t think we should just play the new record? We’re trying to be the ultimate wedding band. We’re really trying to do the classic wedding band thing. For their first dance we’re playing The Beatles, we’re playing “Something” by George Harrison.

REAX: Any Cheap Trick or Foreigner?

AS: No. the best thing we are doing is some Steely Dan, which I am just thrilled about, because ... my parents were big Dan fans and my brother and I grew up listening to Royal Scam and Aja and all that. I just fucking love it, man. I’m not gonna lie or be too cool for the Dan, so we’re doing some Steely Dan that sounds really great and we’re doing some Clash, and some really feel-good wedding stuff. We’ve got an eight-piece band of all of these friends of ours from around town who play music.

There are like four or five different vocalists in the band.

REAX: Will it be the Merge Records Wedding Band?

AS: I don’t think they’re getting involved. That would be a little overkill for the wedding band. We’re starting off with just the wedding and we’ll see where it goes from there. If the Wye Oak thing doesn’t work out, we can make some kind of career in the wedding band business. There’s a lot of money to be made at that, I understand. Probably much more than we’re making now.

Wye Oak on Tour in the Southeast: Oct. 1: Emo’s, Austin Oct. 2: Cavern Ale House, Dallas Oct. 4: One Eyed Jack’s, New Orleans Oct. 5: Club Downunder, Tallahassee Oct. 6: The Social, Orlando Oct. 7: New World Brewery, Tampa Oct. 8: The Earl, Atlanta Oct. 9: Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro myspace.com/wyeoak

SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

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BEHIND THE LENS LUCKY YOU: A MIXTAPE ART SHOW

LUCKY YOU: A MIXTAPE SHOW

BY BASK & DJ MEGA AUGUST 28th, 2009 AT REAXSPACE

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REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

BEHIND THE LENS SUMMER JAM 5

SUMMER JAM 5 AUGUST 29th, 2009 AT NEW WORLD BREWERY

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REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

REAX RENT PARTY BEHIND THE LENS

REAX RENT PARTY SEPTEMBER 4th, 2009 AT CROWBAR

REAX INTERVIEWS SUPERCHUNK & MERGE RECORDS

SUPERCHUNK & MERGE RECORDS AN INTERVIEW WITH MAC MCCAUGHAN

Words: Susie Ulrey • Photo: DL Anderson

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s Merge Records really 20 years old? Think back to the first Superchunk album you bought - was it on tape? From a local record shop thats went belly-up years ago? Then yes, it really has been that long. I talked with underground icon Mac McCaughan via e-mail about the launch of the forthcoming book Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, The Indie Label That Got Big And Stayed Small, as well as his indie rock institution/ label Merge and his watershed band Superchunk.

REAX: What is your proudest moment for Merge? For Superchunk?

Mac McCaughan: For Merge ... everyone at the label working together to put together something big like our 20th anniversary festival last month is a satisfying moment, but really the pride is more about the artists on Merge - each time someone makes an astounding record - than it is being proud of “Merge the label.”

For Superchunk, when we play a great show it’s a good feeling, or when we step out of our normal comfort zone to do something like the Page of Madness silent film live soundtrack a few years ago, that’s something I’m proud of. I’m proud of at least parts of all of our records ...

REAX: Based on your own personal taste, what is your favorite Merge band/release?

MM: Ha! You won’t get an answer to that one. We love them all!

REAX: What advice would you give to a start-up bedroom indie label?

MM: First, I would say, don’t start a label, there are too many!

But if it will be a good label, then I would say, don’t do it if you want it to be your career - do it because you think it will be fun and you love the music that you’re working with. If you plan on it becoming something else, chances are you’re in for a frustrating time of it! But then if it does, you could be pleasantly surprised.

REAX: Why a book? Why presented as an oral history?

MM: Why a book? Good question ... because someone proposed it to us! And we had a lot of great snapshots. The scope of the interviews and the number of voices meant that an oral history made the most sense as a way to present something that a lot of people had a hand in, and probably have slightly different memories of ... also, I love reading oral histories, I think it’s a great [way] to learn about something from many angles at once.

REAX: What sets Merge apart from other independent labels?

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MM: When I think about labels that are important to me, or were when I was younger, they each have their own character, so really they’re all different from each other and so is Merge.

The roster, the owners, the presentation of the music, the cover art ... a personality comes through in all of those elements, even though it may be hard to nail down precisely what that personality is. I think our goals and the way we think about music may be similar to a label like Matador or Sub Pop or K or Teen Beat or Touch and Go or Dead Oceans or Saddle Creek.

There are many other great labels I’m not thinking of off the top of my head.

kit. Then again, I’m even less likely to listen to a demo online - I hate listening to music on my computer. Mostly we find out about new stuff because I buy a lot of records and am constantly seeking out new music for myself anyway, or because a friend recommends something, or a band on Merge recommends someone they just did a show with or something.

REAX: What was the turning point - when did Merge become incorporated, get a tax ID and turn into an actual business as opposed to a labor of love?

MM: We got all those things a long time ago, but it’s still a labor of love.

REAX: What would you do differently, in hindsight - with Superchunk and Merge?

MM: Nothing that I can think of, stuff goes by so quickly it doesn’t really help to dwell on the stuff you didn’t do. Actually, I would have made a new Superchunk record by now!

REAX: As a flagship band for the label [post-Matador], how did you balance your focus on Superchunk vs. the label?

MM: You tend to what needs you - for a long time, Merge was so small and Superchunk was growing so fast, it was obvious that being on tour and making Superchunk records was our focus, and it needed to be. As Superchunk started slowing down, some other bands on Merge really started becoming well-known and selling more records and the balance of time spent on the road vs. in the office gradually switched over. Now we kind of do Superchunk in short bursts, rather than four-month tours, and spend most of our time at Merge.

REAX: If you had to choose band vs. label, how would you make that decision? Or are the two inextricably linked?

MM: Well, they’re linked historically but not really linked beyond that, except maybe in people’s perception, which is fine. We can have the label forever but I will still think of myself primarily as a musician and songwriter.

REAX: In retrospect, would you still shy away from contracts for as long as you did?

MM: Sure. If you do business in the handshake style, which is a friendly way to do business, for the first ten years or so and you only get slightly burned a couple of times, that’s a pretty good trade-off, I think. I still hate negotiating contracts - easily the worst part of the job - but we realize we need to do it.

REAX: What do you look for in a Merge release? Are the bands solicited or do you consider CDs mailed to you - how many do you receive on an annual basis?

MM: I don’t have any idea how many CDs we get every year, and I don’t want to know! That’s a lot of waste. But we do consider things that just come over the transom. Luckily, we get fewer CDs now and more emails saying “here’s a link to our new album”. I say luckily because it means we don’t have to throw away a CD and an envelope and recycle someone’s press

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

REAX: Your kids turn 20: they tell you they want to start a record label. What’s your reaction?

MM: I suppose I couldn’t really say anything besides “go for it!”, could I?

REAX: How has becoming a parent changed your goals for the band and the label?

MM: Less touring for sure, but other than that I think it would be weird if we started doing things differently just because we have kids. I suppose we could start putting parental warning stickers on the Lambchop albums?

REAX: Superchunk: what’s in the future? Will you tour again?

MM: I don’t think we’ll ever tour like we used to tour, but we’ll hopefully finish a new album at some point and keep doing shows when we feel like it! I like our new single and the shows we played last month were a couple of my favorites.

Our Noise comes out September 15 on Algonquin Books. Check out our review on page 37. ournoisethebook.com mergerecords.com

MERGE RECORDS & SUPERCHUNK REAX INTERVIEWS

SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

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REAX INTERVIEWS EVERY TIME I DIE

EVERY TIME I DIE CULT OF PERSONALITY

Words: Colin Kincaid • Photo: Tim Harmon

Upstate New York’s Every Time I Die are the AC/DC of metalcore - their albums don’t change all that much from one to the next, but it ain’t broken, so it sure as hell doesn’t need to be fixed. Their patented blend of scattershot heavy blast, southern rock-inflected grooves and fun, psychotic character has made them one of the most unique and eminently listenable groups in the genre they so casually transcend.

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s the band readies New Junk Aesthetic, their fifth album and first for the revered Epitaph Records, for a September release, vocalist Keith Buckley discusses the recent departure of Drummer Mike “Ratboy” Novak, what subtle changes the new CD offers, and the process behind his inimitable lyrics.

REAX: Have you found a full-time replacement for Ratboy [exdrummer Mike Novak]?

Keith Buckley: We believe we have. We were actually just practicing last night, and we’re doing it again tonight. We’re gonna try him out at the show we’re playing this Saturday, we’re doing a festival. That’ll be his baptism by fire.

REAX: Are you feeling a bit of pressure, with the tour coming up?

KB: Yeah, I mean obviously we just wanna be at peace, and have a guy permanently situated. There’s some pressure, but he’s up for it, he’s been driving down from Montreal, which really shows how into it he is.

REAX: Do you not want to name names, just because things aren’t quite set in stone?

KB: Yeah, we’d rather not say just yet.

REAX: Has it been any different being on Epitaph?

KB: No, nothing’s different. We’re jut getting a lot more done a lot quicker. The recording, the layout, the promotion, it just seems to be getting done more efficiently now. That’s something we’ve noticed and are pretty excited about.

REAX: The new record’s got some really dirty, dirge-y

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moments, like “Roman Holiday.” Did you guys consciously try to get a little more slow stuff onto this one?

KB: Um, yeah, I think so. One thing that’s never really come through in our music is the influence of doom metal, Neurosis, things like that. We didn’t do it intentionally at first, but listening to the record [we realized it came across]. That song was originally going to be first one on the record, but we thought it was too dark and slow to start it off. But it’s definitely one of my favorite songs on there.

heads. When you’re writing, do you ever wonder if people are paying attention to all of that stuff, or if they’re just in it for the crazy heavy music?

KB: Oh yeah. I don’t wanna draw a diagram for ‘em, but of course I wonder if people get it. But at the same time, I feel like I’m not just writing lyrics, I’m creating these little puzzles, and it makes me hope people will want to dig a little deeper. It may not come across immediately, but it’ll go off like a grenade eventually. I try to keep that in mind when I’m writing.

REAX: There aren’t a lot of heavy bands that can get that swaggering rock ‘n’ roll shuffle into their style. Where does that come from for you guys?

KB: For me, it just comes from a bunch of alcoholic relatives hanging around bonfires and listening to John Cougar Mellencamp. My dad was a guitar player, so he listened to The Beatles and Zeppelin and the Stones, it was always on around the house when I was growing up.

REAX: How important a component of the band’s personality is that to you guys? The sort of sarcastic and psychotically fun personality that comes across in the vocals?

KB: That’s everything to us. If we ever lost sight of that, the band’s days would be numbered. That was one aspect we didn’t have in common with [Ratboy]. Now that he’s out, it feels like a breath of fresh air, we can get somebody with the same sense of humor, the same cynical outlook on life. So it’s definitely a refreshing new start for us.

REAX: If anything, New Junk Aesthetic sounds a little more frustrated or angry than some of your other albums. Was there a certain prevailing mindset when you were writing?

KB: There was no concerted effort to have anything come across, other than the fact that I think we were really excited about being on a new label after ten years. But lyrically, there was a lot of shit going on in the studio that I was pretty upset about. A few of the songs, I was writing lyrics in the studio, and I think that comes across on two or three songs.

REAX: Speaking of lyrics, one of the things that has always made Every Time I Die stand out for me is the lyrics, your tendency to turn cultural phrases and references on their

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Every Time I Die on tour in the Southeast: September 23 – House of Blues, Dallas September 24 – White Rabbit, San Antonio September 25 – House of Blues, Houston September 26 – House of Blues, New Orleans September 27 – The Ritz Theatre, Tampa September 29 – The Masquerade, Atlanta September 30 – Amos’, Charlotte October 1 – Norva Theater, Norfolk myspace.com/everytimeidie

REAX INTERVIEWS THE DECEMBERISTS

THE

DECEMBERISTS FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Words: Evan Tokarz • Photo: Autumn DeWilde

Nate Query leads a simpler life than the polysyllabic lyrics of The Decemberists might suggest. After touring much of his life, Query knows what he wants when he reaches his Portland home. He wants some food.

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uery relaxes at home by cooking, and says he’s a bit of a food nut. He published a recipe for pork loin with poblano chiles in an ‘07 indie-rock cookbook titled I Like Food, Food Tastes Good: In The Kitchen with Your Favorite Bands. Although Query likes to spend some free time at home relaxing and making meals, what he likes most about being home is it allows him more time with his seven-week-old baby.

record that even some indie labels would listen to and say, “How are we supposed to sell this?” The album centers around a young woman named Margaret who enters a forest. In the forest, she meets a debauched rake and forest queen, and falls in love with a shape-shifter. Query says listeners should not expect an album of singles.

“I’m just trying to get through each day,” he says. “When you have a little kid like that, you just want to enjoy every moment.

It’s easy to get caught up in the shit you have to do each day, but with a kid it’s better to try to enjoy the moment.”

“If [listeners] can, they should sit down and listen to it straight through,” suggests the bassist. “Turn the lights off and turn on iTunes’ visualizer. I think that’s the best way to listen to [Hazards] the first time. That’s what we made our management do, and the record label.”

Although he says he’s no expert on the subject, Eastern philosophy influences the life of the Decemberists’ bassist. He started reading the Tao Te Ching in high school. Reading the words of Lao-Tzu, he realized the difficulty of evoking spirituality with words. To him, spirituality is something felt, not spoken. The book taught him to be calm and accept what happens to him in life.

Musically, he approached The Hazards of Love more electrically than previous albums. Query, who plays electric bass in addition to the classic stand-up, liked the look of all his effects pedals laid out during the making of the album. For his upright-bass songs, he likes the “Jazz Odyssey”-type approach he took on one of the album’s songs, a reference to one of his favorite movies, Spinal Tap.

“One of my good friends is a Buddhist - he’s somebody I go to for advice a lot,” Query says. “And a lot of times his advice is along those lines: accept the way things are, instead of forcing things into your idea of the way things should be.”

“I think every musician, anybody that plays rock music on tour, has to see Spinal Tap, like, five times. Gotta go back to basics,” he says.

Query agrees with band member Jenny Conlee, who once said The Decemberists are set up like the branches of American government - sort of a system of checks and balances: “We are a band that is led by a singer-songwriter, Colin. But we’re also a band, not just hired guns. So there are a lot of things where Colin provides the leadership, but there are also a lot of things that we have a lot of input.”

