Unplugged Magazine March 2014 (#15)

Unplugged March 2014

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Broken Voice Club INside: - Take a look at Pure Noise Records - Check out pictures from the Into it. over it. tour - missive’s Daryl Hudson is back in Backwards thinking - get to know the guys from cold cuts merch - Gatherer talks about their newest addition

Letter from the staff:

And it don’t stop (really it doesn’t)

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have a problem with one small sect of the general music community. They’re those people who really love ‘90s hiphop and will forever believe that the genre was perfected with the release of A Tribe Called Quest’s “The Low End Theory” and thus every hip-hop release since has been made in vain and should ultimately be burned in a massive bonfire.

I’ve heard many people say that emcees and the hip-hop records of today are a complete waste and have no place in a “respectable library.” I’m here to tell every single one of those people that they are incredibly wrong. So here’s your guide to not hating modern day hip-hop because there’s no way that “Ready to Die” cassette tape still sounds good.

Stay away from the radio. This should be a no-brainer, but a vast majority of the complaints I’ve heard about all of this have been made using 2 Chainz and Lil’ Wayne as examples.

If that’s what you’re basing your opinions on, then you’re doing it all wrong and need to stop putting “I Used to Love H.E.R.” as your Facebook status.

Stop taking what you hear at face value. Lyrics are more important to hip-hop than to any other genre. The problem is that so many people have been rapping for about 35 years. If you don’t want the genre to get stale, then let emcees create characters with their music. The days of “spit what you know” aren’t over, but it’s not all the genre has. Take Danny Brown as your prime example. If you think that every single one of his songs are 100 percent accurate and not him creating this underground, party icon-type persona, then you are incredibly trusting and probably believe that Photoshop is just used to slightly enhance the lighting for Maxim’s cover photo.

Lastly, lighten up. This is the most important idea here.

There are countless rap songs about taking drugs and partying. There are countless rock songs about taking drugs and partying. Stop getting so pissed off that “rappers only talk about popping Molly and money.” Life isn’t meant to be taken so seriously all the time and neither is music.

There, three easy steps and you’re done being pessimistic about the genre you love. To get mad about progression is just stupid. Music is meant to grow and change into its own and you’re meant to do the same thing as a person. So please stop saying hip-hop is dead. It’s just not what you want it to be, and that is very different.

– Daniel Romandia

Top 5 Albums On Repeat “The Chronic 2001” Dr. Dre

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“XXX” Dany Brown

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“I Wish My Brother George Was Here”

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Del Tha Funkee Homosapien

“Cavalcade” Milo

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“Plateau Vision” Lushlife

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Drop the needle again

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Bottom of the Hill

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gatherer

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staff picks

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Backwards thinking

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Cold Cuts Merch

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I Knew Josh Before He Got Famous

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Album reviews

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Editors in chief

Steven Condemarin alisha kirby

Writers

Jorden Hales Ashli jade Josh Jurss daniel Romandia

Copy editors

Through the eyes of Ashli Jade

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Behind the scenes

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My Scene, My Music

Robert Aguilar Megan Houchin

Photographers

Carlos Almanza Allen Dubnikov Jesika Gatdula Joseph William Garcia

Elmer Martinez

Contributors

Kendra beltran Andrea Caccese Eric Delgado

Contact us Feel free to head over to our website (sacunplugged.com) for more information on advertising, contributing and submissions.

Broken Voice Club

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From the magazine you’re reading now, to our online content, we’re expanding! @sacunplugged fb.com/sacunplugged

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ouble LPs are something I have a love-hate relationship with. On one hand, I typically enjoy longer albums more than their shorter, 30-minute counterparts. However, I can’t just throw on a record and lay down and relax; I have to get up to flip said album not once but three times (if you include switching the records – which I do). Talk about a firstworld problem, but as I said, these tend to be my favorite records to listen to.

Drop The Needle Again

by Alisha Kirby

La Dispute - "Somewhere At The Bottom Between Vega and Altair": Brown marble/500

The music here is fantastic – there’s not much to discuss there. What makes this record worth your money is how the music is presented to you. The gatefold is sturdy, which I’ve tested by accidentally dropping it while drunkenly trying to walk across a room with it, and the etching on the D-side of the album is pristine. This also happens to be my favorite design layout-wise by the band’s bassist and chief artist Adam Vass.

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A Great Big Pile of Leaves "Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex?": Clear Red & Clear Green/500

As much as I enjoy this band’s entire catalogue, this is my go-to listen when I feel like kicking back and shutting everything out (keep in mind I have all of their albums on vinyl). The pressing is clear and it’s obvious how much work went into every aspect of this record before it made it to my turntable. Very few of the records I own have Sinking Ship Records’ seal of approval but if this one example is any indication, they know what they’re doing.

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Into it. Over It.

