Cara Walton Photography
December ISSUE ELEVEN Edited by Mike Arellano and Iain Oldman
WORST WE Years ago in a December much like our own, a pivotal figure who dominated 20th century culture and inspired millions to search within to discover their own potential, challenge the preconceived notions of social expectations, and reach out to the strangers who inhabit this spinning rock with us to reach the common goal of human understanding, was snuffed out like a candle in the dark. That’s right, Pablo Noriega was killed. Oh, and I guess John Lennon, too. But that’s sort of the underlying point of December, isn’t it? No matter how much tinsel your alcoholic step-mother wants to suffocate your house in, you can always spin her around and force her to look outside into nature- and at all the dead trees.
EEK EVER Drink up the egg nog and celebrate the death of the year with us in style, people. If the total lack of sun gets you down, keep in the back of your mind that this is the season of Chronikkah, because if ounces and ounces of dank Yuletide greenery doesn’t get you through endless hours of Rudolph the Goddamned Red Nosed Reindeer, well shit, nothing will. This is the Worst Week Ever. All poetry, short stories and artwork are submitted by people that live here in the Harrisonburg area.
Danielle Campbell Photography
Elwood “Trip” Madison
Court Square Theater’s “24 Hour Project” Court Square Theater’s “24 Hour Project” is now accepting performance applications! The 24 Hour Project is a unique event that will take place from 5:00 pm, January 23rd until 5:00 PM, January 24th of 2015. Featuring music, film, drama, comedy, poetry, and interactive workshops, the event is a celebration of community and collaboration through a non-stop, 24-hour run of performances by artists both local and broad. All are encouraged to apply. For more information, visit www.valleyarts.org/24hourproject
Friday, December 5 “Caught in the Camera Eye” Photography by Cara Walton music by The Dogwood Tales, Mikey Frazier, Matty Carlock
Artful Dodger 5 PM Free Kick off the month of December in illustrious style, celebrating one of Harrisonburg’s brightest and moving artists. Frequent Worst Week Ever contributor Cara Walton hangs her photography on display at the Artful Dodger for First Fridays, and this is a gallery to go out of your way to see. Walton separates herself from the herd of wannabe photographers with extremely intimate subjects, focusing on the unseen and underappreciated. Aesthetically pleasing and never boring, she brings with her three great musical acts to brighten the mood at the Artful Dodger Cafe.
Saturday, December 6 First Ever Shenandoah Valley Photo Annual Shenandoah Valley Art Center, Waynesboro 6-8 PM Free
Skip on up to Waynesboro for their first annual Shenandoah Valley Photo Annual, celebrating the vibrant community and demographics of our sleepy corner of the world. Featuring works from Roger May and Paul Somers, and juried by Pat Jarrett, come out to the reception starting at 6 to appreciate the splendor of the Valley and meet the artists who have captured it.
Wednesday, December 10 Open Mic Comedy Night Artful Dodger 9 PM Free
New venue, same shitty jokes. Come out Wednesday, December 10th to laugh at and with the area’s best (ha!) comedians at the Artful Dodger, who were kind and naive enough to take us in. This is where you can observe brevity at its finest, people! And hey, if the cum and dildo jokes don’t make you laugh, then hopefully the $4 Jameson will. I mean, we’ve got something going for us, right?
Wednesday, December 10 Lobo Marino The Hot Spot (Waynesboro) 8 PM Free
One of Virginia’s truly unique musical artists and unparalleled in their far-outedness, Lobo Marino invade Waynesboro’s own awesome venue, the Hot Spot, on December 10th. A celebration of ancient Indian chant-music called kirtan, Lobo Marino somehow manages to avoid the pitfall of douchebag hippy tripe that makes your eyes roll involuntarily, and instead weave beautiful tapestries of honest-toGod spiritual movements that bend your perception of Eastern-inspired music played by white kids. The result is powerful. Go see them FOR FREE at the Hot Spot, starting at 8 PM.