Fans disagreed about the band’s move in 2005 to major label Capitol Records. Some called the band’s indie cred into question, while others thought they earned the right to sign to a major label. Yet Query says he doesn’t think there should be constrictive rules about what bands do. He says the band didn’t sign to Capitol to become the next Coldplay; they signed to the label since the label seemed excited about their music, and were ready to work hard on it. Which is what he says really matters.

“The transition for us from being on an indie-label like KRS [Kill Rock Stars] to being on a major label like Capitol has worked out pretty well,” he reasons. “We did get hit pretty hard at the time of their corporate restructuring, which was right at the time The Crane Wife came out. But, in general, they’ve been super supportive of the record. And especially this record, which is a lot to swallow, and is difficult to market.”

He says the new album, The Hazards of Love, is the kind of

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And one thing rock bands know about is fans. Query likes meeting people at shows, but says it’s rarer for the band to meet people at gigs than it used to be.

“I sort of miss the days when we used to play bars and hang out and meet a lot of people,” he says. “Now, we don’t really meet that many people on the road.”

However, he does manage to meet at least some fans all over, usually before or after concerts. One group of fans is very easy to spot: the members of the band’s website message board.

Large groups of the board’s members show up to concerts wearing matching shirts. He says he makes sure to get time to talk with these fans, since many of them have been supportive since the band’s early days.

Maybe a fan could have helped him out with some advice on biking in Florida. After riding around some cities in Florida, he says people don’t seem to care about biking very much in Florida, and that the state may need more bike advocacy groups: “Being from the west coast, where most cities are bike-friendly, biking around Orlando and Tallahassee, that was scary. As. Shit. It was like everyone was trying to kill me.”

After 15 years of touring for different bands, Query is used to being up on stage. Although it is Colin Meloy who sings that

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

“He Was Meant For The Stage,” when Query is performing, he equates his experience back to Eastern philosophy - he is in Zen mode.

“I like to be on stage and just to listen,” he says. “Just hearing the thing as a whole, and just playing my part in it, and I think that’s the way I play best and react best to what’s going on.”

So what does he think about when he’s up there?

“When you’re playing like five, six shows a week and you’re on tour for weeks on end, sometimes you’re up, and you’re like, ‘I wonder if we’re going to get after-show food today,’” he admits.

So you could say Query knows what he wants. And it’s not too difficult to give it to him either. He wants some food.

The Decemberists in Florida: September 29 - St. Augustine Amphitheatre, St. Augustine September 30- Hard Rock Live, Orlando myspace.com/thedecemberists

The DECEMBERISTS

BY THE NUMBERS: YEARS TOURING: QUERY’S BABY’S AGE: (IN WEEKS)

15 7

LENGTH OF 48 THE HAZARDS OF LOVE: (IN MINUTES) NUMBER OF THE DECEMBERISTS:

5

SHOWS THE DECEMBERISTS PLAY IN FLORIDA THIS MONTH: 2 AGE OF THE TAO TE CHING:

(IN YEARS)

2500

THE DECEMBERISTS REAX INTERVIEWS

SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

29

REAX INTERVIEWS LAMB OF GOD esque “Black Album” chock full of “hits,” there were some that suggested that with Sacrament, the band veered slightly off of its speed-metal course into uncharted waters. And according to Adler, that was a direct result of Sacrament producer Machine’s personal agenda.

“Machine seemed to have a self-imposed responsibility to somehow help us sell a lot of records, like there was a goal in the end to make us more ‘listenable’ to the masses,” says Adler. “I was vehemently opposed to some of the things he did.

But some of those lessons we learned helped us in developing Wrath, in deciding to work with [Wrath producer] Josh Wilbur and get back out of that cage that we were put in with Machine. With Josh, he simply pushed us harder and further into a direction that we already wanted to go.

“Sacrament was our most successful album thus far, but in making that album we felt like we were being pushed to being more than just a metal band,” Adler continues. “But instead of going further, or getting softer or trying to sell a million records, we went the other way and wrote a very straightforward, very heavy, aggressive album, and got some of that edge back that we had earlier in our career. I’m very proud to be part of a group that chose to go that path.”

As Adler alludes, Lamb of God certainly ratcheted things up a notch on Wrath with tracks like “Choke Sermon” and the brutal “Contractor,” easily one of the band’s fastest tracks to date. But that’s not to say that Wrath is by-the-numbers Lamb of God; on the contrary, songs like “Set To Fail” showcase a new side of Blythe, who screams in tune throughout the chorus, a style the vocalist utilizes throughout the latest CD.

LAMB OF GOD FEEL THE WRATH

Words: David Manack • Photo: Courtesy of Epic Records

On a cold evening in December 2008, the metal quintet Lamb of God exited the stage in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was just their second show of a month-long jaunt as openers for the mighty Metallica’s Death Magnetic tour, and the sweat was still fresh in the dressing room as they grabbed celebratory beers. After all, this was no ordinary tour; they were sharing the stage with the legendary band they grew up listening to, the band that still stood as metal’s reigning kings.

M

oments later, in stepped Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. Known for being both arrogant and loquacious, there must have been at least a hint of trepidation as he sat with Lamb of God and assessed their very recent stage performance.

“Lars came in and said to us, ‘we’ve been carrying bands around [on tour] for an awfully long time, and I don’t remember anyone ever getting that type of reaction,’” says Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler. “It was a very proud feeling to know that we were holding our own out there with them.”

Lamb of God once again finds themselves opening for Metallica in North America, as the band continues to tour in support of their successful fifth studio album, Wrath.

“We’re definitely not scared or intimidated to tour with anyone,” adds frontman Randy Blythe. “Maybe that’s foolish, but that’s not the way we operate. We’re used to coming out, opening for a band, and making them work really fucking hard.

“But with Metallica,” Blythe continues, “we had to work super duper hard. We got a great crowd response, but believe me, we took absolutely nothing away from them. Those dudes were the most awesome guys you could ever meet. It’s very inspiring to see a band that has been around that long not display this stupid, rock-star ego shit.”

30

One could surmise that the members of Lamb of God, which also include guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler and bassist John Campbell, may have their own justification for displaying that “rock-star ego.” Not only has the band raised the bar with their recent major-label releases - Wrath debuted at number 2 on the Billboard chart this past March, while their last album Sacrament was the top-selling metal album of 2006 and garnered the band a Grammy nomination - but they’ve also been placed on a sort of pedestal by the media as one of a handful of bands leading the supposed “new wave of American heavy metal.”

Sure, they could have an ego. But this Virginia-based, blue-collar band isn’t putting too much stock into their press clippings.

“So, we’re supposed to be leading this ‘new wave of American heavy metal’ - what the fuck are they talking about?” Blythe asks incredulously. “The only thing I’m leading is myself to the fridge to get another beer! We don’t pay attention to those expectations.

We write music for us five dudes, because we like making music with each other. We’re our own worst critics. If you start to pay attention to what other people say, then your music will suffer.”

Oddly enough, it seems as if at least some of the feedback by fans and media following the release of Sacrament helped shift the more raw, aggressive direction of Wrath. While the band states assuredly that the label heads at Epic Records have never put any pressure on them to put out a Metallica-

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

But the band also experimented with some acoustic passages, most notably in the album’s opening track “The Passing.” That, and the song that follows it, “In Your Words,” contains some of the most melodic guitar work that the band has ever produced.

If Lamb of God proved anything with Wrath, they proved that they could expand the boundaries of their music - on their terms - without sacrificing their identity as a band.

“That was the goal with this album, absolutely,” says Adler. “All of the lessons we learn, both good and bad, contribute to what we continue to do as a band, as we mature as songwriters. You can have beautiful sections of music; but when you step back, it’s still Lamb of God.” Lamb of God in Florida: October 1 – Bank Atlantic Center, Sunrise* October 2 – Plush, Jacksonville** October 3 – St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa* October 5 – Hard Rock Live, Orlando** * - supporting Metallica ** - headlining dates lamb-of-god.com

SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

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SOAPBOX PRODUCT PLACEMENT

PRODUCT PLACEMENT PHOTOSHOP & ILLUSTRATOR MAGNET SETS Proudly display your geekdom to all the people who habitually dig through your fridge for beer and pizza crusts without asking. Or get super-duper-meta and use these magnets - which represent the Mac panels and windows for both Adobe products - top pin up photos and designs created/shaped/ hoaxed in the very programs they celebrate. Hey, we weren’t gonna say anything, but your Bettie Page and Batz Maru magnets are starting to look a little last millennium, you know?

$25 meninos.us

HOPSIDE DOWN GLASS It’s the kind of thing people at the party might not notice at first. But later, they do that turn-your-head-sideways-like-thatwill-help-you-understand-it-better thing, come over and ask if the inside of your glass really looks like a beer bottle, and compliment you on its stylishness. Boom! Bathroom sex at the party. The Hopside Down glass comes in packs of one, four, six and eight, but really, why would you want to share such a killer party-bathroom-sex inducing affectation with anyone else?

pac-man oven mitt At some point in the not-so-distant future, those of us who grew up in the ‘80s will simply stop looking for honest work, and start letting people into our houses to look at our Simpsons memorabilia and A-Team crap and Donkey Kong detritus and Star Wars figures for a buck or two. We’ll lead tour groups and tell stories about the longgone days of mall arcades and dollarmovie theaters. And of course, as we sit our guests down to a snack of Boo Berry and Marathon candy bars and cookies cut into the shapes of characters from John Hughes movies (R.I.P.), we’ll serve them while wearing our Pac-Man Oven Mitts. Of course we will.

$11.49 perpetualkid.com

PORTABLE TAP DISPENSER How many times has this happened to you: You’re chilling at the party, over by the fire pit where all the good looking folks are hoping someone else brought weed, when you suddenly realize that your can of Natty Light is just about empty! You can’t exactly go all the way back inside and steal somebody else’s beer when you’re waiting to break into the conversation those cute guys or girls are having about The Goonies, can you? Oh, yeah, that’s right - you’ve got, like, a gallon of cheap suds being warmed by your body heat right on your back! Just casually refill that can while thinking of something clever to say about Corey Feldman, and you’re golden. Looks chic, too.

$34.88 funideas.com

$18/69/102/126 sirtified.com

FISTICUP

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WIFI DETECTOR HAT

Seriously, nobody is going to mess with you first thing in the morning when the Fisticup is sitting on your desk looking like a can of violent, tired worms that’s already half-open.

Better yet, get a “World’s Greatest Boss” mug, smash it into a couple of pieces, and put ‘em right next to your Fisticup, which will just stand there, glowering, like, “yeah, so what?

Who’s freakin’ next?”

Forget about the T-shirt with Mario doing the Princess. Never mind the still-in-mint-condition Star Wars beach towel. Not even the tattoo of the Atari 2600 Breakout paddle controller comes close. This is unarguably the geekiest thing in existence to display on your body.

It’s not just a WiFi baseball cap, which would be fairly geek-cool, but nothing to write home about; it’s a WiFi baseball cap that senses WiFi networks, and lights up when it finds ‘em. The fact that you can’t see the indicator bars while you’re actually wearing the hat only makes it more stupidly fun. Any hat that comes with batteries is worth checking into, but this one takes it.

$14.99 popdeluxe.net

$14.99 thinkgeek.com

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

SOAPBOX UPCOMING RELEASES / MUSIC REVIEWS

UPCOMING

ABRAHAM LINCOLN THOMAS JEFFERSON BILL CLINTON

RELEASES ARTIST

RICHARD NIXON GEORGE W. BUSH

ALBUM

LABEL

POLVO IN PRISM

NEON INDIAN PSYCHIC CHASMS

SEPT. 08 / 15

BLK JKS AFTER ROBOTS

SECRETLY CANADIAN

Anti-Pop Consortium The Dodos Grand Archives HEALTH Maserati Monotonix Neon Indian Os Mutantes Polvo Sparklehorse & Fennesz These Arms Are Snakes Vivian Girls

YO LA TENGO POPULAR SONGS MATADOR

Fluorescent Black Time To Die Keep In Mind Frankenstein Get Color Passages Where Were You When It Happened?

Psychic Chasms Haih In Prism In The Fishtank 15 Washburn Everything Goes Wrong

Big Dada Frenchkiss Sub Pop Lovepump United Temp. Residence Drag City Lefse Records AntiMerge Konkurrent Suicide Squeeze In The Red

SEPT. 22 / 29

ISLANDS VAPOURS

WHY? ESKIMO SNOW

ANTI-

The Almighty Defenders The Avett Brothers Boredoms Brother Ali Castanets Early Day Miners King Khan and BBQ Show Kyp Malone LCD Soundsystem Melvins Múm Music Go Music Owen Panther The Shaky Hands The Swell Season

ANITCON.

The Almighty Defenders I and Love and You Super Roots 10 Us Texas Rose, The Thaw & The Beasts The Treatment Invisible Girl Rain Machine 45:33 Remixes Chicken Switch Sing Along to Songs You Don’t Know Music Go Music New Leaves Entropy Let it Die Strict Joy

Vice Columbia Thrill Jockey Rhymesayers Asthmatic Kitty Secretly Canadian In The Red AntiDFA Ipecac Euphono Records Secretly Canadian Polyvinyl Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars Anti-

OCT. 06

A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS EXPLODING HEAD MUTE Built To Spill The Clientele Dead Man’s Bones Dinowalrus Eugene Mirman Evangelista Mayer Hawthorne Mission of Burma The Mountain Goats No Age The Raveonettes Sufjan Stevens

BLACK HEART PROCESSION SIX

WHY? ESKIMO SNOW Why’s new album is like their previous albums: full of imagery, full of wordplay, and full of Yoni Wolf’s nasal whine. The imagery on Eskimo Snow is imagery for imagery’s sake; it’s poetry. Verses like “Dead clover, dead clover/One mongoose, one cobra” are great for evoking vivid images, but if you’re looking for an artist to say something that will better your life, look elsewhere. If you aren’t, you’re in luck, since Yoni has a knack for new phrases, and wordplay. Case in point, a line from “Berkeley by Hearseback:” “A gift from the Maccabees to mom to me.” The band rarely overshadows Yoni’s lyrics, and serves more to accompany each track. If you like fresh images, and can endure Yoni’s nasal whine, you might like Eskimo Snow.

(ANTICON.) - Evan Tokarz

PINHEAD GUNPOWDER KICK OVER THE TRACES

TEMPORARY RESIDENCE LTD

There Is No Enemy Bonfires on the Heath Dead Man’s Bones Dinowalrus God is a Twelve-Year-Old Boy… Prince of Truth A Strange Arrangement The Sound The Speed The Light The Life of the World to Come Losing Feeling In and Out of Control Run Rabbit Run

Reviewed in this issue

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This North Carolina math-rock outfit’s reunion disc - coming a full 12 years after the group disbanded in the wake of ‘97’s Shapes - finds Polvo sounding both a bit more straightforward and a little heavier than most fans remember ‘em.