Check out the whole photo set online @ sacunplugged.com

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Bottom of the hill san francisco, CA By: Elmer Martinez

A great big pile of leaves

figuring out the formula

Take a listen to “Caught Between a Rock and a Sad Place” on their facebook

New Jersey’s Gatherer adds another vocalist to the mix of their perfect sound Story by Daniel romandia

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aybe it’s the socio-economic standards of the state, or maybe it’s just the notoriously dreadful Northeastern weather that brings on the angst and anger that is apparent in the New Jersey music scene. Many current punk and hardcore bands call the Garden State home. It gets hard trying to diversify yourself and make it so that your music sticks out when you’re from Jersey, but the guys from Gatherer have figured out the formula.

“There are so many incredible bands making amazing music that it’s a super inspiring environment to be in,” said Adam Cichocki, who plays drums for the band, about being part of the Jersey scene.

Gatherer is made up of Gianmarco Felix Guerra-Coletti, Austin Lipinski, Cichocki, Matt Popowski and Rich Weinberger as their new vocalist.

“He’s warmed up to his position in the band very nicely,” said Cichocki. Weinberger easing in with his new bandmates isn’t

a surprise, seeing as how he used to be in a band with Cichocki and Popowski called Goodnight Bravado.

The guys are currently working on their next LP, which they have about half written. Cichocki will be handling the recording, mixing and possibly the mastering. “I am stoked for it because (the new album is) very exciting both musically and sonically,” he said. “We’re delving into a lot of new things and still maintaining the same crazy amount of energy we have always dished out. The dudes and I have been working really hard and we’re proud of what we’ve come up with.”

Until that new record is out, the guys have been planning to tour as much as possible this year. They have a small stint of shows with Storyteller on the East Coast and in Canada starting in April. Plans and desire to go on a full-U.S. tour are there, but nothing is set in stone just yet.

When talking about future tours comes the whole notion of merch. That’s where

some people may wonder about physical copies of the band’s full-length “Caught Between a Rock and a Sad Place.” Their debut EP “Postcards” was pressed for a vinyl release by Glass Nail Records, but not their LP. That’s because Glass Nail was forced to close down before the band got the chance to press “Sad Place.” Getting that on vinyl is a part of their future plans as well.

Gatherer has a lot planned and has already done plenty this year. Adding in another vocalist instead of replacing a vocalist is a completely different game when it comes to band chemistry. They aren’t worried about the change though. If anything, they’re excited.

“With both bringing a new singer into the band and growing together as musicians, we feel that we’re really starting to find our niche and are able to pump out great material that gets exactly what we want to get across out there,” said Cichocki.

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Albums as Musicals Through The Eyes of Ashli Jade

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’m sure that everyone remembers when Broadway director Michael Mayers transformed Green Day’s “American Idiot” album into an award-winning musical about a trio stuck between life as they know it in the suburbs and their wildest dreams. Some people loved it, some people hated it, others have only seen snippets on television where the cast was someone’s musical guest or maybe even a YouTube video or two. Regardless of our opinions (mine in particular), “American Idiot The Musical” is considered a success, henceforth I wasn’t surprised at all to discover that a small group of creative folk in New York were aiming to do something similar with the current four Panic! At The Disco albums.

Unlike Mayer’s project, “PANIC! The Musical” is not made up of an awardwinning crew; in fact, in an interview [http://www.alterthepress.com/2014/01/ atp-exclusive-panic-musical.html] with the project’s director and “creative mind,” the plot they described seemed like something pulled out of a fan-fiction. Of course it’s created a ton of buzz and there’s considerable support from fans; the Facebook page devoted to the show alludes that yes, there have been performances. Although as far

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as we can tell the show does not yet have the support of the band.

Fan-made musicals aren’t few and far between and albums are not the only pieces of work being turned into theatrical performances. “A Very Potter Musical” was so popular on the internet that it called for a sequel and contributed to the lead – Darren Criss –landing a role on “Glee.” This is a trend that doesn’t seem to be losing steam quickly. I expect to see more and more albums interpreted into plots and performed on Broadway, which leads me to the question: What’s next? Is Lea Michele going to be portraying a music journalist trying to survive an international tour with Franz Ferdinand? Is “The Black Parade” going to mean something other than a My Chemical Romance album? And more importantly: If this is the direction the albums of my youth, the songs that stir up nostalgic feelings like no other force on planet Earth, are headed in, am I going to like them? Are they going to be executed in such a way that makes them better and adds a new and exciting layer to the experience of listening to a band, or am I going to cringe and scream at my computer and angrily eat saltwater taffy while I stare at performances that will forever ruin

my experience? Side note: This happened while writing this column.

At the end of the day, it is somewhat amazing to me how art can influence and inspire the creation of more art. For that reason alone, I guess I support the idea of morphing a band’s discography into a musical production with the understanding that not all shows are going to be ones that I particularly like. Furthermore, it makes you wonder what other creative pieces certain albums have inspired or will in the future, and vice versa. Will I be reading novels inspired by The Civil Wars? A series on YouTube influenced by the works of Macklemore? A song about a painting seen in a hip coffee shop? A concept album about a musical about a different album that is also a concept album about a movie that was inspired by The Format’s “Dog Problems”? I’ll give you a minute to wrap your head around that last one.