Friday, December 12 Rocktown Food Release Party Visitor’s Center at the Hardesty Higgins House 6-8 PM Free Make it out to the Hardesty Higgins House on December 12th to celebrate the release of Harrisonburg’s own book for this town’s foodiesRocktown Food! This book is a 100-page commemoration to the area’s best local restaurants, chefs, farms, and everything in between (as long as it involves food). Local talents Kirsten Parmer, Brandy Somers, and Lynda Bostrom put together a Bible of Harrisonburg’s culinary treats, which I am way down with, so be sure you’re the first in line to pick up a copy and brag to your friends about where to buy the best rhubarb. Because if you don’t do that, I fucking will. (To pre-order, visit this link)
Friday, December 12 The Judy Chops, The Findells Clementine Cafe 8:30 PM $8 On December 12th Clementine puts on a display of the Valley’s best local folk talent, showcasing the explosive and darkly enticing fun of the Judy Chops. Joining them on the bill are the deeply intimate Findells from Staunton. This is a show sure to have someone’s grandpa stomping the floor, spilling his whiskey all over someone’s wasted girlfriend while the bartender frowns from a distance, and trust me, those are some good times you don’t want to miss.
Friday, December 12 Crab Action, Helgamite, Jon Byrne The Little Grill Collective 9:00 PM $4 A night of glass rattling good tunes fill the bill at the Little Grill Collective on Friday, December 12th. Harrisonburg’s favorite cock-rock glam stars Crab Action are a guaranteed lock for a good show. Seriously, these guys could all come down with MRSA on the day of a show and they would still kill it. Backing them up are the ultra-talented, exceedingly original Helgamite, cranking out loud blasts of doom/psychedelic/trance/prog/death/ whatever metal. Jon Byrne rounds out a solid night of music with his own unique brand of songs for the songwriter. If you miss any of these bands you’ll be all like, naw it’s cool, I just got off work anyways but in reality, it will HAUNT YOU until the day you die.
Wednesday, December 17 Open Mic Comedy Night The Hot Spot, Waynesboro 7 PM Free What a good month for comedy, eh? Head out to the Hot Spot in Waynesboro for a night of great comedy and improv games hosted by the very funny and filterless Kenn Edwards to catch sets from the gangly, awkward comics that deliver your pizzas and drink your booze. The crowds are always great and the bartenders are babes who will legitimately talk to you. Not bad, Waynesboro. Not bad.
Saturday, December 20 Bah Humbug Party Three Notch’d Brewing Co. Harrisonburg Taproom 5:00pm Free Officially the winner of Worst Week Ever’s BEST CHRISTMAS PARTY (ok, maybe a tad premature) Three Notch’d Brewing invites you out to preemptively get your holiday season off to a shitty, shitty start. Taking the White Elephant gift exchange and running with it, Harrisonburg’s beviest taproom is throwing a party for you to bring a terrible Christmas gift with you, and to take one home in return. Terrible gifts, terrible people, AWESOME beer. What more could you ask for? When you walk away from your aunt’s house with five pounds of discount tangerines, you can always say “Well, at least its better than my Three Notch’d gift”. Damn straight. Come out at 5 PM to kick off the holiday season the right way- heavily inebriated and disappointed.
Wednesday, December 31 New Year’s Eve with Bryan Elijah Smith & The Wild Heart Revival Clementine Cafe 9:30 PM $10 adv/$12 at door Ring in the New Year at Clementine Cafe with one of Harrisonburg’s most talented artists and the raucous party that follows him everywhere. We’ve been a huge fan of Bryan Elijah Smith dating back to his Albuquerque days and have seen him bust out some wild jams at house shows, so believe us when we tell you he’ll have you so swole for the New Year that every obscenely attractive person in the bar will have no option but to make out with you. Thank you, Bryan, and Happy New Year!