Sure, the meandering dynamic changes of “D.C. Trails” and off-time noodling that kick off “Beggars Bowl” are classic hallmark’s of the band’s style, and there’s plenty more here that old-school indie-rock heads will recognize and love. Overall, though, it’s just a little more, I don’t know, concise and musically familiar. Maybe it’s just because our ears have become used to hearing this kind of boldly ambitious sonic tinkering over the decade that’s passed, but you also can’t help but suspect these guys have matured to the point where not everything needs to be as abstract to satsify their collective creative jones. In any case, they’re still in fine, exciting form.

(MERGE RECORDS) - Portnoy Jones

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

Warner Bros.

Merge AntiKanine Sub Pop Constellation Stones Throw Matador 4AD Sub Pop Vice Asthmatic Kitty

Kick Over The Traces is Pinhead Gunpowder’s “greatest hits” compilation that gives fans 23 tracks of pure ‘90s California pop-punk. None of that “21 Guns” wussiness here. Billie Joe Armstrong and the gang give you the three-chord punk you love with the longest song running just under three minutes. The only exception comes at the end with the acoustic “On The Ave.” But, the lack of electricity is more that made up for with lyrics about getting all bloody climbing a fence into a blind-deaf school and waking up in a room that’s on fire.

Pinhead Gunpowder > Green Day. Discuss.

(RECESS RECORDS) - Benjamin Evans

Did you know that acousmatic tape music, as Neon Indian describes its recent album, means psychedelic electronica meets melodic club music? I didn’t, but that’s the only way to describe this album. Songs like “Deadbeat Summer” and “Should Have Taken Acid With You” are easily dance-worthy, but tracks like the titular “Psychic Chasms” and “Laughing Gas” sound like they should be played in some sort of bizarre post-electroclash hookah lounge. Even more interestingly, several songs like “Mind, Drips” are tripped out bitcore. No joke! This album is good, and playable in a number of settings. Get it.

(LEFSE) - Chris Gaughan

THE BOTTLE ROCKETS LEAN FORWARD Disappointed. One of my favorite bands, on one of my favorite labels, and the whole thing just seems so lacking in grit, so bloodless. The Bottle Rockets were never as heavy as Slobberbone or as punk rock as Lucero, but a sizable chunk of Lean Forward sounds like main man Brian Henneman’s bid for mainstream pop-country stardom in comparison to some past Rockets works. The shuffling “Nothing But A Driver,” Skynyrd-esque “Hard Times,” breezy “Open Your Eyes” and Petty-but-harder “The Way It Used To Be” satisfy to an extent, and, slightly cheesy sitar break aside, the ominous “Kid Next Door” can hang with the band’s best work. But several gifted other acts have risen to prominence on the Rockets’ turf since ‘06’s superior Zoysia, and it just doesn’t sound like they’ve got the energy or the balls to take ‘em all on. If Henneman and company are ready to retire to the front porch, that’s fine - he’s a songwriter who can do just about anything well, and Lean Forward isn’t bad so much as overly clean. But they’ve got to realize that a lot of their fans are still expecting a few more weekends of bellying up to the bar for some more whiskey and loud-ass rock ‘n’ roll.

(BLOODSHOT) - Colin Kincaid

the thermals now we can see The Thermals are truly one of my favorite indierock ensembles. Despite the setback of regularly changing drummers over the years, this group produces music that sits somewhere between easy listening fuzz-punk and satirical power-pop.

Now We Can See carries this same spirit into the group’s fourth album. With songs like “When I Died,” “I Let It Go,” and “You Dissolve,” the album stands somewhere in between ‘90s misanthropy and millennial bubblegum. Though not as innovative as I would have liked or as political as previous albums, The Thermals don’t disappoint.

(KILL ROCK STARS) - Chris Gaughan

MUSIC REVIEWS SOAPBOX

DEAR LANDLORD DREAM HOMES Above average pop-punk with more than enough muscle to set itself apart from the usual threechord, whoa-oh pack. Dear Landlord’s sound is super-anthemic, energetic and raw; it’s the classic pop-punk structures and smart harmonies that keep this band out of the Gainesville-sound ghetto and nimbly straddling the line between the two styles. Less clever or envelope-pushing than Dillinger Four, ballsier and fuller than Screeching Weasel, Dream Homes is just a good, solid slice of high-volume, high-intensity punk.

(NO IDEA RECORDS) - Colin Kincaid

JAY REATARD WATCH ME FALL On the cover of his new album, Jay recreates Jack Nicholson near the end of The Shining, wandering through a frozen labyrinth, but that landscape never reflects the music. The music is super-poppy, bouncy, never claustrophobic, and diverges from the tinges of butt-metal that stormed and rippled on his last proper release, Blood Visions. In between that time, two singles collections were released, with each song exposed to more melodic atmospheres, adding organs and acoustic guitars to flourish. So if you’re familiar, you shouldn’t be surprised; but if you didn’t like the second side of his Matador Singles ‘08 LP, then stay away, because that development to the music is now further distanced from the unmethodical expectations of his name. But the tormented gaze of the Jack-Jay on the cover comes through in the lyrics - paranoid and guilt ridden, a laundry list of hindsight regrets, dread and confession. Rarely do they stray from a perspective of irreconcilable depression. Hopefully the songs can represent a catharsis of some sort, because if you only pay attention to the lyrics, you’ll be scowling like JackJay on the cover, like me on the couch. When Jay sings “Ignore the sounds from my rotten mind,” my roommate dances with the kitten in her arms into the living room. “We are standing still,” Jay chants, and she’s kicking her legs in the air, raising the cat up and down over her head, and she’s smiling and really happy she’s not at work and completely oblivious to the pessimistic lyrics.

(MATADOR RECORDS) - Shawn Goldberg

RODRIGO Y GABRIELA 11:11 Are you down with jawdropping feats of acrobatic acoustic-fretboard wizardry? Or maybe you just like evocative, often Latin-flavored melodies so infectious they infer their own rhythms? Either way, the new CD from Mexico City-bred guitar duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela is right up your alley. And if you happen to love both those things, 11:11 IS your alley. The pair continue to move away from their shred-metal influences, which, with the exception of the electric solo in “Atman,” mostly show through in the technique and mood - the latter tending to lean toward the dark and ominous when not overtly showing its Spanish and Mexican roots. Sparse percussion occasionally fills out the sound, and a gorgeous piano accompanies in the highlight title track, but mostly it’s just guitars, guitars, guitars, played so well they really don’t need anything else.

(ATO) - Colin Kincaid

the phenomenal handclap band s/t With a name like The Phenomenal Handclap Band, you’d expect the band’s self-titled debut album to be … well … phenomenal, and although the tracks are far from mediocre, this eight-member band doesn’t quite deserve the “phenomenal” title either. Although PHB does get points for creativity, a handful of tracks (see: “The Journey To Serra Da Estrela”) do seem somewhat reminiscent of something you’d hear on one of those Top Party Hits albums, or something. The band does manage to sneak in a couple of catchy, ready-forthe-dance-floor tracks like “You’ll Disappear” and “15 to 20,” but as a whole, this album really isn’t worth writing home about.

(FRIENDLY FIRE) - Alexis Quinn Chamberlain

HOLIDAY SHORES COLUMBUS’D THE WHIM If I were a koala, I would lick my koala lips and smile a koala smile listening to this album.

What do you mean you haven’t heard of Holiday Shores? They’re one of Florida’s best bands!

Tallahassee’s Holiday Shores puts together a fuzzy soundtrack of love on Columbus’d The Whim! Pop sensibilities?!?!? They’ve got as much as The Shins; each song is catchy as hell. With all the pop lovelyloveliness, it makes sense they list Brian Wilson as an influence. If the Beach Boys were an indie band in their acid stage, this is what the music would be. Here’s some other influences you could toss in a blender: The Strokes, Wolf Parade, The Unicorns, and Olivia Tremor Control.

Why aren’t you listening to “Phones Don’t Feud” right now? You should be!

(TWOSYLLABLE) - Evan Tokarz

YAHOWHA 13 MAGNIFICENCE IN MEMORY Even if you’ve exhausted the Akarma Records catalogue, there’s always new things to discover.

Another YaHoWha 13 culled from lost tapes?

Awesome, I love psychedelic cult-rock. I’ve got a couple YaHoWha 13, albums and they’re all kinds of different. I have one that jangles like a dozen shamans in a sweat lodge for 40 minutes; one with meditative sitar jams while a man endlessly hums; one that psych-swells while a man endlessly howls; one that sounds like good early Allman Brothers; one that sounds like Amon Duul 1. This album, an amalgam of those YaHoWha 13 styles, is not for everyone, and, of course, out of this world and absolutely random. Blues jams next to chanting that escalates into maddening shrieks next to Howlin’ Wolf growls next to chimes and whistles and warbles of guitars. It should be noted that this has little to nothing in common with the previous Drag City release Songs From the Source, which was slicker and cleaner and had lots of female vocals. Remember, this band is a cult (for more info about them, go use the Internet), and the lyrics are spattered with their metaphysical teachings and rants on nature and spiritual quests. Mistaking their amateur techniques and sound recordings overlooks the charm and novelty of their authenticity.

(DRAG CITY) - Shawn Goldberg

books & music

NEW & USED

VINYL

BOOKS. CDS. DVDS. BUY. SELL. TRADE.

Pax Nicholas & The Nettey Family: Na Teef Know De Road of Teef (Daptone Records) This record would make white supremacists get up and dance. This is what Daptone Records says: “While playing and recording for Fela Kuti’s Africa 70 (he appeared on all of Fela’s releases between ‘71 and ‘78) Pax also always had his own thing going on the side.”

Beck: One Foot In The Grave (Iliad Records) Before encountering electronic syphilis and becoming a midnight vulture, a strange anti venom of ramshackle folk kept him mellow. Originally released in 1994, stacked with 13 extra tracks, and Matt Dorn approved. “One of my favorite albums. So good,” he commented on Google Chat.

Sunny Day Real Estate: Diary and Pink Album (Sub Pop Records) Hey! you in the blue t-shirt! What are you doing today? Oh… drinkin huh? It’s kind of early for that. Oh… you broke up with your significant other earlier today… well why don’t you climb into the bottom of reissues for the first 2 Sunny Day LPs? It’ll exhilarate you about the same, but now you won’t have a hangover and find vomit smothered about your clothes the next morning.

Chocolate Watch Band: No Way Out and Inner Mystique (Sundazed Records) I know. You’ve been playing The Pretty Things constantly and you wore out the wax and you need something new. Don’t worry, two all time garage classics finally received nice reissue treatments. Chocolate Watch distilled the best portions of the Rolling Stones and mixed it with the haunted thunder of Davie Allan, creating something so good no wonder it disappeared for so long.

The Smiths: Queen Is Dead, S/T, Meat Is Murder, Strangeways Here We Come (Rhino Records) Do I really have to write something about this? you see the icon cover images and you know, right? It’s easily the best British band from the 80s and arguably the best band in the world from the 80s. Influential to an imponderable degree.

Stop reading, go listen.

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 SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

35

SOAPBOX MUSIC REVIEWS

EUGENE MIRMAN GOD IS A TWELVE-YEAR-

OLD BOY WITH ASPERGER’S Brooklynite Mirman is a defining figure in the second wave of quoteunquote alternative comics - unique stand-ups who cut their teeth in punk clubs and sketchcomedy theaters and have no patience for broad, bland patter about airline food or setting VCR timers. And Mirman’s hilarious blend of topicality, hyperbole, utter absurdity and anecdotal storytelling is nothing if not all his own. Here, on his second CD for Sub Pop, it all comes together beautifully one night in Chicago. His riffs on religion and incompetent airlines offer completely original takes on classic stand-up subjects, but most of Mirman’s bits come straight out of left field: Bears taking over Detroit. Classmates.com.

The bookstore weirdos he ran into while on a reading tour. Bizarre online polls and banner ads.

It’s all delivered with a deceptively conversational style, making the most bizarre bits seem even more so in context. God Is A Twelve-Year-Old Boy is required listening for all die-hard comedy fans, and a high-water mark for Mirman’s superlative stand-up.

(SUB POP) - Scott Harrell

CLUTCH STRANGE COUSINS

out on one of those days when everything feels just right.

(NETTWERK) - Benjamin Evans

YO LA TENGO POPULAR SONGS Yo La Tengo continues the tradition of taking inspiration from all over the place; there’s no common theme uniting the album. Does anybody care after all these years? They still make great pop. Although Yo La Tengo did not thematically link each song together, I’d like to propose one that makes sense for this album: calm. Each track on Popular Songs is calming and relaxing like a cup of tea. From “Here to Fall,” which sounds like a song straight out of the ‘90s Matador roster, to “If It’s True,” which sounds like Motown, each track is perfect to lie in a bathtub and listen to. Okay, all except for “And the Glitter is gone,” a 15-plusminute song with crashing drums and screaming guitars. This just goes to show you, you can’t try to put Yo La Tengo into a box. But if you had to, the box would be labeled “good.”

(MATADOR) - Evan Tokarz

DAVID BAZAN CURSE YOUR BRANCHES

FROM THE WEST

Clutch has always been a band that could make one hell of a solid ass record, and they have quite a few under their belts.

Strange Cousins ... however is not one of them.

It’s not bad by any means, but weak according to the standards they have set by previous releases.

I know, I know, (insert nasaly musical nerd/expert voice here): “they can’t make Elephant Riders over and over again, now can they”. No they can’t; I thought Exodus/Robot Hive was a fine album. This one does have it’s moments of greatness, but all in all, it’s a bland release, at least in my book. But hey, what do I know? Check it out for yourselves and let your inner musical expert evaluate. I’ll be in my room listening to Tegan and Sara. Ha ha, just kidding... or am I? (WEATHERMAKER MUSIC) - Jamie Stewart

FUN. AIM AND IGNITE Nate Ruess, formerly of The Format, formed the New York trio fun. in ’08 with Andrew Dost, previously of Anathallo, and Jack Antonoff of Steel Train. The band’s first release, Aim And Ignite, sounds like a whimsical pop parade filled with Coca-Cola commercial sing-alongs and “Bohemian Rhapsody”-style a cappella. The album’s theatrical elements can’t be ignored, and at some points throughout the album you might think you’re listening to an improved Panic!