As long as the artist supports what is happening and how the music is being interpreted and portrayed, I think it’s something worth experimenting with.

Sincerely, Ashli Jade

PURE NOISE RECORDS Let’s get everyone on the same page with a quick crash course in Berkeley, Calif.’s Pure Noise Records: This month marks the label’s fifth anniversary. If you’ve seen the name Pure Noise tied to anything, it’s most likely been with some of their breakout bands such as The Story So Far, Handguns, The American Scene or State Champs. The label has had a hand in releasing nearly 45 records so far.

Now that we’re all caught up there is one more thing to note.

It’s a lot of work running a label, and it takes some delegation.

“As a label it’s our job to market and distribute the records,” said Jake Round, the owner of Pure Noise. “There is a lot that goes into that, but booking agents book tours, artists make album art and the bands make music. Often we help with putting the team together but we certainly don’t do it all. Everyone has a job but we all work together.”

It took a number of what some may consider odd or unwise choices to get the label up off the ground, including Round quitting a stable job to intern at Fat Wreck Chords.

“I was actually a high school teacher before I was an intern, as strange as that sounds,” he recounted. “I went from having a full-blown adult career to stuffing envelops. Fat was my hero label as a kid and as soon I got to help out there I knew I wanted music to be my life.”

The two career paths, teaching high school students and running a label, do have something in common though.

“Both involve a lot of patience and spending a lot of time with people younger than myself,” said Round.

He not only drew experience from his time interning and teaching but from the bands he’d been in as well.

“I was always the business guy in my bands, probably because I wasn’t a very good musician,” he said. “I wanted to contribute and the business part was always what I was best at.”

Now the focus is shifting to celebrating the five-year anniversary. There are plans for a “show/party” in Oakland, Calif.

March 21 and a SXSW showcase March 13, as well as the release of Elder Brother’s debut full-length “Heavy Head” two days before the showcase.

Those in attendance at any of those events are bound to see the work that goes into every aspect of putting things like these shows and showcases on. Yet as he mentioned before, not all the work is coming from Round, as work ethic is one of the major qualities he looks for in the bands he signs.

“I just have to like the band and feel like they’re working hard to grow,” he said. “I’m really proud of the fact that so many of our bands have stayed with us. I think it says something about the label and the bands alike.”

behind the scenes

Five years of Pure Noise: Jake Round takes a look back over the last few years running the Berkeley-based label Story by Alisha Kirby

Head Over to Pure Noise’s website to check out their amazing lineup of artists Photo by: Matt vincent

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My Scene, My Music

Kendra Beltran Los Angeles, CA Founder of Golden Mixtape goldenmixtape.com

Josh Jurss Chicago, IL Unplugged Mag. Staff Writer

@JoshJurss

Eric Delgado Abbeville, SC Contributing Writer blessyerheart.com

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If bands started creating new types of merch, what would be a top seller and why?

This was hard because I’m a hermit and rarely see what’s hip and happening, unless you count the couple annual trips to Hot Topic to get my niece’s birthday gifts.

So after I ventured out and about I drew the following conclusions as if this were a scientific experiment. In my head the only people who buy merch around here are purists, a.k.a. hipsters from Silver Lake to Portland, Ore. who NEED albums on vinyl and youths who’ll buy almost anything with a band’s name on it.

That being said, I’d say your best bet to move merch out in the West would be to press that music down on a good old-fashioned record – don’t forget to make it limited edition either: for the most part, West-side

folks live to be exclusive. As for everything else concerning the young people out there who don’t have a care in the world financially yet, pop culture references never get old, especially the ‘90s. When I was younger we went through this nostalgic ‘80s trip and now I’ve noticed kids today are doing the same with my beloved decade.

So, heads up! Stick your band’s name on crop tops with Fresh Prince and classic Nickelodeon. Those will likely garner you some action if you play your cards right.

Hell, once I was out on my own I didn’t buy merch for years until State Champs’ “Space Jam” tank – and I’m not even a fan, I just love Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan.

See? Lesson learned.

Here are just a couple of my many merch item ideas that bands I listen to should sell.

All products are one of a kind items that are guaranteed sellers. Here goes.

The Wonder Years should make pigeon feed. Kids would eat that up. That, or they could do wrestling outfits. Motion City Soundtrack should have some sort of Lego world that you can build and make your own, complete with the Taj Mahal, exploding BMX bikes, superheroes and autobot cops.

There would also be a character named Jimmy (who owns an Xbox) and a dinosaur.

Otherwise, they could just sell Pop Tarts. It would be good for Fireworks to actually sell fireworks. Preferably ones that explode in an array of majestic colors. In other news, Brand New could literally put their name on

anything and people would buy it. That goes for Blink-182 as well.

Now for a kind of legitimate, though unlikely, answer. I think that bands should sell/ serve hot chocolate to fans waiting outside in line to get into the venue. This is specifically geared towards larger bands and the bitter cold Midwest shows but, understandably, can be applied to other cold weather areas as well. I know Motion City Soundtrack was handing some out before the secret show they filmed for “Commit This To Memory” and I think that it is just a stellar idea; I commend any other bands that have previously done this as well. All in all though, I’d still rather have a Lego Motion City Soundtrack city.