Caught in the Camera Eye First Friday with Cara Walton
For the past year, Worst Week Ever readers have had the obscene pleasure of having an extensive preview of Cara Zimmerman Walton’s upcoming show at the Artful Dodger. Walton has been one of the most frequent and consistent contributors to our magazine, and every month we’re simultaneously blown away by her work and torn that we can’t just, like, publish it all. Truly an individual artist, incomparable to her peers, Walton’s show is just one of two coming up this year. But this one is special because it’s also her birthday! So in addition to an entire cafe full of breathtaking photography, you also get cake and free music. Life is good, everyone. Cara Walton Photography
WWE: I hate to start off with a cliche question, but it has to be asked. How do you choose your subjects?
Walton: I guess it is also cliched to say, I photograph
what grabs my attention. I enjoy photographing things that are in a state of decay, or things that other people may not find beautiful. I also try to find different angles and perspectives. An image is a moment in time captured in pixels or in silver and plastic. I have a very visual memory. There are times when I look at my images and I can remember exactly what I was doing and what was going on in my life when that image was taken. I suppose I also choose my subjects based on how I’m feeling at the time. Taking pictures helps keep me sane.
WWE: In some of your shots, like the pictures of the
arcade machines or the keys on the typewriter, you find the most minute details to portray. Why do you choose to focus in on these particular shots, and not portray everything on a grand scale?
Walton: I like to find the details in things that people may
not notice. It’s fun to try different angles and perspectives and photograph the unexpected because it allows you to capture so many different aspects of objects that you may not see otherwise and help people appreciate the beauty of those items. There have been many times when I have gotten home and started going through my images to find things that are unexpected. I still get an emotional reaction when I capture something that I love.
WWE: How did the grant from the Arts Council of the Valley help you with your gallery?
Walton:
That grant was a lifesaver, it pretty much funded the December show and allowed me to include many more pieces than I would have been able to afford otherwise. When I applied for shows I 1) Never expected to get multiple shows in a year, especially two back to back and 2) Didn’t realize how expensive it would be.
WWE: There is a large breadth of locations present in
your art. Can you name some of the places you went to get your shots?
Walton: Harrisonburg- a lot of shots are [from] around
the downtown area. I love to grab my camera bag and walk downtown when I have time. Augusta County- especially the area around Mount Solon. I grew up there and my parents still live in the area. My show at the Arts Council of the Valley for August will feature images that are all from Augusta country and the area around where I grew up. The shots of the mill are Wallace Mill in Craigsville, Virginia.
All of the ocean and beach shots are from the Outer Banks of North Carolina where my family goes on vacation. I love Avalon pier. It’s like stepping into a time machine there. I love the old wood of the pier paired with all of the arcade and pinball machines.
WWE: Photography is an increasingly flooded market
nowadays, with digital work allowing almost anyone with a camera to post their art, though yours is clearly different and more composed. How have you been able to, or how would you like to separate yourself and your work from the rest of the pack?
Walton: I try to be creative in my compositions.
I also try to find beauty in the things that people would not typically find beautiful. I feel like my ability to compose shots has improved a lot over the past few years. I am constantly trying new things and seeking out new subjects. I think the creative drive helps to make my work different because it’s always striving to be better and more creative. I have also branched out recently and have shot a lot of images on film. With so many things being digital, the film shots have become almost a “new” art form in and of themselves. Shooting film also forces me to think a lot more about composing a shot because there’s a lot more at stake if you mess it up.