At The Disco. Not everyone will love Ruess’ innocent, sometimes gospel-tinged vocals, but they are always delivered with the utmost level of conviction. “Be Calm,” the album’s opener, weaves its way through tempos and features everything from animated gypsy accordion/violin parts to triumphant peaks backed by a fairy-tale marching band. Aim and Ignite’s lyrics are nothing out of the ordinary, but if I was in NYC I’d probably be singing about the city streets and pretty girls too. The name says it all. fun.’s joyous debut is a thoughtful effort that would be great to break

36

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

This CD is sad and bitter all over. Before Bazan even kicks in with any vocals on first track “Hard To Be,” you may be covered in goosebumps and feel the weight of disappointment. Not because you’re disappointed with this album; the songs are as good as any Bazan has ever written, tuneful and pointed with crystal-clear, sometimes abrasive lyrics. The overall feel of Curse Your Branches is loss - of faith, of hope, of all things bright and beautiful. Known as a devout Christian for many years, Bazan became engulfed by doubt and turned to alcohol to anesthetize himself, flitting from Christianity to atheism and finally settling on agnosticism. These themes are explored in a brutal, rock-bottom kind of way. It’s depressing, frankly - like you should only listen to the album in a dark, dirty, cheap motel room with a bottle of whiskey at your side. It takes a brave man to brand himself with extreme beliefs only to publicly decry them after a ten-plus-year career recording those beliefs for musical posterity. Or some might say it’s cowardly - depends on who you ask.

(BARSUK) - Susie Ulrey

CASPIAN TERTIA Caspian’s new album has the potential for much more than it accomplishes. Tracks like “Mie” and “Vienna” show what that band could do, but instead we’re stuck with tracks like “La Cerva” and “Concrescence.” What’s wrong with the band? Nothing sets them apart from other postrock bands. They often sound like a feedbackier Explosions in the Sky, or like 65daysofstatic: full of guitar solos and churning power. If they noodled more, as they do on “Mie,” they would have their own sound, since “Mie” has elements rarely used by other post-rock bands. “Vienna,” despite being instrumental like all their tracks, has emotion and beauty. Lots of it. At their best, Caspian makes beautiful, epic tracks; at their worst, they’re generic post-rock.

(MAKE MY DAY) - Evan Tokarz

CHUCK RAGAN GOLD COUNTRY His second proper fulllength for Sideonedummy (though he’s got all sorts of live, one-off and assorted stuff out there) finds the Hot Water Music frontman in more expansive and ambitious style, though more in terms of feel than instrumentation. Gold Country remains driven by acoustic guitar and Americana influence; most tunes are augmented by at least a fiddle, and a handful feature fullband arrangements. It’s the spirit of the songs themselves that seems more developed this time around. Not content to recycle dark, ruminative three-chord punk-country tropes (excellent, heartfelt closer “Get Em All Home” aside), Ragan has fashioned a rollicking yet mature and mostly upbeat collection that evokes Springsteen, Celtic pub jams and even the populist prairie rock of John Cougar Mellencamp as readily as it does Hank Williams, Gram Parsons and the rest of the usual insurgent-country touchstones.

(SIDEONEDUMMY) - Portnoy Jones

BRENDAN BENSON my old, familiar friend Mr. Benson earned his stripes/rock cred with earlier solo records produced by whiz kid Jason Falkner and later on as a member of The Raconteurs with Jack White (who, incidentally, comes in a close second to Edgar Winter as the palest musician in the history of rock. Ever.).

This album is solid, but that’s not news. His three preceding albums also showcased his knack for strong power-pop laced with layers of harmonies and clever lyrics. Each album has several standout tracks (his most recent winners are tracks 1, 7 and 8), and the rest … ehhh. It’s not bad, but it’s not great. As a fan, it’s good to add to your collection.

Don’t expect to be blown away with every single song, but the three strongest tunes make it worth the purchase.

(ATO) - Susie Ulrey

GASLAMP KILLER MY TROUBLED MIND EP Originally pressed as an ultra-limited, handsigned 10” vinyl release, GLK’s My Troubled Mind was bumped into the digital universe courtesy of Flying Lotus’ Brain Feeder label earlier last month.

Known around the world for his wicked DJ sets (e.g. his Hella International 2009 set), GLK has shown some promising signs of evolving beyond the turntables and into a well-rounded producer on his latest release. The short EP format works well with regard to artists such as GLK who have a tremendous club-scene buzz. Though the total runtime may be lacking, the three out of seven tracks that are actually songs can be best labeled as re-grooved soundtrack music for Roger Corman movies, or other B horror films from the ‘50s and ‘60s. GLK develops an incredibly moody mindscape over a very short period of time; he successfully takes the listener on a trip through his house of 1,000 organ grinders and a carnival of theremin echoes, all backed by his lead-foot drum programming. As a forecast of things to come, the future-psych music displayed throughout My Troubled Mind is a great teaser dose to keep the diehards interested in upcoming releases.

(BRAIN FEEDER) - Bryan Covet

BOOK REVIEW SOAPBOX

BOOK OUR NOISE:

THE STORY OF MERGE RECORDS, THE INDIE LABEL THAT GOT BIG AND STAYED SMALL

BY JOHN COOK w/ MAC McCAUGHAN & LAURA BALANCE

T

old in oral history format, Our Noise reads like a latenight conversation between a really interesting group of people (bands from the label’s roster and indie contemporaries like Ian MacKaye and Jenny Toomey, to name a few). The kind of conversation where, at the end of the night, all that’s left is a coffee table littered with empty bottles, ashtrays full of cigarette butts and vague senses of accomplishment and entitlement - the self-righteous but well-deserved “I was there” mentality.

The story goes back to the very beginning, before the bombastic success of Arcade Fire elevated Merge beyond the solid, ever-present force in indie rock it was with a steady stream of releases that supplied enough coal to keep the train moving forward, to what it is now: an honest-to-goodness successful business model with office space, interns, a staff, and benefits for its employees.

How did they get here? It started with two: Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance. Armed with a love of music and not much else, Merge records started small. Vinyl 7-inches were a cheap, quick way to get music into the hands of the local scenesters and hopefully out to a bigger audience. As the case usually is with independent labels, it was also an opportunity to document the songs of McCaughan and Ballance’s own band Superchunk, formed in 1989.

There was little to no money to be made, and Balance often found herself running the label solo in the beginning while McCaughan was studying at NYC’s Columbia University.

Superchunk’s first single on Merge, “Slack Motherfucker,” caught the interest of Matador Records. Matador signed them to a three-record deal while McCaughan and Balance continued to release other titles on Merge. The subsequent success and popularity of Superchunk kept Merge afloat on more than one occasion, and the fact that Merge is owned and operated by members of Superchunk undoubtedly introduced a lot of the band’s fans to Merge artists. Matador couldn’t hold on to the band for long.

Even a bigger independent label was still in bed with politicking and bottomline focus; ultimately, Superchunk parted ways to find more success on their own label.

After delving into the early years, author Cook talks about some of the label’s more noted and critically acclaimed bands: tales of Butterglory, Lambchop, Neutral Milk Hotel, Magnetic Fields, Spoon and The Arcade Fire are interspersed between more in-depth chapters about Superchunk. The book would not be complete for rabid fans without the skinny on the fabled relationship between McCaughan and balance, including an entire chapter about their break-up and the rumors around Foolish, the 1993 full-length indie equivalent of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours.

Final chapters go into detail about the slower pace of the band since 2000 (their last major tour, booked in advance of September 11th and documented in the ’04 documentary Crowding Up Your Visual Field, was emotionally and physically draining with sparse turnouts thanks to the undercurrent of fear that 9/11 engendered) versus the overwhelming success of the label.

What makes this book a success story?

There are countless failed independent labels that faded into the ether after a few years or became swallowed up by bigger fish. How has Merge kept their doors open?Smart financial decisions, good distribution (first through Touch and Go and most recently through industry giant Alternative Distribution Alliance or ADA), and an ear for music. But the collective ears of Merge aren’t on the lookout for bands that would sell enough records to make soundscan overheat and shutdown - they seek out music that resonates with the listener and registers an emotional response. The six-plus pages listing Merge’s complete discography is proof of that. Congratulations on 20 years, Merge - your label is a benchmark of good taste and an example of how to run a business with integrity, and this book is a great way to celebrate.

(ALGONQUIN BOOKS) - Susie Ulrey

SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

37

SOAPBOX VIDEO GAME REVIEW

GAME WII SPORTS RESORT:

VIDEO GAMES - NOW WITH EXTRA SORENESS!

B

ecause reviewing a Wii game this month puts me at risk of tarnishing my street cred, allow me to explain myself: I am not a Wiitard, or a QWiiR, or whatever you want to call people who really like playing their Wii. Honestly, I’ve always sort of been against the thing. Call me a traditionalist or even an elitist, but video games as a physical activity is just not something I can get behind.

At almost 30 and suffering from a few of the negative side-effects of alcohol, my arms and legs tire easily and, fuck it, I like being lazy.

But since Wii Sports Resort and the new Wii MotionPlus controller add-on promise true 1:1 accuracy and “the most responsive and realistic experience possible,” I figured it was time to dust off that little white paperweight and put it through its paces.

Wii Sports Resort (essentially, Wii Sports 2) keeps the same concept as its Wii-bundled predecessor - a sporty party game that anyone can easily pick up and play. The difference this time, besides some new games and more depth, is the addition of the Wii MotionPlus controller accessory. It has gyros and other sensy-thingies inside, and it’s bundled with the game for $50 or sold on its own for $20. If you want to play with a friend - which is what you will want to do - you’ll need to buy both, so think of Resort as a $70 game.

Diversions this time around include twelve (up from the first game’s five) “resort-style” games. My two favorites were swordplay and Frisbee Golf. Sword fighting your friends (no, not like that!) is a lot of fun, and demonstrates pretty well the Wii MotionPlus’ enhanced capabilities. And Frisbee Golf, though easy to pick up, becomes a challenging and addictive affair that will have you working to get your score down. Two returning faves - bowling and golf - are each slightly better this time.

38

Golf has more holes, and bowling adds a “100-pin” bowling mode where instead of ten pins to crush you have, yeah, 100. Other games like table tennis, basketball, archery, and canoeing are all mostly enjoyable. And rounding out the bunch are jet-skiing, cycling, air sports and wakeboarding. This gives you a solid variety of games to stay busy with and most of these events have unlockable game modes and features that keep things fresh … for a few minutes more than the first game, anyway.

Overall, the games control pretty well with the MotionPlus accessory. But during a few competitions, you’ll wonder what that extra inch of controller is really doing, and where this extra precision is that is supposed to be improving your experience. Also, controller snafus happen from time to time, and you have to hit down on the d-pad while playing or sometimes even place your WiiMote flat on the table to recalibrate it - which is a bummer that shows the MotionPlus’ limitations. It’s during these moments that you’ll indeed think that, yes, you’ve wasted money again on a white piece of plastic.

Like the first game, Wii Sports Resort is all about playing with friends. If nothing else, it is a good excuse to fire up your Wii and get your waggle on with a handful of pals and a case or two of beer. And even though I hate the imminent motion-controlled gaming future, I admit to having a good time with Sports Resort. It’s not something that will be sucking hours from my life, or something I’ll stay up all night for without amphetamines, but there is fun to be had here.

REVIEWED ON NINTENDO WII - Trevor Roppolo

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

HANDS ON PRODUCT REVIEW SOAPBOX The Magic Hat brewers themselves say this beer makes people (MAGIC HAT BREWERY) confused, and I agree.

Is it a pale ale? Kinda; it isn't that bitter, but it definitely has the aroma.

Is it a fruit beer? Not really, but it does have an apricot-ish aftertaste and a lingering sweetness that overwhelms the hops. Is is spiced?

I think so, but I can't put my mouth around it enough to determine what it is. But that is part of the brew's appeal. It's a golden, summery brew that can't be defined, but gets points that it has a lower alcohol content, so you can get people that don't normally get into these sorts of brews to try a few out. Supposedly brewed by a bunch of longhaired mystics in the mountains of Vermont. Thanks to Jesse from Magic Hat for buying me and my pals enough rounds of this to make sure that we knew how to dance to Nervous Turkey.

MAGIC HAT NUMBER 9

Words: Shawn Kyle

Amplitube Fender Studio (IK MULTIMEDIA)

There is no more famous guitar and amplifier company than Fender, and IK Multimedia’s Amplitube software is the quintessential “virtual guitar rig” computer software, so this pairing makes perfect sense. Fender Studio is a light version of the software containing only four of the different well-known Fender amps, five different speaker cabinets, two mic options, two stomp-box effects and two rack effects. While this may pale in comparison to the mind-boggling 20,000 configurations in the full Amplitube version, less can be more - you still have the ability to get just about any sound combination you want for practicing or basic recording. Most importantly, included in the package is the new IK Stealth Plug: guitar cable jack on one end, USB plug on the other, and a small arrowhead shaped audio interface/converter in the middle that’s just big enough to house volume buttons and a headphone jack. This is the perfect portable laptop practice rig, and with a street price of $139, I haven’t seen a more simple, useful, compact and practical virtual guitar rig bundle than this one.

Tested in the REAX office when they thought I was demoing a guitar ikmultimedia.com/fenderstudio

Tested at the New World Brewery magichat.net

WMNF 88.5 FM

This NPR affiliate and completely independent radio station has been around since I was born, and has somehow weathered all the fiscal and (COMMUNITY RADIO) popular storms of economy and culture to be a steadfast and reliable radio station - the kind that no longer exists elsewhere. Yes, you have to know what time “your show” is going to be on, but all the DJ's are real people, the shows range from bluegrass to black metal, and the indie and college shows and afternoon americana shows are both phenomenal and cutting edge. Add this to the only place around you can find real news (like, not 'there's a cat stuck in a tree' kind of news, I mean real news, like 'surprise, you just sold your ass to the farm, and here is the proof' kind of news), and you have the only radio station in central Florida worth listening to and supporting. The best part: no commercial sponsors, so you know you aren't being lied to because there is no man-behind-the-curtain agenda aside from freedom, sense of community and individuality. They also throw some of the longestrunning annual parties around, attended by thousands of listeners supporters. Get involved. Fight the good fight.

Tested in the car and on the stereo wmnf.org

NIGHT TRAIN

Guitarists look at it and think, 'What? You expect me to play a gig with a lunchbox/toaster oven?' And that is what it looks like, and it only weighs in at 17 pounds.

(VOX AMPLIFICATION) But this is a 15 watt all-tube class A guitar amp. That means it's the loudest lunchbox you have ever heard. Of course I thought it would be funny to take this little thing and plug it into a huge Jimi Hendrix size Marshall Stack of speaker cabinets. And whoah, LOUD. Vox AC30 loud. People-runningacross-the-music-store-yelling-at-me loud. Guitar-salesmen-not-able-to-hear-whatthe-customers-are-saying-on-the-other-end-of-the-phone-on-the-other-side-of-thestore-because-I-am-playing-acid-rock loud. Cardboard-cutout-of-Kerry King-fallingover-and-bending-his-tattooed-head-in-half loud. For a street price of $499, you will be hard pressed to find a better sounding more portable all-tube guitar amp. Thanks to John Chase from VOX for being insane enough to let me turn this all the way up.