Shows like “Duck Dynasty” and “Moonshiners” have made Southern stereotypical culture currently trendy. It is now desirable for men to hunt, rock a beard, have a beer gut and wear camouflage. Southern identity is in and metro sexuality is out like the Denver Broncos at this year’s Super Bowl. Secretly, I’m crossing my fingers hoping that A&E makes a show about 30-something-year-old dudes that still play video games, read comics and live out their lives akin to John Cusack in the movie “High Fidelity.” If that ever happens I’ll change my name to Strange Tamer, but for now I’ll just use the trendiness of Southern identity as an acceptable excuse for my beer gut and unshaven face.

For better or worse there is nothing more iconic in Southern culture than the Confeder-

ate flag. Sure, it may invoke memories of the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow Laws and the overall Civil Rights struggle, but it also represents The General Lee (“The Dukes of Hazzard”) and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The awesome cancels out the bad, right? Racism aside, there is one thing that Southerners of all shapes, sizes and colors hate more than others: homosexuals.

Just kidding. We hate Yankees. They buy up our land, complain when we shut down due to one inch of snow (sorry Atlanta) and view us all as a living episode of “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.” That said, the best Southern band merchandise is the type plastered with the rebel flag. Nothing says Southern pride and perplexes a Yankee more than rebel flags and band logos on condoms, match books and coffee coasters.

What did YOU say?

This is where we grab our favorite answers from Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr!

Taylor Arent @xsempiternal Sacramento, CA

If Vans and some band teamed up and put their album covers on the shoes, I think it would be a top seller because I already see a lot of teens buying white vans for instance and making them with different album artwork.

Top 5: Bands you’ll wish still made music

Staff picks

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very so often at social gatherings you might hear “I wish Blah and Blahs would make just one more album.” Eventually another guy wearing plaid pants, a white shirt, bow tie and suspenders will say something pretentious like “Oh, I knew Blah before he was famous. He was way better solo,” but I digress. Here are the top five bands you’ll wish still made music:

by steven condemarin 5. My Chemical Romance, 2001 - 2013

Kyle McGee @kmcgee91 Sacramento, CA

Bands should sell pilsner and shot glasses with the band name/logo. The fans would be reminded of the band every time they use it to get drunk (or to get some o.j.).

Audrey Nicole

I mean, let’s face it; this band has been off of most people’s radars since junior high, but the band will be releasing “May Death Never Stop You,” a best-of compilation, on March 24. The album will have their very last song “Fake Your Death.”

4. Armor For Sleep, 2001 - 2009 Because the emo-revival movement missed one of the better mid-2000s bands. The band’s final release was a five-track EP titled “The Way Out Is Broken” in 2008.

@auddrizzle Sacramento, CA

Hats. All guys wear hats. I personally know local band who have distributed some seasonal five panels and the feedback was killer.

3. Go Radio, 2007 - 2013 This Tallahassee, Fla. band was the baby of ex-Mayday Parade vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Jason Lancaster. The band announced their breakup on Oct. 6 and Lancaster’s desire to settle down with his family broke the hearts of fans everywhere. Good for him, though!

NEXT MONTH:

Which genre do you think needs a revival?

Hit us up on Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #myscenemymusic and we’ll publish our favorite answers in next month’s issue! @sacunplugged fb.com/sacunplugged

2. The Postal Service, 2001 - 2005 It seems like people go ape-shit over Ben Gibbard’s main project Death Cab For Cutie, but most forget about his other outlet. Although the trio only released one album, The Postal Service has been a popular topic when it comes to the possibility of new music. However, Gibbard announced via Twitter in November 2012 that there are “no plans” for a second album.

1. Rage Against the Machine, 1991 - 2000 This political-rock band has been dubbed many things in their initial nine-year run. Fans and critics alike have called them the “most influential band” and they’re not far off. This band paved the way for nu metal bands like Linkin Park, Korn and Slipknot.

RATM toured worldwide from 2007-2011 but never made new music under the name.

Broken Voice Club With the state of the music industry being what it is, independent bands have adapted, hopefully, to stay afloat when it comes to recording their music out-of-pocket while still paying bills and going about their daily lives. Here in Sacramento, a collective of bands have banded together (get it?) to form what they call the Broken Voice Club (BVC), which has evolved from a group of friends recording in a bedroom, to a band, to a record label.

I sat down with BVC members Cory Barringer (also of The Kelps) and Spencer Hoffman (Honyock) who explained what exactly BVC was, its origins and the club’s goals.

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Story by: Alisha Kirby // Photos by: Jesika Gatdula

Forming the band: Cory Barringer: It all started with my little brother, who������������ ’����������� s a fantastic recording engineer and musician in his own right, when he had the idea to get all of our friends in other bands together to do what he thought at the time was going to be an acoustic EP just for the fun of it. We were thinking as minimal as we could.