Cara Walton Photography
CALL TO WRITERS
word. A Juried Show Uniting Writing and Visual Art Opening Reception: Friday, February 6th, 2015 at 5-8pm Spitzer Art Center, 486 W. Market St., Harrisonburg, VA 1 Write an original poem or short prose piece (any style/subject) 2 Use any medium to display/frame/decorate your words, and/or the space around them. 3 $4 per entry/4 entries max 4 Drop off submissions at Spitzer Art Center on Sat, January 10th or 17th from 10am-2pm. 5 Beginners are encouraged to submit! Top three contributors will be headlining artists at Spitzer Art Center during Saturday, Feb. 14th at 10am. Winning contributors will be featured in Worst Week Ever, and will receive a professionally printed copy of the zine that they are featured in. Contact Angela M. Carter at info@angelacarterpoetry.com or Danielle Campbell at dncampbell83@gmail.com
Brandy Somers Photography
Brandy Somers Photography
(To pre-order, visit this link)
FIRST FRIDAY DEC 5TH *4-7 | Spitzer Art Center | Holiday Art Show & Sale: unique, hand-made gifts by local artists *5-8 | Arts Council of the Valley’s Darrin McHone Gallery | artVISION: City/County K-12 student show *5-7 | Clementine, Ruby’s Lounge | Basement Show: Artwork by Quillon Hall *5-8 | Oasis | Art for the Holidays: Gift Market/ Art Show with harpist Eve Watters *5-8 | Wilson Downtown Gallery @ Kline May | Our Viewpoints: paintings by Martha Mobley, Deborah Kay Nees & Nick Terry
*5-8 | Shabby Love | One Man Gathers What Another Man Spills: sawers and sanders, Bruce Rosenwasser & Brad Wroblewski, show their reclaimed treasures *5-8 | Larkin Arts | Wonderkitten: Adult-Child Portrait Show with live music by Jeff Gorman *5-8 | Artful Dodger | Caught in the Camera Eye: Photography by Cara Walton with live music by The Dogwood Tails, Mikey Frazier and Matty Carlock *5-7 | Downtown Wine and Gourmet | free tasting *5-8 | Three Notch’d Brewing | Ceramic works and live painting by Chad Coffman with grub by Mashita! *5-8 | Little Grill | Works by Ragan McManus
WORST WEEK EVER
Paul Somers and The Golden Pony We here at Worst Week Ever were immeasurably PUMPED to hear that Paul Somers and his rag-tag crew of Harrisonburg’s most driven artists are rehabilitating the space formerly known as the Blue Nile, opening up a brand new restaurant, and more importantly, a brand new venue. Somers has been actively involved in almost every form of cultural integrity in this town, fostering the artist in the most unsuspecting of townies, and is now bringing that drive and encouragement to the building that housed our hearts for so many years. Worst Week Ever shot Paul a few questions after he released his Indiegogo campaign (here) to help get his team open shop.
WWE: About how long after the Nile closed did you start getting your business model for the Golden Pony together?
Somers: On Day 2 of the Nile being closed I was at
Matchbox Realty trying to illuminate to them what I wanted to do and why I knew it would work. Obviously, my plan at that point was underdeveloped, but I got right to work on it. It was an incredibly fun time imagining all of what I thought would work and what I wanted to see in that space. I was working in the shadows, though. I decided to pretty much tell no one who wasn’t directly involved and that was a choice I made because this was not an easy win for me and I knew that. I wasn’t counting on anything and I didn’t want to feel like I let anyone down if this didn’t go my way. I felt like it was a pretty long shot and it was. It has been incredible to surprise people though; even people that are close friends of mine who had no idea- to see them find out for the first time and for them to see the idea at the point it is now. It’s awesome. I’ve received a lot of help as well though and to everyone who has pitched in or offered to, like Whitney Houston- I will always love you. Photo by Brandy Somers
WWE:
Before we get too far into questions here, I have to ask HOW HAS NO ONE DONE LATE NIGHT BREAKFAST BEFORE???? Best idea ever!
Somers: Late Night Breakfast Downtown is something
I’ve thought about for years. Its what the people want, even if they don’t know it. So many people leave the Downtown bars to drive across town to go to IHOP or Waffle House and we all know that’s not a good idea for many reasons. With us being right in Downtown, we can receive those people, give them a bangin’ breakfast and they won’t have to drive for at least another hour. The upstairs is going to be super fun to be in, too, and will totally be conducive to extending your night on the town into the wee hours of the morning with good friends.