Tested at Sam Ash Music voxamps.com

HIPPIES

(CULTURAL PRODUCT)

Having just had a long reflection (read:intoxication) reminiscing the Woodstock 40th anniversary, upon sobering up I came to the realization that I was not there. Nope. That crap happened WAY before I was born. In fact, the '60s gave into the early '70s, that gave into the late '70s, and hippies are no more. Then why the hell are all the doctors and lawyers (or your parents) running around on the weekends, buying Harleys, wearing tie-dye shirts, hypocritically smoking pot and not telling you about it and listening to the Greatful Dead? And what about all the folks under 30 living in art communes, not bathing and putting a ton of effort into making their straight caucasian hair somehow get into dreads? I think I used to know the answer, but now I am not so sure ... oh no ... what if I have become The Man or a square for even wondering about it? Oh. Oh crap ... time to start listening to AOXOMOXOA and wearing sandals again ...

Tested at Skippers’ Smokehouse, and wherever a Phish cassette is playing.

SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

39

YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO TAMPA BAY HOTSPOTS: VENUES & BARS CROWBAR

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 well-known 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 2009, CZAR’s three rooms of goodness have a lot to offer music and vodka lovers alike.

PULP on Wednesday night is a must, see hipsters dance the night away in style.

Don’t forget the ice shots!

1420 E. 7th Ave., Ybor City czarybor.com

FUMA BELLA

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.

Everything from wood blocks to the new Roland V-Drum electric kits, without the annoying 8th-graders butchering Avenged Sevenfold over in the guitar section.

10101 E. Adamo Dr., Tampa 813.341.DRUM allpropercussion.com

THE DISC EXCHANGE

Open 25 Years! Here’s where to go to buy, sell, and trade your CDs, vinyl, and memorabilia. Always lots of new and used merchandise to dig through - All styles of music from punk to gospel!

Open Mon - Fri: 11 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Sat: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

6712 Central Ave. St.Pete FL 727.343.5845 madtiki.com

GIVE & TAKE

This Channel District bike shop and accessory/apparel boutique specializes in catering to the emerging fixed-gear cycling community, but is also just a cool place to hang out & talk all things biking.

101 N. 12th St. #101, Tampa 813.944.3136 shopgiveandtake.com

NEW WORLD BREWERY

Green Shift Music & Comics

Quirky but cool collision of guitars, amps and new, used and rare comics.

1313 E. 8th Ave., Ybor City myspace.com/newworldbrewery

5226 N. Nebraska Ave., Tampa 813.238.4177

THE ORPHEUM

Haslam’s Book Store

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

1902 Ave. Republica De Cuba, Ybor City 813.248.9500

Florida’s largest new-and-used book joint.

Plan to spend half the day browsing.

2025 Central Ave., St. Petersburg

MOJO BOOKS & MUSIC

THE PEGASUS LOUNGE

Used CDs and vinyl of course, but don’t forget about the amazingly huge selection of great used books. Located in the heart of USF country. Hit it up son!

10008 N. 30th St., Tampa pegasusniteclub.com

2558 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa 813.971.9717 mojotampa.com

THE RITZ

SEMINOLE MUSIC & SOUND

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

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

Another one of the very few music gear independents still in operation.

And they’ve been at it for 25 years.

1503 7th Ave., Ybor City theritzybor.com

10720 74th Ave. N., Suite F, Seminole 727.391.3892 seminolemusic.com

THE STATE THEATRE

STEVIE B’S TOTAL GUITAR

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

UPTOWN BAR

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

658 Central Ave., St. Petersburg 727.463.0567

EVENT SPOTLIGHT

ALL PRO PERCUSSION

1318 E 8th Ave., Ybor City 813.248.6130 A killer beer selection and eclectic, culture-friendly musical slate make this Ybor City bar-and-patio a local favorite.

40

HOTSPOTS: RETAIL

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

VINYL FEVER

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

4110 Henderson Blvd., Tampa 813.289.8399 vinylfevertampa.com

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

STILL

TRUSTWORTHY S o, Tampa Bay’s beloved and staunchly independent community radio station WMNF 88.5 FM turns 30 this month.

(Insert joke about the last time anybody under 30 set foot in the place here.) It’s been a crazy blur of Heatwaves, fund drives, tribute shows, alternative viewpoints, homegrown news, occasional long seconds of dead air and more. But most importantly, since its inception, WMNF has provided this community with not only a different and populist perspective on what media can be, but also tons and tons of music that might not ever be programmed anywhere else, including scads of worthwhile local tuneage.

Down Drag Out, Amanda Shires, Nervous Turkey, Amanda Crain and Paul Thorn. It’ll also see the reunion of late, lamented Bay area power-pop act Barely Pink, a set of energetic soul by the simply killer Legendary JC’s, reggae jams by Tribal Style and Ray Olan & The Jazz Ole Band, and more.

On Saturday, September 12, the 88.5 crew will take over Ybor City’s Ritz Theatre for a typically eclectic spate of performers and the celebration of its “Big 3-0.” The night will see Americana, folk, rockabilly and blues from the likes of Sarasota Slim, Have Gun, Will Travel, Knock

WMNF 88.5 FM’s “Big 3-0,” Saturday, September 12 @ The Ritz Theatre, Ybor City.

Tickets are $20 in advance; doors open at 6 p.m.

If you’ve ever picked up the phone and thrown down a little money during one of the station’s pledge drives, you owe it to yourself to come on out, enjoy a disparate bill, and meet the folks who’ve given all of us so many new songs (and hippie jokes) over the years. Maybe you could even tell ‘em thanks.

wmnf.org

album spotlight TIDES OF MAN EMPIRE THEORY (RISE RECORDS)

Most Tampa scenesters who’ve heard the name but not the band have also heard the Coheed & Cambria comparisons, and gone, “oh, well, I don’t need another one of those.” Actually, they do, because while the group’s Rise Records debut contains all the familiar prog/emo turgidity, technique and super-slick production one might expect, it’s also packed with a lot of hooks, earnestness, melody and character one might not. This is an all-ages prog album with heart, and its hefty themes are nicely balanced by superior songcraft and palpable emotion. The entire CD provides a nicely dynamic and cinematic flow, but you can also enjoy a few evocative tunes at a time without having to, you know, invest yourself wholly in the themes of the thing.

An impressive effort that’s sure to catch ears worldwide. - Scott Harrell

NOW OPEN 7 DAYS!

SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

41

YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO TAMPA BAY 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.

HOTSPOTS: LIFESTYLE BENTLEY SALON

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

3200 W. Hillsborough Ave., Tampa 813.876.4022

3228 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa 813.877.9801 myspace.com/bentleysalon

Cappy’s Pizza

RED LETTER 1

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 Ave., Tampa 813.238.1516 3200 W. Bay to Bay Blvd., Tampa 813.835.0785 2900 1st Ave. N., St. Petersburg 727.321.3020

Ceviche

Stylish and delicious, with surprisingly affordable Spanish-style tapas at both locations.

1502 S. Howard Ave., Tampa 813.250.0203 10 Beach Dr., St. Petersburg 727.209.2302 ceviche.com

El Taconazo (Taco Bus)

Mexican food made in a bus. Weird, mostly lunch-only hours, but indisputably awesome cheap and authentic eats.

913 E. Hillsborough Ave., Tampa 813.232.5889

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 813.425.3647

La Creperia Cafe

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 Ave., Ybor 813.248.9700

MELLOW MUSHROOM

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

Nicko’S

The last classic steel-exterior diner in the area, with the classic eclectic breakfast, lunch and dinner menu to match

4603 N. Florida Ave., Tampa 813.234.9301

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 p.m., Tuesday-Saturdaya... other hours available by appointment only.

1818 N 15th Street. Ybor City 813.241.2435

Skatepark of Tampa

The legendary home of the Tampa Pro and Am comps.

FRI SEPTEMBER 11 Enter The Haggis, Ted Lukas & The Misled Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $12/15 Time: 8 p.m.

Gasparilla International Film Festival Art Auction Ritz Theatre, Ybor City Cost: $10/15/18 Time: 7 p.m.

Have Gun, Will Travel, Matt Butcher, John Ralson, Mike Dunn & The Kings of New England New World Brewery, Ybor City Cost: $7 Time: 9 p.m.

Imperial Conquest, Earned In Blood, Dreadful Memories, Must Not Kill Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Mojo Gurus, Standback Ringside Cafe, St. Petersburg Time: 9:30 p.m.

Poison The Well State Theatre, St. Petersburg Time: 6 p.m.

SAT SEPTEMBER 12

4215 E. Columbus Dr., Tampa skateparkoftampa.com

A New Jeneration Art & Music Celebration Feat. Rebekah Pulley & The Reluctant Prophets The Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg Time: 6 p.m.

Tribeca Color Salon

Buffalo Strange & Friends Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $12 Time: 8 p.m.

Keeping Tampa beautiful, one head at a time. Watch for a new location opening soon in beautiful Ybor City!

920 W Kennedy Blvd 813.250.0208 www.tribecasalon.com

HOTSPOTS: WEARABLES REAX SPACE

What, you didn’t know that we’ve got our own boutique? Where’ve you been?

See, we’ve got a little bit of everything to fully accessorize yourself here, like our ever-growing selection of killer graphic t’s and one-of-a-kind dresses. Plus cool hand-made accessories, books, records, and more! Featuring local and national designers and artists, our shop is more than a clothing boutique. It’s a gallery space and a retail establishment and the REAX office, all rolled into one package of awesomeness. Come by and say hello!

1911 19th St., Ybor City 813.247.6975 reaxspace.com

Renown

A local Ybor City boutique that specializes in quality streetwear & sneaker brands from around the world.

1501 E. 9th Ave., Ybor City 813.200.7081

Sunshine Thrift

Always something cool to find here.

4304 S. Dale Mabry Hwy., Tampa 813.831.4377

Urban Outfitters You know the deal.

1600 E. 8th Ave., Centro Ybor, Ybor City 813.242.8472

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TAMPA BAY EVENTS

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

Drop D, Subnoxious, Cid Vorheez, Reality 02, Hood, Ohm, DJ Mathius Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Heroes & Heroines Art Party ARTpool, St. Petersburg Cost: $10 Time: 6 p.m.

Redmouth Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg Cost: $5 Time: 9:30 p.m.

The Sound of Awareness: A Benefit for Breast Cancer Feat. Amanda Drake & The Barnburners, Her Name Is Victory, Rebekah Pulley & The Reluctant Prophets Crowbar, Ybor City Cost: $10 Time: 8 p.m.

Vasti, Acho Brother, Chris Tolan, John Gold New World Brewery, Ybor City Time: 9 p.m.

WMNF Presents The Big 3-O Feat. Paul Thorn, Nervous Turkey, The Legendary JC’s, Have Gun, Will Travel, Samantha Crain & The Midnight Shivers, Barely Pink, Knock Down Drag Out, Sarasota Slim Ritz Theatre, Ybor City Cost: $20 Time: 6 p.m.

SUN SEPTEMBER 13 Antix, Raised By The Southern Seas Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Benefit for Children’s Cancer Center Feat. Patrick Foy & The Conch Critters, De Lei’ed Parrots Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $10 Time: 5 p.m.

MON SEPTEMBER 14 All Shall Perish, Born Of Osiris State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $15 Time: 7 p.m.

Ramsay Midwood, Ronny Elliott New World Brewery, Ybor City Cost: $5 Time: 9 p.m.

TUE SEPTEMBER 15 Shaun Hopper & Brian Spotts, Josh Higgins Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $5 Time: 8 p.m.

The Reverend Horton Heat Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg Time: 7 p.m.

SEPT. 2009 oh hell yeah

WED SEPTEMBER 16 Living Colour, Phantasm, Earl Brown’s Triple Threat Bourbon Street, New Port Richey Cost: $15/18 Time: 7:30 p.m.

Westbound Train, The Redliners,The Duppies Orpheum, Ybor City Cost: $10.50 Time: 7 p.m.

THU SEPTEMBER 17 On Carlton Row, The Commoners Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

FRI SEPTEMBER 18 Dive Bar Stalkers, Butch Ryan Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $7/10 Time: 8 p.m.

The Arwork of Mark Martinez Renown, Ybor City Time: 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Rock Solid Pressure Industry Showcase Pre-Party Feat. Hammerslug, Variance, Dirt Messiah, New Violation, Deshrived, Sobriety, Pulse 8, Hell Within State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $10 Time: 5 p.m.

Sara Hays, Autumn City, Alexander & The Grapes Orpheum, Ybor City Cost: $10 Time: 7 p.m.

The Tape Delay, Slow Claw, The Tenant New World Brewery, Ybor City Cost: $7 Time: 9 p.m.

The Human Condition, Colton McKenna Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin Cost: FREE Time: 9 p.m.

The Human Condition Limey’s, St. Petersburg Cost: FREE Time: 10 p.m.

SAT SEPTEMBER 19 Fast Taker, My Evil Side, Sins of the Father, Insubordinate Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Great White, Julliett, Thrown Alive Bourbon Street Nightclub, New Port Richey Cost: $18/25 Time: 8 p.m.

Halcyon, My Little Trotsky Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $12 Time: 8 p.m.

Joe Buck Yourself Emerald Bar, St. Petersburg Cost: $7 Time: 9:30 p.m.

J-Rock & Patty Rock Solid Pressure Industry Showcase Feat. Cosmic Mountain, Killer Without A Cause, Hangman Jury, Nine Mile Drive, Falling Awake, Situation Mine, Dirty Black Halo, Not Tonight Josephine, The Body Bags, Pushmower, More State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $15 Time: 12 p.m.

SUN SEPTEMBER 20 Irritable Tribe of Poets Feat. Ronny Elliott, Rebekah Pulley Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $10 Time: 5 p.m.

Mitchel Musso (IN-STORE) Daddy Kool Records, St. Petersburg Cost: FREE Time: 2 p.m.

Mitchel Musso State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $18/20/50 Time: 5 p.m.

TUE SEPTEMBER 22 Freight Train Annie’s Girlie Show #14 Feat. Morgan Burgess, Maggie Council Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $7 Time: 7:30 p.m.

A GUIDE TO TAMPA BAY YOU ARE HERE WED SEPTEMBER 23

THU OCTOBER 01

SAT OCTOBER 03

The Almost, This Providence, Anarbor, The Dares State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $14/16 Time: 7 p.m.