Then as it progressed we kept throwing on layer after layer and every time someone would volunteer a song, everyone would get so excited about it. We weren’t doing it with any intention to release anything; we weren’t showing anyone but ourselves Spencer Hoffman: It was like a sandbox for us to try out ideas that we weren’t quite able to do with our own material because I think we were probably taking ourselves too seriously at that point with our own bands. And it taught us that we could lighten up and be more experimental in coming up with our own material.

So it was like this genesis of creative inspiration and it was just a room filled with frontmen. We were all bouncing ideas off each other and it really was the first time, I think, a lot of us collaborated on that level and it really worked and it made us really close friends. It turned into a full-length album and we decided that it needed a name, so we borrowed one of the names of the tracks – “Broken Voices” – and it was just this silly thing I recorded on tape during the recording process.

Barringer: Yeah, we were just sitting on the bed in the room we recorded in … and it was goofy and we all laughed during the recording of it, because he’s just ad-libbing this stuff, but then when we heard it back we realized it actually echoed what we were trying to say without even knowing it. Every statement about music not needing to be this perfected, clean entity – there’s so much to be said for a broken voice.

BVC has a show on March 22 at Shine. Give them a listen and enjoy a night out!

The makeshift label: After the release of their debut as BVC (the band), “Being part 1,” Barringer moved in with Hoffman and the two kept BVC in the back of their minds. Though the focus was on their main bands, BVC played the occasional show and continued to slowly write material. It wasn’t until late 2013, when The Kelps recorded a pair of songs at Right Choice Studio, that the idea of releasing a split came about, and it took a status update on Facebook to push it into a “label” mentality.

Barringer: When we finished those two songs I pitched it to Spencer that we should do a split with Honyock – take the two songs we just did and Honyock would at some undecided point in the future record two songs and we’d release them together.

Not a set-in-stone plan, just something we talked about. Months later that idea was still kicking around on the furthest back burner and someone mentioned on Facebook that they were toying with the idea of starting a label. That’s what got the gears turning for me, and I mentioned to Spencer, “I think we should do this.” It seemed like the logi-

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cal thing, to make something for ourselves.

Hoffman: As it progressed we started using BVC as a means to promote shows between our bands. There was a group of three (bands) at that point that were really close, which was The Kelps, Honyock and Silver Spoons, and we all love our music so much that we decided to use it as a quasi production company. As it evolved into the idea of using it as a label, we just had this general feeling that it would work. There’s this passion for each other’s music that exponentially increases the amount of work put into our own projects when you have a group of friends working on it together.

Barringer: When I first started talking to Spencer about making it a reality and not just a hypothetical, it just immediately clicked with the concept of it not just being a label or just being a nice word we give it. Everything fell into place.

We wanted it to be very self-serving, in that all the bands contribute to it, so it builds as much as we want to allow it to build and we don������������������������������� ’������������������������������ t want it to be too overwhelming. We don’t even have our goals set that high. If we could put out a couple of really good, short-run releases every given year, we’re so happy. If we could put out 100 7-inches from this band we love, great. If we can break even and profit enough to make the next release, awesome.

Like BVC’s facebook to stay posted on shows, releases and more!

Inside the club house: So how does a band go about joining the club? Because of the nature of how the club works, which Barringer described as “quasi communist,” one doesn’t simply walk in and pay an entrance fee or learn the secret handshake.

Barringer: The club works on a showto-show basis. Say you’re a BVC band and you do a show, and lets say hypothetically you make $50. If you feel comfortable, give a little bit to the BVC fund. Say, put 10 bucks in there. It’s like a little piggy bank. And that goes directly to fund future releases, so the same thing goes with profit from (the first BVC album).

That’s why I say we’re not as inclined to involve strangers, even if we admire their music so much. With just the nature of how we put out releases, it’s on such a personal basis. We like the idea of us just helping each other because we can all support each other from all of our shows, so it facilitates every future release.

And everyone understands that it’s what you feel comfortable (with). It’s not a percentage thing like, “Oh, you made 80 dollars at this show? I guess you’ve got to give 50 to the club.” It’s what you feel comfortable (with), and knowing that it’s directly serving you, everyone’s more inclined to do that … we can put out so much more new material.

Hoffman: It’s interesting. It could be susceptible to mistakes, or people not giving their all to something and getting more than they’re putting in, but we all trust each other so much and we all communicate so well that it just doesn’t happen like that. And on project-toproject basis we’re able to take this larger group of people and devote it to releasing one band’s stuff. And once that band has released that, then it’s the next band’s project and we all release that. And that directly stems from the relationships that first started in that little bedroom, recording each one of our material.

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Artist spotlight

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SDRAWKCAB GNIKNIHT BACKWARDS BACKWARDS THINKING THINKING SDRAWKCAB GNIKNIHT

emember those kids in high school who were in maybe eight or nine different bands in the four years you were legally required to share a classroom with them? None of these projects went anywhere. In fact, most of them never made it to playing a single live show, but these kids’ enthusiasm was infectious enough that you’d listen to whatever crappy demo they had recorded on their phone.