Photo by Ross Figlerski
WWE: Any chance we can get a sneak peek as to what the menu might entail?
Somers:
A sneak peek on the menu is forthcoming. I do have fully developed menu but I’m trying to hold some cards and keep people’s attention as I progress through the process of becoming fully operational. Of course the menu will naturally undergo a few changes, but when I dropped off my business plan and proposal for the property I gave each of the realtors there an 11 by 17 menu printed front and back, and laminated. Elliott Downs did all the graphic design so you know it was incredibly [well done], and it was obvious that they were shocked I had so much breadth to my proposal, but I had my passion for the Nile and for culture and for music and for art and for Harrisonburg and more, driving me really hard these last 6 weeks. I worked so hard on all that stuff, but it has totally paid off for me.
WWE: With a revamped sound system in the basement
are you going to be looking to book the “next tier” of bands? Or, bands that may not have played the Blue Nile in the past?
Somers:
We are looking to make some changes downstairs for sure. Visually, it will look different, but not incredibly different. The soundproofing will improve the sound quality a great deal, but we will also be upgrading the soundboard, as well as some other small things. Jud, the drummer from Gifts From Enola, hit me up willing to donate some equipment and cables. That’s the response you get from people when you’re doing the right thing. You can never buy kindness from people, they have to choose to give it to you. I’ve been overwhelmed by peoples’ kindness, support, love and appreciation. I am picking up where we left off with the Nile, but I don’t plan on stopping there. My imagination chases potential and I plan on continuing to improve the downstairs space, the upstairs space, the kitchen, the patios, the sidewalk out front- everything I can in other words.
WWE: What are some things you know you can improve upon from your experience at the Blue Nile?
Somers: A lot of what I will be doing will simply be
different, so as to whether it is an improvement, that’s for people to decide for themselves. We will have a larger staff because we are expecting to serve a much higher volume of people. I loved The Blue Nile’s Ethiopian food but my intentions for the menu are much more consistent with the American palate. The aesthetic will be different when you walk in, but I think people are going to be blown away. We all know Elliott Downs can crush murals, and you can expect to see some of that upstairs and downstairs. It’s going to be really cozy and comfortable. It will be difficult to ever leave. Just imagine eating lunch there on a Friday, then returning with friends later that night, and next thing you know you’re sticking around for the Late Night Breakfast, THEN you wake up and want brunch. It’s going to happen like that- which is awesome.
WWE: Seriously though, how big of a party is it going to be on opening night?
Somers:
Opening night…yeah I’m scared. I won’t even front. It is going to be insane. I feel like the whole first month could be like the last weekend at the Nile, insanely and wonderfully busy. I believe we can maintain that magic and propel it forward into Harrisonburg’s future. I think we need that magic in our lives. I lost my job on October 19th when the Nile closed, but I hired myself on November 28th when I signed the lease and I know I have the best job in the world right now.
Click here to contribute
Cara Walton Photography
He had a gun and she said, “Please just don’t punch my face” and then he was behind her, the cold metal at the bottom of her back and with every thrust she felt the Franzia White Zin sloshing in her empty stomach and she wished she’d eaten more at the party but she didn’t want to be fat for her wedding tomorrow. When her new husband saw the bruises she lied and said, “Spinning class” and he said, “Honey, you don’t need to lose any weight -- you’re perfect” and then she was crying and when he asked, she lied: “I’m just so happy, baby--” lies never revealed, for it was too much work to tell the truth.