Between The Trees, Farewell Orpheum, Ybor City Time: 6:30 p.m.

THU SEPTEMBER 24

Third Eye Blind The Ritz Theatre, Ybor City Time: 7 p.m.

Andy Irvine Group, Middle Rhythm Session, Shaun Hopper Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $7/10 Time: 8 p.m.

JJ Grey & Mofro Ritz Theatre, Ybor City Time: 7 p.m.

Tom Goss, Mara Levi Eckerd College, St. Petersburg Cost: FREE Time: 8 p.m.

FRI SEPTEMBER 25 Cowboy Mouth State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $15 Time: 7 p.m.

FRI OCTOBER 02 Jimmy Thackery & The Drivers Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $12/15 Time: 8 p.m.

SUN OCTOBER 04 August Burns Red, Impending Doom, My Child, My Bride, Acacia State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $15/16 Time: 6 p.m.

The Killers, Chairlift USF Sun Dome, Tampa

GWAR, Job For A Cowboy, The Red Chord Ritz Theatre, Ybor City Cost: $19/22 Time: 7 p.m.

The Pixies’ Doolittle Performed Live Emerald Bar, St. Petersburg Time: 9 p.m.

Tinsley Ellis Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Time: 5 p.m.

Deshrived, Only Living Boy, The Commoners Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Mogul St. Reserve, The Matt Kurtz One, The Semis New World Brewery, Ybor City Cost: $7 Time: 9 p.m.

Skipper’s Smokehouse 29th Anniversary Feat. 3rd Stone, Pocket Change, Soul 2 Earth Cost: FREE Time: 8 p.m.

The Queers, The Leftovers, TA80 Orpheum, Ybor City Cost: $12 Time; 6 p.m.

SAT SEPTEMBER 26 Art After Dark: A Benefit for S.L.A.M. Magazine Ybor Art Studio, Ybor City Time: 6 p.m.

Lydia, PlayRadioPlay!

Orpheum, Ybor City Time: 7 p.m.

Simone, WD Han, Vicarious Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Swamp Logic The Hub, Tampa Time: 8 p.m.

WMNF Presents Come Together: A Tribute to Abbey Road, Yellow Submarine & The Beatles Feat. The Ditchflowers, Captain Obvious & The Duh! Patrol, Boon, The Chicken Chasers, Chorus Angelorum, Crabgrass Cowboys, Danny & Alex, Gumbo Boogie, Hat Trick Heroes, Revelations, Sons of Hippies, More Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $12/17 Time: 3 p.m.

SUN SEPTEMBER 27 Antix, Raised By The Southern Seas Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Blink-182, Fall Out Boy Ford Amphitheatre Every Time I Die, Bring Me The Horizon Ritz Theatre, Ybor City Time: 6 p.m.

Hat Trick Heroes, Male Order Brides, Ella Jet, Danny S & Alex Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $7 Time: 5 p.m.

MON SEPTEMBER 28 The Psychedelic Furs, Happy Mondays, Islands Ritz Theatre, Ybor City Time: 6:30 P.M.

TUE SEPTEMBER 29 Digital Leather Orpheum, Ybor City Time: 7 p.m.

The Sounds Ritz Theatre, Ybor City Time: 6:30 p.m.

Zak Deputy Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $7/10 Time: 8 p.m.

SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

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YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO ORLANDO & CENTRAL FLORIDA HOTSPOTS: VENUES & BARS THE AKA LOUNGE

DISCOUNT MUSIC CENTER

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

3301 Gardenia Ave., Orlando 407.423.4171 discountmusic.com

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

BACKBOOTH

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

BLACK BOX COLLECTIVE

IKEA

Cheap, fairly 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

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

2916 Corrine Dr., Orlando 407.447.PARK UCF Student Union, Orlando 407.282.1616 parkavecds.com

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

HARD ROCK LIVE

Big, stylish room where you’ll see up-andcoming 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

INDEPENDENT BAR

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

The Plaza Theatre

An eclectic community venue that’s been consistently ramping up its cool-show quotient over the last year.

435 N. Bumby Ave., Orlando theplazatheatre.com

THE SOCIAL

Pretty much Orlando’s default live indierock room, but they do more, too.

54 North Orange Ave., Orlando thesocial.org

Will’s Pub

One of O-Town’s favorite venues/hangouts. The new location opened up back in November, and is already making up for lost time. Good beer, good friends and good entertainment are the house rules.

1040 N. Mills Ave., Orlando myspace.com/willspub

EVENT SPOTLIGHT

DMC continues to hold off the big-box music-store chains, maybe because it’s so big its damn self.

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

CLUB FIRESTONE

44

HOTSPOTS: RETAIL

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

CHALLENGE!

ÜBERBOT

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

480 N. Orlando Ave., Winter Park 407.788.UBER uberbotonline.com

HOTSPOTS: EATS AUSTIN’S ORGANICS

Organic Fairtrade beans, a surprising array of light and vegetarian-friendly fare, and regular nighttime entertainment.

929 W. Fairbanks Ave., Winter Park

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

THE PITA PIT

Bridges the gap between fast and healthy.

Also, they’re open late.

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

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

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

Y

eah, yeah, we know. We hate on and mock battles of the bands, blah blah blah.

But this isn’t about six acts vying for a 9 a.m. slot on the Pete’s Dragon Stage at WhateverFest Brooksville, or winning the pointiest of the pointy new guitars. Orlando booking/promo concern PNR has teamed up with Fire & Iron and the Osceola County Fire Department to put on a month-long series of battles/shows, with the proceeds to benefit charities that include the Muscular Dystrophy Association, breast cancer foundation Libby’s Legacy, The Burn Foundation and Fire Fighters’ Christmas.

Starting September 10, four bands will play each Thursday night at Blue Max in Old Town Kissimmee - that’s Bike Night, dontcha know with judges selecting a band from each night to play at the finals October 8. The bands involved

will be given tickets to sell, with the order of appearance determined by the number of tickets sold by each act; each band much come up with at least $100 in ticket sales, or cover the difference as a donation to the charities. The group that kills it at the finals will get $1000.

At press time, the lineups have yet to be finalized, but we’re hoping you’ll be able to make it out no matter who’s on the bill, simply because this is an interesting test case, and the proceeds go to worthy charities having a hard time raising money in the current economic climate.

September 10, 17, 24 / October 1, 8 @ Blue Max, Old Town, 5770 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee. Doors @ 5:30 p.m., shows @ 7. myspace.com/six_star_ego

album spotlight SEAN MOORE & MIGUEL MIRANDA ROTOSCOPE REFLECTIONS (GONE & RECORDS)

Sean Moore is well-known in underground electronica circles for his various experimental projects, and this collaboration with former Dodger bandmate Miguel Miranda will likely be warmly received. It is warm, I gotta admit - like being submerged in a relaxing bath of manipulated sound. If you don’t have a book, however, baths can get boring, and so does Rotoscope Reflections. There are gorgeous moments in “A Plea of Fantasy,” “Fuzzy Brichezz” and elsewhere, but they’re surrounded by a hell of a lot of lazily swirling Eno-isms and droning tones; only later tracks like “Inner/Outer Conflict” meander from the CD’s innocuously liquid vibe. Moore and Miranda score points for their unique vision and persistent adherence to mood, but as far as pure front-to-back listenability, this one’s strictly for die-hard denizens of the gauzy land where the old ambient meets the new glitch. - Scott Harrell

A GUIDE TO ORLANDO & CENTRAL FLORIDA YOU ARE HERE

ORLANDO EVENTS SEPT. 2009 oh hell yeah

FRI SEPTEMBER 11 A Room Full Of Strangers Will’s Pub, Orlando Cost: $5 Time: 9 p.m.

Audio Element Central Station, Orlando Cost: $5/8 Time: 10 p.m.

SAT SEPTEMBER 12 Cotton Candy Cookies & Cream, Future on Films in Space, Garbo’s Daughter Will’s Pub, Orlando Cost: $5 Time: 9 p.m.

Takeout, Letters to Mantua, 2 Brothers Band Central Station, Orlando Cost: $5/8 Time: 10 p.m.

MON SEPTEMBER 14 Bughead Will’s Pub, Orlando Cost: FREE Time: 7 p.m.

WED SEPTEMBER 16 Immoral Fixation, The Manifest Content, The Soul Birds, The Manor The Social, Orlando Cost: $5/8 Time: 7 p.m.

Willie Heath Neal, Preacher Bill & The Prophets Will’s Pub, Orlando Cost: $6 Time: 9 p.m.

THU SEPTEMBER 17 Battle of the Bands Charity Fundraiser Feat. Rant Casey, Band of Brothers, Western Ninja Blue Max @ Old Town, Kissimme Cost: $5 Time: 6 p.m.

Led Hed (Led Zeppelin Tribute) Central Station, Orlando Cost: $5/8 Time: 9 p.m.

Slow Claw, The Tenant, The Pauses, Great Deceivers Will’s Pub, Orlando Cost: $6 Time: 9 p.m.

FRI SEPTEMBER 18 Emily Reo CD Release Party Feat. Dark Sea of Awareness, Levek, Fireflies Will’s Pub, Orlando Cost: $5-10 Time: 9 p.m.

SAT SEPTEMBER 19 SBGz, Good Morning Sunshine, Double Bind, Eli Black (LATE SHOW) Central Station, Orlando Cost: $5/8 Time: 10 p.m.

Us vs. Them for The Win, Arcade Assault (EARLY SHOW) Central Station, Orlando Cost: $5/8 Time: 6 p.m.

SUN SEPTEMBER 20 Box Elder, Hungry Gayze, Magic & The Johnsons Will’s Pub, Orlando Cost: $6 Time: 9 p.m.

Science Hill Central Station, Orlando Cost: $5/8 Time: 5 p.m.

MON SEPTEMBER 21 Maserati, Young Brother, Attached Hands, DJ Waxfang Will’s Pub, Orlando Cost: $8/10 Time: 7 p.m.

WED SEPTEMBER 23 Groove Stain, Paradise Daze Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

The Whitey Tighties, Lost Time Accident, Dance Hall Legend The Social, Orlando Cost: $5/8 Time: 7 p.m.

THU SEPTEMBER 24 Battle of the Bands Charity Fundraiser Feat. The Regulars, Vapid, Fall Victim Blue Max @ Old Town, Kissimmee Cost: $5 Time: 6 p.m.

Eek-A-Mouse Club Firestone, Orlando Cost: $15 adv. Time: 8 p.m.

Say When Central Station, Orlando Cost: $5/8 Time: 10 p.m.

The Independents Will’s Pub, Orlando Cost: $10 Time: 9 p.m.

FRI SEPTEMBER 25 Future on Films in Space, The Soft Opening, Lighthouse Music Will’s Pub, Orlando Cost: $5 Time: 9 p.m.

The Legend Like You, Tides Between Two Cities, Tremble Oh Earth Central Station, Orlando Cost: $5/8 Time: 6 p.m.

The Living Daylights, Ashes Over Eden, Stria, Camerae, Paul Shelton The Haven, Orlando Cost: $5/8 Time: 8 p.m.

SAT SEPTEMBER 26 FunkUs CD Release Party Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

Juliette Lewis & The Jicks, American Bang The Social, Orlando Odessa Mange, Gloriosa (LATE SHOW) Central Station, Orlando Cost: $5/8 Time: 10 p.m.

Of The Wreckage (EARLY SHOW) Central Station, Orlando Cost: $5/8 Time: 6 p.m.

SUN SEPTEMBER 27 Digital Leather Will’s Pub, Orlando Cost: $8 Time: 8 p.m.

MON SEPTEMBER 28 Garland Greene, Killah Kelz, Case Closed, Sophistafunk 19, Sef One, Not Them, Giano The Haven, Orlando Cost: $10 Time: 7 p.m.

TUE SEPTEMBER 29 Satyricon, Bleeding Through, Toxic Holocaust, Cthonic Club Firestone, Orlando Cost: $15 Time: 8 p.m.

WED SEPTEMBER 30 School Spirit, Andrey Smartz, Monstarr, The Manifest Content Will’s Pub, Orlando Cost: $5 Time: 9 p.m.

The Decemberists, Laura Viers & The Hall of Flames Hard Rock Live, Orlando Time: 7 p.m.

SAT OCTOBER 03 These Arms Are Snakes, MM/DD/YYYY Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

OCTOBER 4 AT 8PM TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10AM

Tickets available by calling the Hard Rock Live Box Office at (407) 351-LIVE Artist & Showtimes Subject to Change • No Cameras, No Backpacks, No Videos • HARDROCKLIVE.COM

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS AS ORLANDO’S PREMIER ENTERTAINMENT VENUE

SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

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8/28/09 3:29:41 PM

YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO GAINESVILLE HOTSPOTS: VENUES & BARS

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

1982

All-ages friendly live-music hangout.

919 W. University Ave., Gainesville myspace.com/1982_bar

THE ATLANTIC

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

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

COMMON GROUNDS

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

210 S.W. 2nd Ave., Ste. A, G-ville commongroundslive.com

SORRY,

THE KICKSTAND

This altruistic endeavor - more formally known as The Gainesville Community Bicycle Project - promotes responsible bicycle use and ownership while hosting the shows that help raise funds.

722 S. Main St., Gainesville thekickstand.org

HOTSPOTS: LIFESTYLE Fashion Exchange

This thrift/consignment store offers duds on the cheap for guys and girls.

2032 NW 6th St., Gainesville 352-271-1171 feconsignment.com

VAMPIRE!

J

ohn Ralston is one of underground American indie-pop’s most underrated purveyors. The Florida native first spawned a cult following with the band Legends of Rodeo in the early ‘00s, but spurned the emo scene he was beginning to become associated with, and never reached the hip status of some of his contemporaries. Which is a shame, because his intricate, timeless rock-meets-twang-meets-whatever-the-hellelse-he’s-feeling tunes make a lot of those now decidedly obsolete acts look like the shoddy trendmongers they were.

Ralston’s last full-length, ‘07’s unbelievably good Sorry Vampire. It’s a crazy mix of influences that recalls the best of smart, snide ‘80s Britpop yet still works some Springsteenian American truth in there.

Ironically, it was Vagrant Records that dipped its arm in obscurity up to the elbow to pull out

myspace.com/johnralston

Anyway, he’s playing at 1982 September 22.

Go see him, and pay tribute.

John Ralston w/ Mike Dunn, Paint Me Irrational, Mickey Kendall, Kyle Frasier @ 1982, Gainesville, Tuesday, September 22. $6, 9 p.m.

FREERIDE SURF SHOP

A surf shop in Gainesville? Yes indeed.

Named after the classic wave flick.