Those kids have grown up, or some semblance of the term – they both have jobs – and their names are Daryl Hudson and Blair de Leon. Since graduating high school in ’09 Hudson has graced the cover of this magazine with his band Missive while de Leon has played in multiple bands, most recently as a guitarist/vocalist in the metal core act The Will, The Way. After years of throwing around the idea, the two have finally come together to start their own band: Backwards Thinking.

“We’ve been best friends since we were probably like 16 and we actually met because I was trying to get a band together back then,” said de Leon. “There were some other people in the band but Daryl and I really connected on music.

Plus we both loved doing stupid stuff like lawn-boarding down grass hills.”

This will be a change of scenery in a few aspects for de Leon who, despite having the vocal range for it, has never been a front man in any of his projects.

“Musically I’ve been off and on with a couple metal core bands but this is what I really want to do with music,” he said. “My favorite bands have always been Brand New and Circa Survive, but we’re going for a more raw, post-hardcore sound.”

The two have only recently begun writing and brainstorming for their upcoming record but according to de Leon, they are “hoping for summer to be big in terms of releasing music and playing shows,” with June as the target month to start getting music out to everyone.

And just like that the two pull out their phones; de Leon to show off various ideas for cover art he’s worked up in the past few days and Hudson to compare different riffs he recorded to his phone the night before. Luckily for everyone at the table, cell phone speakers aren’t nearly as awful as they were six years ago.

Story by Alisha Kirby

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Your order is ready

Coldcutsmerch.com has a huge selection. check it out for yourself!

the creativity and dedication behind Cold Cuts Merch Photo by: Shan Conwell

Story by Josh Jurss Chances are that if you’re a fan of pop punk or hardcore music, you’ve at some point perused the vast inventory of Cold Cuts Merch. The independent clothing company started in 2007 by musician John Bowes as a way to “cut out the middleman” for his band at the time. “I started printing for other bands immediately to advance my skills and help pay for the equipment,” explained Bowes. “It pretty much snowballed.”

Since then, the company has grown and expanded to feature one of the most impressive rosters of artists and some of the best and most unique band merchandise around. Case in point: “We once made plush toys for The Wonder Years.

That was possibly the coolest item we’ve done.”

Bowes worked without a name for the company until 2010 when he decided it was time to become a legitimate company.

Deciding on the name Cold Cuts from a nickname he was given, Bowes registered as an LLC. More importantly, the roster of

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bands for which Cold Cuts was producing merchandise was growing. “The roster just grew organically,” said Bowes. “Several of the bands that I work with I knew prior to starting the business relationship, so it was quite a simple process.”

Bands don’t always come in with designs and ideas ready for printing.

Cold Cuts helps them out by fleshing out designs and sometimes fishing for ideas themselves. Even when a band brings in work from designers, there are still rare occasions when a design will need to be fully reworked. Aside from apparel, the company also has a small section of the store devoted to physical copies of band’s records.

“I think it’s good to diversify the products available, even if it isn’t purchased often,” Bowes said. “The goal is to be a one-stop shop.”

The process of printing for the company has greatly changed over the years.

“Times were tough back then,” Bowes said about his first orders. “I used a very simple

4/1 manual press. It was not very good and didn’t have a registration system. I cured the shirts using a 16x16 flash and eventually a heat gun.”

It was a slow process to upgrade equipment with several styles of dryers and presses. As Bowes said, “Going from a very simple manual to a fully automatic setup does wonders … Needless to say, it’s been a great ride.”

The company now is “fully vertical,” meaning they do almost every step of the printing process in-house. This causes the company to require a very capable and reliable staff and Bowes knows it. “Making sure you have a solid staff is key to any business. Attention to detail is extremely important in every single department.”

As for the future of Cold Cuts, Bowes knows there are markets they haven’t even touched yet that are ripe for tapping into. Expect some of these to start making themselves known over the next couple years. “The world of screen printing is vast and we’ve barely scratched the surface.”

I Knew Josh Before He Got Famous 5 Reasons Why Vinyl Is Making a Comeback (And Why You Should Jump On The Bandwagon)

I

started collecting records several years ago and, as a fan of music, there isn’t a better addiction to acquire. Everything, from feeling the weight of a new 180gram LP in your hands to the crisp sound of a record being slid carefully from its sleeve to the portrait-sized album artwork you’re left with, makes perfect sense to me. There is truly something special about a needle first scratching the surface of an immaculate pressing of your favorite record. This is the way music is truly meant to be listened to.

It’s a comforting sight then that vinyl records are seeing some of their highest sales numbers in more than 20 years. If you have ever questioned the recent popularity of vinyl or wondered if it was time to invest in a record player yourself, I urge you to read some reasons why this physical form of music is on the rise.