By Katie Mitchell
I spare a life, I am a merciful god I crush their homes, I am a vengeful god I bestow a feast, I am a benevolent god With a sigh I change the weather With a tear I create a flood With a step I snuff out life My presence turns day into night I am god for the ants
-Josh Shaheen
Cara Walton Photography
That Sweet Smell of Your Hair, Which Complements the Sea So Well At the bar, you and I sat over a plate of fried green tomatoes, preciously stacked, humourous for what amounts to just being deep fried vegetables. Fruits, you reminded me. We had so much to talk about, as we always have and, I hope, we always will. Our glasses of sixty minute sweat out their delights and I eavesdropped on the drunk mother trying to woo the young bartender’s cock out of his pants, right on the bar, she wished.
You said the bar was too nice for the beach. It looked it, you were right. Old life vests and marina rope were fixed onto the walls as we came in and left. You used the bathroom and while I was waiting I watched an old woman walk into the wrong room, and I laughed lightly when she exited, blushing, and I, having imagined she saw no man but a wall of urinals, an indictment in of itself, laughed more heartily. I think her husband was standing next to me the whole time, but I didn’t tell you about it. We left the parking lot, with boughs of reeds fighting the wind and surf, streetlights powdering up the rotten sand and the cement blunders holding Charleston together.
You slipped your hand into mine. You put your head on my shoulder and I breathed in that sweet smell of your hair which complements the sea so well. Your hand was in mine and we walked with the sounds of our shoes cracking against cobblestone and the waves pounding. Our own orchestra. Your hand was in mine and we walked. Now that I think of it, I’m sure that was the last time I held your hand.
-Iain Oldman Cara Walton Photography
River Walter - Sleeper Written by Jake Golibart
Jeff Gorman, the respected local musician most likely known as the vocalist and guitarist in the Harrisonburg band “Money Cannot Be Eaten,” just released a 2nd EP under the moniker River Walter. Gorman has been playing and recording material in Harrisonburg for a couple of years now in different houses and spaces. He is now setting up and growing a personal studio located in the Orange Chair Collective in Downtown Harrisonburg, where he just completed “Sleeper,” his 2nd solo project, an honest arrangement of warm and inviting tunes. Characterized by twangy guitars, intricate acoustic instrumentation, massive vocal harmonies, and honest lyrical imagery, this 5 song EP will weave you through countless different genres. It’s hard to pick out which is most prevalent. Is it americana, psychedelia, blues, indie, folk, or experimental? Gorman’s on-the-fly songwriting and song recording style create a very organic and attractive sound. You will find yourself
Click here to listen listening to the fuzzy rhythmic build at the end of “Revive Me O Lord” over and over again, as it sets up the stage for the warm, catchy and melodic fuzz that resonates in the heavy, fast-paced song “Sweetheart.” You won’t be able to stop listening to the EP after you hear the attractive cordial style and delicate sincere tone of the title track “Sleeper,” that closes out the album. These recordings are jam packed with incredible moments, like when the warm rhythm of the bass and drums first come in at the beginning of the first song, “I Gotta Take It (Just Ask).” The song starts building an unforgettable rhythm following this, leading into a roaring guitar solo that you will not forget. Gorman takes us through these different pockets of stories with these songs. The listener can really get a chance to partake in the story for each song. Whether Gorman describes a confusing conversation over a cup of coffee or riding a bike on a back road, the lyrics and vocal delivery tie the album together incredibly well. You will fall in love with the honest and charming tone of this EP. This EP really speaks towards Harrisonburg’s expanding and growing music scene, and the album is worth spending time with.