420 N.W. 13th St., Gainesville freeridesurfshop.com

MOTHER EARTH MARKET

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

MODERN AGE TOBACCO

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

1035 N.W. 76th Blvd., Gainesville 352.332.5100

RECYCLED BIKES Rent and roll.

805 W. University Ave., Gainesville 352.372.4890

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REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

album spotlight GREENLAND IS MELTING OUR HEARTS ARE GOLD...

(SELF-RELEASED)

You won’t hear a better roots-music album closer this year than “Blood On The Banjo,” the final track on Greenland Is Melting’s soulful, rollicking new full-length. In fact, you might not hear a better folk album come out of Florida in ‘09; this writer hasn’t yet, and in a state whose scene lately seems to be defined by talented punkers and indie rockers unplugging in droves, that’s saying something. Our Hearts Are Gold has an authenticity, a knowledge that southern Americana is as much about gospel as it is poverty and pain, that raises it head and shoulders above most of its ilk. We’ve been fortunate to see a lot of great acoustic guitar-toting musicians put out some killer music over the last several years down here in Florida, and Greenland Is Melting’s heartfelt, foot-stomping, wailing catharsis is up there with the best. - Scott Harrell

The CD release party for Greenland Is Melting’s Our Hearts Are Gold, Our Grass Is Blue is September 17 @ Gainesville’s Orange and Brew. myspace.com/greenlandismelting

A GUIDE TO GAINESVILLE YOU ARE HERE

G-VILLE EVENTS FRI SEPTEMBER 11 The Ones To Blame, Willie Heath Neal, Stevie D 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

The Used Kids, The Tim Version, The Tenement, Enablers The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 9:30 p.m.

SAT SEPTEMBER 12 Chicken Luv, Three Legged Dawg, The Damned Thing, Kathy Sohar 1982, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

Matt Butcher & The Revolvers, The Damn Wrights, Quadrophones Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $6 Time 9 p.m.

The Footlights CD Release Party w/ Dr. Chrome/Soul Bones, Plaxico Via Mexico The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 10 p.m.

TUE SEPTEMBER 15 Ars Phoenix, Nicole Miglis & The Jetttz, Plaxico Via Mexico Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $3 Time: 9 p.m.

The Chariot (ex-Norma Jean), Stella, Isabella, Flying Dutchmen 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

WED SEPTEMBER 16 Swamp Boy Slim, Big-Lo & Munkeez Strikin’ Matches, BrandonB 1982, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

THU SEPTEMBER 17 Amish Jihad, Hot Graves, Funks Inc. Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $3 Time: 9 p.m.

FRI SEPTEMBER 18

SEPT. 2009 oh hell yeah

Peelander-Z, The Future Now, Douglas Shields & The X Factor, Pilly Wete Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $6 Time: 9 p.m.

WED SEPTEMBER 23 Say When, Allie Wetzel Band, Jeff & Sacha 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

The Supervillains, The Duppies, The Crazy Carls, High Life Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $10 Time: 8 p.m.

Matt Kurtz One, The Abortionists, Hey Buddy, Walon Thornton & Heavy Hands 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

PERSONA VINTAGE CLOTHING & COSTUMES

FRI SEPTEMBER 25 Funkatron, Superphonic, Brother & Captain & King Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $6 Time: 9 p.m.

Redboy, Sarah Mac Band 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

Virgins, Lords, Grabass Charlestons The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 9:30 p.m.

Us Royalty, Queen of Spain 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

TUE SEPTEMBER 22 John Ralston, Mike Dunn, Paint Me Irrational, Ricky Kendall, Kyle Frazier 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

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.

201 S.E. 2nd Pl., Gainesville 352.372.0455

706 W. University Ave., Gainesville 352.378.2001 leonardos706.com

WOLFGANG

REGGAE SHACK

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

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

Building Rockets Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $5 Time: 9 p.m.

Mannequin Made, Charlie Hondericks, The Most, Lest She Speaks 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

Towers of Hanoi, Low Red Land, Wizzdumm, Telephonesons The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 9:30 p.m.

THU OCTOBER 01

MON SEPTEMBER 21

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

HOTSPOTS: EATS

SAT SEPTEMBER 26

SAT SEPTEMBER 19

Maserati, Owl of Minerva, Liquid Limbs The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 7 p.m.

GOODWILL INDUSTRIES

3520 S.W. 34th St., Gainesville 352.376.9041

Plaxico Via Mexico, Maida Vale, Andy Zipf 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

Love Always, The Collapse, The Armory 1982, Gainesville Time: 7 p.m.

15 S.W. 1st Ave., Gainesville 352.372.2262 americanapparel.net

Brantley Gilbert, Jess Franklin (Tishamingo) Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $8/10 Time: 9 p.m.

Big Sky (REUNION), Funks Inc. Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $12 Time: 9 p.m.

SUN SEPTEMBER 20

Derf. Aside from the newly opened Orlando 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.

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

WED SEPTEMBER 30

Slow Claw, The Tenant, The Pauses, The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 9:30 p.m.

AMERICAN APPAREL

THU SEPTEMBER 24

Babylonians, Kevin Batchelor & Cedric IM Brooks (Skatalites) The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 10 p.m.

Rock for Health Benefit Feat. Victory Blvd., Neighborhood Watch, Eric Throne, More 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

HOTSPOTS: WEARABLES

Islands, The Neighborhood Watch 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

FRI OCTOBER 02 Chris McCarty Common Grounds, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

Greenland Is Melting, Jon Gaunt, Coffee Project, Me & The Devil, Noman The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 9:30 p.m.

SAT OCTOBER 03 The Legendary JC’s Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $8 Time: 9 p.m.

SUN OCTOBER 04 Between The Trees, Farewell, Punchline, Action Item Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $12 Time: 6 p.m.

The Duppies, No More, Angry Banana, Shotgun Diplomacy, Angry Radar 1982, Gainesville Time: 6 p.m.

SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

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YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO JACKSONVILLE & NORTHEAST FLORIDA HOTSPOTS: VENUES & BARS Brewster’s Pit

Aqua East

14003 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville myspace.com/brewsterspit

696 Atlantic Blvd., Jacksonville Beach 904.246.2550 1850 A1A South, St.Augustine Beach 904.471.8070 aquaeast.com

Rock and metal shows galore, including national acts, usually at least a couple of times a month.

Club TSI

Hipsteriffic “indie disco” and venue that hosts hip-hop, touring bands, art exhibitions, and cool stuff in between.

333 East Bay St., Jacksonville clubtsi.com

The Florida Theatre

Originally opened as a movie theatre in 1927, and then restored in the 80’s, this historic downtown venue hosts concerts, classic movies, and special events.

128 E Forsyth Ave www.floridatheatre.com

Freebird Live

The area’s most well-known concert venue. Lots of touring acts and bigger local stuff.

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

Jack Rabbits

Another local legend of a spot geared toward original music, with an alwayseclectic slate featuring both local and national acts.

1528 Hendricks Ave., Jacksonville jackrabbitsonline.com

London Bridge Pub

A cool watering hole featuring 18 beers on tap and tasty British pub fare. Open mic on Thursdays, with more live entertainment coming.

100 East Adams St., Jacksonville 904.252.6900 londonbridgepubjax.com

Nobby’s Tavern

Nobby’s splits the difference between sports bar, live-music bar and plain old destination-for-serious-drinking-andhijinks bar.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

Everything skate, surf, swim, kayaking and awesome. Two locations!

Black Hive Tattoo

Flash-free! Hallelujah! A creative and talented shop, and owner Nick Wagner is on the Board of Directors of the FL Professional Tattoo Artists Guild: a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the tattoo industry in our state.

THE TAO

2063 Gilmore Street 904.475.1989 www.nicktattoo.com

Flat File Gallery

A brand new gallery in the 5 Points Theatre building that focuses on limited edition, affordable, local art.

1022 Park Street www.flat-filegallery.com

Flux studio/gallery

A contemporary art gallery/photography studio with emphasis on local artists.

Check their website for upcoming events and exhibitions.

1011 Park Street 904.355.7233 www.fluxjacksonville.com

Kona Skatepark

Did you know Jax is home to America’s longest-surviving skatepark? Surprise!

Kona’s been around since ‘77.

8739 Kona Ave., Jacksonville konaskatepark.com

Ms. Deborah’s Fountain of Youth

Well-known tattoo studio with a very talented staff.

78 Lemon Street, St. Augustine 904.825.0108 msdeborahtattoo.com

OF CLOUT

W

hen we first descended upon our new favorite market to the northeast, we were all like, “what’s cool here in Jacksonville besides all the awesome hip-hop?” And the people said, “Buff Clout,” and we made a mental note, and then we had a few hundred beers, and the mental note ran and we couldn’t read it anymore.

And a couple of months later, when we were hanging around some show at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, somebody said, “have you heard Buff Clout yet?”, and we were all like, “oh yeah, we were supposed to check them out,” and we made another mental note.

You can guess what happened.

Now, Emily lives up there, and she’s knee-deep in all the killer stuff going on, and she’s sending us e-mails and texts all the time about, “when are we going to do something with Buff Clout?

They’re great, and they’re gonna be going on tour soon so they won’t be around and we won’t be able to do anything on them until they’re back and everybody in the States already

Needful ThingZ

Shanty Town Pub

Tobacco, T’s, posters, stickers, patches, incense, oils, spikes and studs, Manic Panic, jewelry, funky gifts and novelties and much, much more. Special orders always welcome.

album spotlight

22 W. 6th St., Jacksonville myspace.com/shantytownpub

215 W. King St. Suite 3, St. Augustine 904.829.7101 myspace.com/needful_thingz

20WT

The Sinclair

Square One

myspace.com/nobbystavern 904.825.4959 Bar, live music and themed DJ nights, along w/ a cool outdoor area for hangin’.

Fancy with no dress code - fancy ‘cause the club is decorated like you should be smoking out of a Sherlock Holmes style pipe. Who doesn’t enjoy a good pipe?

100% skate since 2000. Plus, they have a rad skate team.

521 W Forsyth St., Jacksonville www.thesinclairjax.com

1019 S. 3rd St., Jacksonville Beach 904.241.7667 squareonejax.com

St. Augustine Amphitheatre

Zombie Bikes

1340 A1A South, St. Augustine staugamphitheatre.com

1520 N. Main St., Jacksonville myspace.com/zombiebikesjax

This large outdoor shed hosts everything from new jam and indie sounds to classic country and rock.

48

HOTSPOTS: LIFESTYLE

Bike shop/co-op dedicated to rehabbing old bikes, wild customization, and teaching folks how to take care of their own.

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

knows how killer they are.”

And we thought to ourselves, “when did Emily move to Jacksonville?”

No, but everybody’s right. Layered and spastic yet inherently melodic and fun rock duo Buff Clout is great. And the guys are laying plans to take over the U.S. during the upcoming fall months. There are several opportunities for Floridians to see ‘em before they take off, though, and while we don’t need to tell their hometown fans, we’ll tell everybody else - go check these two dudes out.

Buff Clout in Florida: September 11 – Shantytown Pub, Jacksonville September 14 – The Social, Orlando September 22 – Bar-B-Q Bar, Orlando October 9 – Shantytown Pub, Jacksonville Buff Clout is currently looking for help booking tour dates.

For more information, check out: myspace.com/buffclout

IN A TREE THERE IS A BIRD THAT SINGS (SELF-RELEASED)

By going to the opposite extremes of the two styles that define it, this Orange Park reggae/ metal outfit comes up with something truly original to defy the usual white-brah reggae-rock stereotypes. When they’re heavy, they’re freaking heavy, and when they’re working a dubby syncopated groove, they’re soulful and reverential of the genre’s roots. There’s a tightness here you don’t get from a lot of bands that call themselves reggae lovers, as well as an inherent melodicism that goes beyond stoned rumination or aping Bob Marley’s one-love slogans; a lot of thought obviously went into combining the groove and pummel without sounding jarring.

Sure, if you’re not a fan of groovecore or reggae, 20wt isn’t for you. But this is much more than your average trio of Sublime fans, and deserves kudos for it. - Scott Harrell

20wt is on tour in Florida throughout September and October. myspace.com/20wttwentyweight

SEPTEMBER 2009 REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE

49

YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO JACKSONVILLE & NE FLORIDA HOTSPOTS: EATS

NE FLA EVENTS

SEPT. 2009 oh hell yeah

SAT SEPTEMBER 12

THU SEPTEMBER 24

One-stop shopping for music-culture peripherals - shoes, shirts, tickets, tats and more.

BlackSnake, Cuttman Landshark Cafe, Jacksonville Beach Time: 9 p.m.

Brian Ernst One Man Band Landshark Cafe, Jacksonville Beach Time: 10 p.m.

1 King St., St. Augustine 904.829.2977

1034 Park St., Jacksonville 777 S. 3 rd St., Jacksonville myspace.com/carribbeanconnectionjax

Hollow Leg, Dead Southern Bishop, Six Dead Horses, Lies of Autumn Doozer’s Pub, Jacksonville Time: 9 p.m.

The Queers, The Leftovers, TA80 Jack Rabbits, Jacksonvile Cost: $10/15 Time: 8 p.m.

Burrito Gallery

CD Connection

SUMFX-182 (Punk Covers) Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $8/10 Time: 8 p.m.

Victor Wooten & JD Blair Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $20

Willie Heath Neal, Amy Hendrickson, Longfellow Street Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $8/10 Time: 8 p.m.

FRI SEPTEMBER 25

A1A Ale House

Fresh seafood, and hell-yes hand-crafted beer at both bars. Enjoy an exclusive beverage created on the premises while taking in the view from the patio.

So much more than a burrito joint, with seafood, salads, music, and full liquor.

21 East Adams St., Jacksonville 904.598.2922

Café Eleven

Outstanding eats. Impressive beer/wine selection. Extraordinary music calendar.

What else could you possibly ask for?

501 A1A Bch Blvd., St. Aug. Beach

The Casbah Cafe

A favorite Avondale spot - go for a beer and a hookah, or to enjoy some tasty Mediterranean cuisine. Or maybe even for the weekly entertainment and belly dancing.

Carribbean Connection

If you claim to like music, you need to stop by. Over 4,000 s.f. of indie record store awesomeness + super friendly and knowledgeable staff = happy customers.

1908 3rd St Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250 904.246.0550

Riverside Arts Market

This ain’t your parents’ art walk. Includes bike valet parking, roving performers, intriguing snackage and locally grown produce.

Riverside Ave. under the I-95 overpass (904) 554-6865 www.riversideartsmarket.com

3228 Saint Johns Ave 904.981.9966 www.thecasbahcafe.com

Weird Wax

Grassroots Natural Market

2128 Atlantic Blvd., Jacksonville 904-399-3004 myspace.com/weirdwax

Smaller, yet super efficient market where you can shop for all things organic or grab a wrap, salad or smoothie. And feel good about it, because they are independently owned.