1. Audiophiles: I’ve heard the claim that “vinyl just sounds better.” In short, the only reason vinyl records sound better is because the standard has become the digital mp3 file, which is one of the worst mediums for music; especially anything lower than a 320k mp3. Your mp3s are just compressed digital files created for the sake of convenience. Each groove on your record was (hopefully) carefully scrutinized so that it will produce the biggest bass sounds and truest tones of the instruments. It’s the warmth and added distortion on LPs

that make the sound more pleasing to the ear. Even more important to sound is the record player you’re using. Without a quality cartridge and turntable, your LP’s audio quality will suffer just as much. Fortunately, there are several turntables that provide high performance for a low price.

2. Aesthetics: Actually holding a piece of art in your hands is a true pleasure.

There’s always a satisfaction you get from buying something and receiving a tangible artifact to show for it. Vinyl records do that for music. Many records have outstanding cover art that goes underappreciated by many listeners. It’s commonplace for records to be on colored vinyl as well now.

Some claim it’s a slight sacrifice in quality, but watching a clear record with several colors splattered randomly on its surface spin ‘round on your player is always entertaining. The beauty of vinyl can be found in every aspect of the packaging and some artists take advantage of it, making their vinyl releases intricate pieces of art.

3. Record Stores: More LPs are being bought at independently owned record stores. These establishments bring people together for music, no matter what genre you’re into. They take people away from the comfort of their iTunes libraries and throw them into a musical melting pot.

Finding your favorite records or a rare first pressing at a record store is an unparal-

leled joy to a record collector and something I hope every collector experiences often.

4. Money: Collecting records is relatively inexpensive. Sure, rare records will be online for exorbitant amounts, but for the most part a record will run anywhere between $10 and $20. Most new records will also include a digital download code as well so you’ll be able to keep filling your iPod with the music you buy. You also have to buy the entire record, not just the singles, which has become commonplace with digital music.

5. Legacy: Records last a long time.

Digitally sharing music doesn’t take on the same meaning as physically giving away your music to another potential fan. It’s a form of music that allows itself to be resold, given away and shared in the best ways.

If you have ever given thought to joining the community of vinyl enthusiasts and addicts, consider jumping on the bandwagon now. It won’t ever be the standard medium for music releases ever again, but vinyl records aren’t dying off. Not anytime soon at least.

Cheers, Josh Jurss

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Album Reviews

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Daisyhead // Have Mercy

Elder Brother

Often times when popular bands break up or go on a hiatus, the band members want to continue their careers, so they start new bands or focus on the ongoing side projects.

Sometimes those new bands and side projects sound identical to what those members were working on before.

However, this is not the case when it comes to Los Angeles’ ††† (Crosses). ††† is the offspring of Deftones’ frontman Chino Moreno, Far’s guitarist Shaun Lopez and producer Chuck Doom. The L.A.-based trio have released two EPs since they started in 2011 and in September of last year the group signed with Sumerian Records to put out a third release, but delayed it until Feb. 11, 2014.

The trio’s first full-length album is self-titled and is 15 tracks long; though 10 of those tracks are from the previously released EP † (1) and EP †† (2).

Although this spectacular album has few new songs, the order of the music fits perfectly and the album flows just as nicely as their first two EPs. Overall this album is an amazing listen.

Most people might find it to be better as background music while others might find comfort in the slow and mellow tempo of the whole album.

Fun fact about the album: Every track has a “†” in it and the track “†” is pronounced “Cross.”

If you’ve known me for more than 10 minutes you know that Have Mercy is my favorite newer band. They released my favorite album of last year and I make it a point to let everyone who has ever owned an iPod know.

That being said, Daisyhead definitely held their own on their side of this split.

Their two contributions, “Dishonest” and “Wonder,” have excelled in doing their job of making me want to check out their future material.

Mind you, I found “Dishonest” fairly boring at first as it just seemed to drag on (it clocks in at nearly five minutes), but after a few listens the chorus finally caught me and I was hooked. Though it was the abrupt build of “Wonder” that kept me going back to their side of the EP. It’s longer than the opener, but it doesn’t feel like it as it goes through its own movements.

With Have Mercy there’s more of what I grew to love on “The Earth Pushed Back,” except with a different brand of sadness. Lines like “What if I was the problem the whole time?” (“Pete Rose and Babe Ruth”) or “Find someone that will make you love yourself as much as I loved you” (“Pawn Takes Rook”) are the next steps in grieving the loss of love, and vocalist/ guitarist Brian Swindle is almost at the point of acceptance here. This is a perfect marriage of a split EP and hopefully are good representations of what these bands have in store for the rest of the year.

More often than not the best side projects come about when a member of a band who isn’t the frontman creates an atmosphere where he or she can either take center stage or can work with someone who allows them to do something different. As far as I know there aren’t any statistics to support this claim, but I’m holding it as truth. In this case, Kevin Geyer (guitarist/vocalist of The Story So Far) and Dan Rose (vocalist/guitarist of Daybreaker), with some help from The American Scene’s Matthew and Charles Vincent, have created something pretty cool.