Fight Cloud/Houdan the Mystic Where’s My Shakespeare split tape
Written by Iain Oldman
I first saw Fight Cloud in a room dominated by cigarette smoke and hash haze, with barely-legal freshman buzzing around me in clothes I didn’t understand. While this situation would usually instill in me the mortal fear of decaying into an esoteric relic, misunderstood and forgotten, my anxieties were promptly dissolved into the thick grace of the air, carried by the sultry, velvety tones of the young Richmond outfit. Fight Cloud has released a track from their new split tape with fellow RVA psych-indie revivalists Houdan the Mystic, and damn if it’s not great. Expect the same, more or less, from what you’ve heard and hoped to keep hearing from Fight Cloud, though the band has matured and rounded out in the best ways possible. The vocals are laid back and seem to drift in and out of the guitar harmonies. “Kevin” opens with post-core inspired mathy riffs that simultaneously keep a steady beat and keep your
Click here to listen fingers scratching for a tempo. It’s a confusing, wonderful place to be. The song becomes more laid back, cementing into structure and harmony. This band has places to go, and Where’s My Shakespeare will be a good place to start. The group will be playing their fair share of shows in the upcoming months, so be sure to make the trip over Afton to catch them.
Written by Iain Oldman
The Ladies Click here to listen
Blow Your Mind
The freshest album from one of Worst Week Ever’s favorite labels (Grave Mistake Records) Blow Your Mind is one hell of a fun album to listen to. The Ladies aren’t changing the world or rewriting any rules here, but dammit, they make me want to shower in beer. Let me just put it this way- think of the most regrettable, though still awesome, night of partying in your entire life. Blow Your Mind was the soundtrack that Satan was wailing in Hell that night. Clocking in at just over ten minutes, the Ladies blasted out eighteen tracks of blistering punk drugged up with the fever of rock and roll, and then ran it over with a motorcycle, or something. I don’t know. Something something denim. Tracks like “I’m the Worst” and “I’m a Beast” are minute long trails of Motorhead on
meth. But the best part? It’s not tasteless! The guitars are well produced, not too scratchy or unnecessarily cleaned up, and everything else keeps up: the drums are menacing and furious, and the vocals explode out of nowhere on most of the tracks, much like an alien burrowed inside of John Hurt’s chest. Even if this particular genre isn’t your game, you owe it to yourself to give it a listen so you can bust it out at the appropriate party. Next time you have people sitting on your living room floor playing Cards Against Humanity, start cranking “You’re Dumb” and get everyone to start chugging tequila.
Strong Water The After Math Click here to listen
Written by Iain Oldman
I hate hate hate hate hate to be THAT guy to say that its nice to see Harrisonburg getting back to it’s “roots”, BUT... its nice to see Harrisonburg getting back to it’s roots. Dear readers, I give you Strong Water. Strong Water is an insanely talented, original, heartwarming (and heartbreaking) songwriting trio from Harrisonburg, featuring cello, violin, and guitar. Where so, soooooo many bands from these parts fall on the old traditions of folkwhisky this, whisky that -Strong Water breaks from the mold to create a just BEAUTIFUL album in The After Math. So here’s what I mean when I say they get back to their roots: traditional Appalachian folk elements are definitely there,
but the album isn’t drowned in them, and more importantly, the band brazenly steps out of the standard boundaries expected from the genre. The opening track “Sweet Virginia” is a bittersweet diddy that extolls the pining for homeland through gritted teeth and harrowing harmony. The tonality is excellent, with the violin and cello properly implemented, not overbearing or used merely for shtick. The follow up number “The Fall” is where you can truly observe the nature of this trio’s songwriting. From start to finish, the group gushes out waves and waves of heartbreaking strings, the cello and violin jumping in and out of the song to add signature or sorrow, including a lap steel from the very beginning to raise the nostalgia of Lefty Frizzell. Strong Water plays at unconventional venues, at least for the downtown crowd, at places like TDU or Greenberry’s, so keep up with them on your preferred mode of social media and MAKE SURE you go out to see them live.