2007 Park Street, 5 Points 904.384.4474 1915 East West Parkway, Orange Park 904.541.0009 www.thegrassrootsmarket.com

Mellow Mushroom

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

9734 Deer Lake Ct 904.997.1955 1800 Towne Center Pkwy, Fleming Island 904.541.1999 1018-2 N. 3rd St Jax Beach

Ragland’s

Full menu, taproom and some eclectic music events on the patio.

1023 Park St., Jacksonville 904.598.527

Uptown Market

Super-fresh ingredients for breakfast, lunch or take-home deli action. Also, they cater.

1303 North Main St., Historic Springfield 904-355-0734

Walker’s Wine Bar

Called “Riverside’s newest hot spot” by EU, Walker’s is contemporary and swank, but still laid-back. Tapas, DJs and low-key live music complement the vintages.

2692 Post St., Jacksonville 904.894.7465

50

HOTSPOTS: RETAIL

New and used music, a huge, crazy and ever-changing selection of vinyl, and live events to boot.

HOTSPOTS: WEARABLES Anomaly

Five Points clothing shop specializing in introducing indie designers to the world.

1012 Park St., Jacksonville anomalyfivepoints.com

The Closet

From their site: “dedicated to consciously bringing our customers greener, one-ofa-kind, and unique choices; with many local designers and consignment.”

SUN SEPTEMBER 13 Slow Claw, The Tenant Eclipse, Jacksonville

MON SEPTEMBER 14 Battle for Planetfest 2009 Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $10 Time: 7 p.m.

TUE SEPTEMBER 15 She Wants Revenge, Kill Hannah, Paper Route Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $17

WED SEPTEMBER 16

Eek-A-Mouse Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $15/20 Time: 8 p.m.

Juliett Lewis, American Bang Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $17/20 Time: 8 p.m.

Whole Wheat Bread, What About Me, Whaleface Landshark Cafe, Jacksonville Beach Time: 10 p.m.

SAT SEPTEMBER 26 1984: A Tribute To Van Halen – The David Lee Roth Years Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $10/15 Time: 8 p.m.

Anchor Arms, Status Faux, FFN, Cutman, Dover Lane Doozer’s Pub, Jacksonville Time: 9 p.m.

Secondhand Serenade, Parachute Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $18

Digital Leather Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $8

THU SEPTEMBER 17

SUN SEPTEMBER 27

Dead Stars, Sara Haze, Christina Wagner, Billy Buchanan Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $8/10 Time: 8 p.m.

Islands Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $12/15 Time: 8 p.m.

FRI SEPTEMBER 18

MON SEPTEMBER 28

Mike Gordon (Phish) Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $20

Battle for Planetfest 2009 Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $10 Time: 7 p.m.

SAT SEPTEMBER 19

TUE SEPTEMBER 29

Hello Danger, Everlikeme, Dancell Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $8/10 Time: 8 p.m.

SUN SEPTEMBER 20 Cowboy Mouth Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $15 Time: 7 p.m.

The Decemberists, Laura Veirs, The Hall of Flames St. Augustine Amphitheatre, St. Augustine

WED SEPTEMBER 30 Battle for Planetfest 2009 Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $10 Time: 7 p.m.

THU OCTOBER 01

51 Cordova St., St Augustine 904.810.5699 myspace.com/theclosetconundrum

Regrets, Seraphim, Ripper, Dead Southern Bishop, Legacies, Galactoid Doozer’s Pub, Jacksonville Time: 9 p.m.

The Clothing Warehouse

MON SEPTEMBER 21

FRI OCTOBER 02

Battle for Planetfest 2009 Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $10 Time: 7 p.m.

Modern Day Escape, No Bragging Rights Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $8/10 Time: 8 p.m.

What started as an Atlanta vintage-fashion wholesaler has become a southeastern retail-franchise phenomenon.

1010 Park St., Jacksonville 904.356.5003

Edge City

A funky vibe and cutting-edge women’s fashions for more than 30 years.

1017 Park St., Jacksonville 904.353.9423

Wolfgang

A stylish boutique offering affordable name-brand fashionables for both sexes.

1038 Park St., Jacksonville myspace.com/wolfgangboutique

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

TUE SEPTEMBER 22 Luna Halo Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $8/10 Time: 8 p.m.

WED SEPTEMBER 23 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $20/25 Time: 8 p.m.

Death Do Us Part, Ends in Blood, SinGod Doozer’s Pub, Jacksonville Time: 9 p.m.

The Independents Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $8/10 Time: 8 p.m.

Zack Deputy Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $10/15 Time: 8 p.m.

SAT OCTOBER 03 Evergreen Terrace CD Release Party Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $12/15 Time: 7 p.m.

Stone Temple Pilots St. Augustine Amphitheatre, St. Augustine

SUN OCTOBER 04 Alan Jackson St. Augustine Amphitheatre, St. Augustine Shawn Fisher & The J.G.’s, American Aquarium Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $8/10 Time: 8 p.m.

YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO SOUTHHEAST FLORIDA

EVENT SPOTLIGHT

SE FLA EVENTS SEPT. 2009 oh hell yeah

FRI SEPTEMBER 11

THU SEPTEMBER 24

Project Pitchfork, Deviant UK, Flying 55 Respectable Street, West Palm Beach Time: 9 p.m.

Stampede Propaganda, Lake Worth Time: 9 p.m.

The State Of, Bonnie Riot Propaganda, Lake Worth Cost: $5

The Almost, This Providence, Anarbor, The Dares Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale Time: 7 p.m.

SAT SEPTEMBER 12 Charlie Pickett, Radiobagdhad, The Holy Terrors, The Crumbs, More Churchill’s, Miami Time: 9 p.m.

Future Classic Music Festival Feat. N.E.R.D., Awesome New Republic, Spam Allstars, Locos Por Juana, Afrobeta, Suenalo, Volumen Cero, Mayday, Artofficial, Jorge Moreno, The Hongs, Soniko, Jahfe, Modernage + More Soho Studios, Miami The Killing Floor, Alex Nelson Propaganda, Lake Worth Time: 9 p.m.

SUN SEPTEMBER 13

BEATS WITHOUT

BORDERS

W

ould you look at Southeast Florida just killing it with all kinds of eclectic festival action? A couple of weeks ago it was DubFest; this time around, Miami’s Future Classic Festival brings the spaceage beats, bilingual grooves and endless DJ sessions for an all-day, all-night shindig at Soho Studios.

In addition to perennial fave headliners N*E*R*D*, Spam Allstars, Awesome New Republic, and Locos Por Juana, you’ve got an astounding array of urban-, Latin-, Caribbeanand dance floor-informed performers: Afrobeta; Suenalo; Volumen Cero; Mayday (hell yes!); ArtOfficial; Jorge Moreno; The Hongs, Soniko; Elastic Bond; Fusik; Bachaco; Butta Verses; The Morning Flesh Project; Ketchy Shuby; Lex One; Cynic; DJ Danny

Daze; Contra; Tom LaRoc; Induce; DJ Elle; Aramis; DJ Pauer; Ray Milian; DJ Artime; Haviken Hayes; DJ Keen One; DJ DBJ; Stevie D; Pusher FM; DJ Mirage.

And that’s just who’s been announced so far.

There will also be skate demos, vendors and all the usual mayhem that accompanies any good music festival. Looks like this one’s trying to bridge the gap between club and fest culture, and more power to ‘em.

The Future Classic Festival takes place Saturday, September 12 @ Soho Studios, Miami Beach. Doors open at 4 p.m. Tix are $25 in advance, $70 for V.I.P. reservations. wanttickets.com/ futureclassicfestival

album spotlight TRISTAN CLOPET DUENDE EP

(SUSSEX RECORDINGS) The password for this month’s Florida CD reviews is “soulful.” And Miami singer-songwriter Tristan Clopet nails it, steeping his Adult Contemporary pop-rock in a sultry vibe and R&B swing without coming off as cheesy. Hip? Not hardly, unless you think of folks like Jakob Dylan and Duncan Sheik as hip. (Hint: They’re not.) But Clopet’s tunes are immaculately constructed and blue-eyed funky. A few of the guitar tones are a bit thin and digitally homebrewedsounding (check out “Let It Go”), which definitely takes away from a style that depends on big, mainstream production. Tracks like “Your Love Is A Drug,” “Flowers In Bloom” and “Concrete Dreams,” however, are head and shoulders above what you usually expect from this genre.

- Scott Harrell

52

REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009

Bruce Springsteen BankAtlantic Center, Miami

MON SEPTEMBER 14 Reverend Horton Heat, Truckstop Coffee, Johnny Sexfuk & The Fleshrockets Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale Time: 7:30 p.m.

TUE SEPTEMBER 15 Die Stinkin’ Propaganda, Lake Worth Time: 9 p.m.

WED SEPTEMBER 16 She Wants Revenge, Kill Hannah Revolution Live, Ft. Lauderdale Time: 6:30 p.m.

THU SEPTEMBER 17 OPS, Flees, The Panix, Brain Damage, Baker Acted Churchill’s, Miami Time: 9 p.m.

Spred The Dub Propaganda, Lake Worth Time: 9 p.m.

FRI SEPTEMBER 18 Bowling For Soup Revolution Live, Ft. Lauderdale Time: 6:30 p.m.

Imperative Reaction, Psyclon Nine Respectable Street, West Palm Beach Time: 9 p.m.

The People Upstairs Propaganda, Lake Worth Time: 9 p.m.

FRI SEPTEMBER 25 The Beauvilles, Noble Rocket, King Bee Propaganda, Lake Worth Time: 9 p.m.

Howitzer, Murderous Rampage Churchill’s, Miami Time: 9 p.m.t Victor Wooten, JD Blair Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale Time: 8 p.m.

SAT SEPTEMBER 26 Eek-A-Mouse Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale Time: 8 p.m.

The Queers, The Leftovers, TA80, The Clockouts Respectable Street, West Palm Beach Time: 9 p.m.

Tongues of the Heartworm, Murderous Rampage Propaganda, Lake Worth Time: 9 p.m.

SUN SEPTEMBER 27 Juliette Lewis, The Ettes Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale Time: 7:30 p.m.

MON SEPTEMBER 28 Digital Leather, Kill Miss Pretty, TV Kills Kids Propaganda, Lake Worth Time: 9 p.m.

TUE SEPTEMBER 29 The Psychedelic Furs, Happy Mondays, Islands Revolution Live, Ft. Lauderdale Time: 7 p.m.

WED SEPTEMBER 30 The Sounds, Foxy Shazam Revolution Live, Ft. Lauderdale Time: 8 p.m.

FRI OCTOBER 02 Sosos, Grass Is Dead Propaganda, Lake Worth Time: 9 p.m.

SAT OCTOBER 03

SAT SEPTEMBER 19

Akon Mizner Park Amphitheatre, Miami

Article 66, Need Be Freed, Seraphum, Space Hippie, A Beautiful Cage, Leading the Heroes, Ass Piss, Rosborough Churchill’s, Miami Time: 9 p.m.

Paula Cole Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Ft. Lauderdale Time: 9 p.m.

Mitchel Musso Revolution Live, Ft. Lauderdale Time: 5:30 p.m.

Spam Allstars Propaganda, Lake Worth Time: 9 p.m.

Summer Blanket, The Notary, Noble Rocket Respectable Street, West Palm Beach Time: 9 p.m.

The Supervillains Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale Time: 7:30 p.m.

The Killers, Chairlift American Airlines Arena, Miami Viva Le Vox CD Release Carnivale Feat. Dirty Fist, Faux Town Fever, The Modernesque Burlesque Troupe Propaganda, Lake Worth Time: 9 p.m.

TUE OCTOBER 06 Dance Gavin Dance, Emarosa, Of Mice and Men, Tides of Man, Of Machines Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale Time: 7:30 p.m.

thxmgmt

www.thxmgmtlive.com

sept. - nov. ‘09

upcomingevents

sat. - sEPt. 12, 2009

tHU. - OCt. 01, 2009

w/ Acho Brother, John Gold, Guests

w/ Greenland Is Melting, Jon Gaunt, Me and the Devil

Vasti

9pm | $6 | 21 & Up

@ New World Brewery

Rebekah Pulley

fri. - OCt. 30, 2009

9pm | $7 | 21 & Up

w/ Cinemechanica, The Tape Delay, Guests

@ New World Brewery

Thx Mgmt & GMEQCA Presents:

sat. - OCt 03, 2009

CRANK IT TEEN’S NIGHT

w/ Royal Bangs, Mouse Fire, DJ Colonic

fri. - sEPt. 18, 2009

SPECIAL ALL AGES TALENT SHOW 6pm | $10 | All Ages!

@ Crowbar

Tigercity

9pm | $7 | 21 & Up

@ New World Brewery

So Many Dynamos 9pm | $7 | 18 & Up

@ Crowbar

fri. - nOv. 19, 2009

Tribal Style

w/ The Hip Abduction, Guests 9pm | $7 | 21 & Up

@ New World Brewery

sat. - sEPt. 19, 2009

mOn. - OCt 05, 2009

Truckstop Coffee

Thievery Corporation OFFICIAL AFTER-PARTY

9pm | $6 | 21 & Up

11pm - 5am | $ Reduced entry w/ wristband/ticket stub

w/ Gentlemen Please, Old North East, Solia Tera

@ New World Brewery

w/ Ancient Astronauts, Dr. Um, Mr. Marley, Mike Blenda + Guests

@ The Roosevelt

1812 N. 15th St. - Ybor City

fri. - nOv 20, 2009

Mustard Plug

w/ The Toasters, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Deal’s Gone Bad 8pm | $15 | All Ages!

@ Crowbar

every wednesday Da Cypher Hosted By Aych Open Mic, Live Performances & MC Battles 10pm | $5 | 18&Up

@ Crowbar

sat. - sEPt. 26, 2009

mOn. - OCt. 26, 2009

w/ Springfield Cubs, Hello Alaska, Arm the Poor

w/ The Old Ceremony, Guests

Crowbar

@ Czar

New World Brewery

Hero Of Our Time 9pm | $6 | 21 & Up

@ New World Brewery

Modern Skirts 9pm | $8 | All Ages!

1812 N 17th Street - Ybor City - 813.241.8600

1420 E. 7th Ave. - Ybor City - 813.247.6838

1313 8th Ave E. - Ybor City - 813.248.4969

website & pre-sale tickets: thxmgmtlive.com • myspace: myspace.com/thxmgmtlive twitter: twitter.com/thxmgmt • booking: joe@thxmgmtlive.com