“Heavy Head” is an album I wish I’d had in high school. It’s easy to digest, but it’s not something I’d be embarrassed to say I listen to now. Almost every track is catchy (especially “Throw Me To The Wolves,” “Lightning Bug” and the acoustic “Who’s Gonna Carry You Home?”) but nothing comes off so cheesy you have to skip it. These guys have made it seem so simple to write a fun album to listen to that doesn’t make you feel like you should maybe keep your windows up so the people in the car next to you don’t judge your every attempt to avoid eye contact at the stoplight.

Each track stands out on its own merit, but the album definitely sounds best when enjoyed from front to back (no matter how enticing it will be to skip “A Slow Comfortable Deep Breath” – I hate this break but I can’t imagine listening to the album without it now). Pick it up when it comes out March 11.

By Steven Condemarin

By Alisha Kirby

By Alisha Kirby

††† (Crosses) “†††”

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“heavy head”

nt reviews throughout the month!

Joie de Vivre // Prawn It’s releases like this that keep me interested in split EPs. Typically, I feel as though most people (myself included) will listen to a split between two bands and quickly prefer one side or the other, then only play that side and forget the other even exists. That won’t be the case here.

Both Joie de Vivre and Prawn not only hold their own, but shine in their respective songs.

First: Joie de Vivre. They contributed three songs that pick up right where they left off with “We’re All Better Than This.”

However, subtle changes are written into each subsequent track that show the band is gaining a bigger sound. With “Martin Park” we’re reintroduced to Brandon Lutmer’s ever-fitting vocals, which sound just a bit more front and center, and the swelling trumpets we’ve grown to expect. “Good Morning Mr. Franklin” takes the twinkly guitars and, while it doesn’t throw them out the door, sets them gently on the porch in the tail end of the track to make room for a bigger, louder close.

Next comes Prawn. When I first heard “Why You Always Leave a Note” I didn’t care much for it. Not only has it grown on me, but when it’s followed by “Fracture” it becomes a welcome addition to one of my favorite band catalogues. It almost takes from the sound the band solidified with their last EP “Ships” while throwing in dashes of something new. Yet “Fracture” is where the band takes the title for best song on the split. It also happens to be where they most sound like Joie de Vivre. The strange part is that that’s why the split works. The songs from both bands not only build off each band’s separate sounds, but also come together to build off each other’s.

By Alisha Kirby

Modern Baseball

Album Reviews

The Hotelier

“You’re Gonna Miss it All”

“Home, Like Noplace Is There”

Part of me wants to believe that Modern Baseball chose that name because of all the baseball puns that can be made. They seem like the kind of guys who love inside jokes and the kind of wordplay your dad has been spewing out since you were 7. It definitely feels that way with their sophomore full-length “You’re Gonna Miss It All,” a record that tried hitting it out of the park but ended up only making it to second base.

Modern Baseball really tried to advance their sound and delve deeper into different genres. That’s something to appreciate about “YGMIA.” It doesn’t always work for them, unfortunately, and the band just ends up dropping the ball on parts of the album. The most apparent example being with the song “Notes.” They definitely tried to have this song feel more like some self-deprecating alt-country song rather than their usual lo-fi emo sound, but it isn’t done well. The track just ends up being dull and once the next track “Charlie Black” starts up, you’re left wondering where “Notes” actually fits into this album.

The rest of the album is more enjoyable. Although, it ends up feeling predictable. There are some bright spots on here, like the lead single “Your Graduation” or “Rock Bottom,” but most of it just doesn’t resonate the way it should.

Seriously, praise Modern Baseball for trying something fresh. They are a part of a scene where many feel it’s easy to grow stale. They experimented a little here, but it falls just a bit flat.

There’s something incredibly special about an album that brings out a harsh reaction from whoever is listening. It’s important to find music that truly shakes you up emotionally and physically. Those songs that make your heart hurt or your stomach drop or your hands shake are so necessary to have because they bring out the things other media, and even other music, can distract us from.

“Home, Like Noplace Is There” is a collection of nine songs that tend to center around themes including loss, mental illness, self harm, suicide and gender identity. Each word is delivered so purposefully and every meaning so intentionally that when vocalist/guitarist Christian Holden cries out every line in the last 1:45 of “Dendron” it grounds you.

And every riff, every snare hit and bass line; they don’t attempt to mask the despair in the lyrics behind fantastic tones and the perfect mixture of upbeat and forcefulness (though the music is perfectly fitting in each moment in its own right). Instead, they compliment lines like “I called in sick from your funeral/ Tradition of closure nearly felt impossible/ I should have never given you my word/ Not a cry not a sound/ Might have learned how to swim/ But never taught how to drown” (“Your Deep Rest”).

There’s something to take away from this album whether or not the themes speak to you directly. The Hotelier didn’t just turn over a new leaf when it came to the maturity in their music. They’ve planted a new tree completely and I for one can’t wait to watch it grow.

By Daniel Romandia

By Alisha Kirby

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Nude and True

Brave Season

featherweight

Check out the whole photo set online @ sacunplugged.com

The Naked Lounge (h st.)

Sacramento, CA By: Alisha Kirby