Leatherdaddy s/t cassette
Written by Iain Oldman
Well, damnit Richmond, you’ve gone and done did it again! Coming fresh off of the James’ seemingly continuous stream of awesomeweird is the queer-punk quintet Leatherdaddy. With their new self titled cassette, Leatherdaddy immediately jumps into your agenda as one of those bands you HAVE to see next time you’re down in the river city. You don’t have to go far past the track list to see what this group is all about. “Homo Invasion”. “Male Sweat”. And my personal favorite, “Suck the World”. You can laugh at the temerity of the group all you want (go ahead, we’ll wait for you) but the fact remains- this band kicks ass. It has everything you want from that brand of dirty, sweaty street punk: hard as nails riffs, scratchy vocals, humor, and no illusions of grandeur. This band isn’t a movement. This band just came here to nail your dad.
And nail they do. Right from the get go, Leatherdaddy unleashes with energetic pace and fuzz. “Romantic Notions” is the real treat on this cassette, beckoning back to 70s Glasgow punk with the energy of New Jersey’s 80s youth crew. Don’t overlook this group because of their draw- Leatherdaddy’s cassette is BADASS and we can’t wait for whatever they have coming up next.
The Human Fly If Only
Written by Iain Oldman
After taking a two year recording break, the Human Fly is BACK! If Only is a small, though satisfying, collection of three songs recorded over the years and compared to etc. and Everything Feels Bad All at Once, the work is simplified and stripped of bells and whistles. And much like Portland, the 90’s are still alive in If Only. The vocals immediately bring you back to the Olivia Tremor Control and Canned Heat and the album is dripping in confessional depression. The Human Fly, however, doesn’t bore you with these recordings, but reminds you of the original talent this group has in spades. Hopefully we can expect the Human Fly to start popping up in venues around town again.
Click here to listen
Winter Playlist
If you work in a restaurant or you’re a recovering shopaholic who fell off the wagon due to the seasonal influx of shopahol, I’m sure you’re absolutely fed up with Christmas music. If you want a good Christmas playlist, all you need is the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s Charlie Brown Christmas album. It is timeless. For the rest of you, though, we have quite a treat. We here at Worst Week Ever took it upon ourselves to craft up the finest winter playlists to get everyone through tacky sweater shindigs and gift wrapping parties. Wait, those are real?
Iain’s Playlist - Click to listen PC Worship - Rust Birocratic - Misty BADBADNOTGOOD - The World is Yours/Brooklyn Zoo Flying Lotus feat. Kendrick Lamar - Never Catch Me The Diamond Center - Pony Karkwa - Moi-Leger Iron & Wine - Flightless Bird American Mouth Dave Van Ronk - He Was a Friend of Mine Townes van Zandt - I’ll Be Here in the Morning Shenandoah Alley - 350 Karkwa - L’acouphene Ex-Cult - Cemetery Secretary Women - Black Rice Creepoid - Sunday Simon & Garfunkel - April Come She Will
Steele’s Playlist - Click to listen Autopsy - In the Grip of Winter Bastard Sapling - Lantern at the End of Time The Great Sabatini - Zakios Deep Purple - Pictures of Home Hail of Bullets - Inferno at the Carpathian Mountains Melvins - Hooch Windhand - Winter Sun Yautja - Chemical Reign Sleep - Snowblind Townes van Zandt - Waitin’ Around to Die
Mike’s Playlist - Click to listen METZ - Wasted Iron Reagan - Tyranny of Will Fugazi - Long Division The Soil & the Sun - Are You? Simon & Garfunkel - The Boxer Mammoth Indigo - No Mothers Parquet Courts - Stoned and Starving Casiokids - Det Haster! Do Make Say Think - Do Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Storm
Brandy Somers Photography
Cara Walton Photography
Check out some more independent music at: www.themodernfolk.net “The goal of my site is to feature what i think of as “folk music”, which is music made by people who are trying to get by leading lives in our modern world who love to express themselves through music. any genre or medium is welcome. I prefer submissions via soundcloud, bandcamp, or youtube, because these formats allow me to easily embed your music in my post and it leads readers directly back to your site, video stream, etc.”
the.modern.folk@gmail.com
Now booking shows for local and out of town bands, contact Michael Steele at
worstweekeverbooking@gmail.com
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