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Total Coverage: Borderland Fuzz Fiesta Night One, Tucson, Arizona, 02.26.16

Posted in Features, Reviews on February 27th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

borderland-fuzz-fiesta-final-poster

No sleep, no food, no stopping. Heavy rock and roll waits, but why be impolite? I landed in Phoenix after a two-hour flight from San Francisco that put me back on Mountain Time, two hours behind the Eastern Seaboard. Totally livable. I can’t and won’t account for the frayed neurons playing havoc with the various cortices in my brain, but the two-hour drive through the desert from Phoenix to Tucson in my rental car was just enough open spaces to set the mood for Borderland Fuzz Fiesta 2016, my playlist along the way curated to the best of my admittedly limited ability.

I swung through the Arizona Riverpark Inn to engage in a ceremonious dropping off of stuff. Wasn’t time for much else. It was after 5PM by then and doors at 191 Toole seven minutes up the road were at six. Places to be. A quick hobo bath in the sink would have to do, and I was off, greeted by brothers Joey and Wayne Rudell, of the band Fuzz Evil and the organizers of Borderland Fuzz Fiesta, as well as Todd Severin of Ripple Music, Bucky Brown who writes for Ripple Effect, Randy Blood, Mark Aceves of Zed and others. Luminaries all. Voices put to names and faces from social networking, I was glad to be in good company. The vibe was relaxed and would remain so for the duration.

To follow-up on Elder canceling earlier this week owing to injury and Fatso Jetson taking their place — they rolled in with the dudes and ladies of Yawning Man, who headline night two — psych rockers 3rd Ear Experience called in sick with food poisoning. That left seven bands on the bill, which proved to be plenty enough to riff the evening into oblivion or something close to it and effectively wash away months’ worth of humdrum adultism, stress for work, real life, and so on. It was, I don’t mind saying, much needed.

The esteemed Lance Gordon and his Mad Alchemy crew would be working an oil light show for the entire night, six projectors going resulting in unparalleled psychedelic gorgeousness accompanying the bands while they played. Here’s how it went down, front to back:

Big Mean

big mean 1 (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Among other things, Borderland Fuzz Fiesta 2016 would mark my first real exposure to local trio Big Mean, named presumably for both beard and riffery. Actually, the three-piece take their moniker from guitarist/vocalist “Big Mean” Maheen who started the band as a solo-project circa 2013. They released their first EP last year and dug into thick, straightforward grooves to start off the show, not without a harder bluesy edge, but still fluid enough to help set the vibe for the evening as they played on one of the two stages, located on the floor next the main stage. The crowd filtered in, and for a moment it seemed half the people there had cameras, but it was an all-ages show, so some genuine kids would show up throughout the course of the night, and Big Mean gave the evening a suitably unpretentious start, some raw volume — the cargo train going by on the tracks behind the venue, for example, could not be heard over them — and a spacier guitar finish that saved their best nod for last. They were way more of a band than a solo-project, and solid at that. Left no room for complaint.

Dead Canyon

dead canyon 1 (Photo by JJ Koczan)

I can’t say Phoenicians Dead Canyon were a complete surprise, as I did check out their 2013 The Lonesome Company Demo to pick a track for the Borderland Fuzz Fiesta 2016 mixtape, but the three subsequent years since that release have clearly brought some changes in their sound. Somewhat slicker thank the openers in their presentation, they got tighter as they went on, guitarist Frank Davenport and drummer Josh Bodnar sharing vocal duties over Roger Willams‘ thick bass tone, resulting in a sound that seemed like it would very easily translate to a long-player. I don’t know if they’re there yet, but they came across like a band with an album out, with touches of classic swing in Bodnar‘s drums and a very distinct sonic identity in development. They kept momentum between their first couple songs with a steady kick drum and stick clicks, stopping for the first time after three cuts, and even then not for long — there was shuffling to do. And they did it right on, with starts and stops that stood them out even on a night chock full of riff-led fare. They’d end the Arizona contingent of the lineup, but represented their home state well.

Zed

zed 1 (Photo by JJ Koczan)

San Jose four-piece Zed reportedly have a new album due out in August or thereabouts on Ripple Music, and much of what they played came from it. On a weekender with shows in Palm Desert and San Diego in addition to Borderland Fuzz Fiesta 2016, they also had a fill-in guitarist in the form of Tim Narducci of SPV heavy rockers Spiralarms, who took the place of Greg Lopez alongside guitarist/vocalist Pete Sattari, bassist Mark Aceves and drummer Rich Harris and was well at home running through “Please” from 2013’s Desperation Blues and new cuts like “Royale” and “Blood of the….” (I didn’t quite catch the full title). More aggressive than either Dead Canyon or Big Mean, they reminded me a bit of Dozer live, perhaps not as raging, but still two guitars pushing energetic material that doesn’t so much ask you to follow along as it does shove you in the direction it wants you to go. In any case, they were duly tight, Sattari showcasing punker roots reset in a thicker-riffed context, and if I hadn’t known beforehand that they weren’t playing with their permanent lineup, I wouldn’t have guessed. They closed with the more brooding “The Mountain” in grand style, a subdued feel at first flourished by lead interplay getting larger as it went. Zed sounded like a well-kept secret, and made me look forward to their record.

Funeral Horse

funeral horse 1 (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Look. I like weird bands. I make no apologies for it. As such, Houston’s Funeral Horse were exactly what I was hoping for. First line of my notes? “Can’t spell Funeral Horse without ‘fun.'” They were that, guitarist/vocalist Paul Bearer big on personality in leading the trio of himself, bassist Jason Argonaut and drummer Chris Bassett through “There Shall be Vultures” from their 2015 LP, Divinity for the Wicked (review here) as well as “Until the Last Nation Falls” from 2014’s Sinister Rites of the Master (review here) and “Scatter My Ashes over the Mississippi” from their 2013 debut, Savage Audio Demon (review here), along with what may have been a new song or two, all the while running a cohesive balance between blown-out stoner punk and heavy metal. Very clearly up for a good time but not at all a joke. On a personal note, I was already looking forward to having them at The Obelisk All-Dayer in August, but their ability to freak out the room at 191 Toole and actively not give even the remotest of fucks only made me more stoked to see them again. Bearer auctioned off Argonaut before “Scatter My Ashes” — I think the final bid was $20, including the bass — and their whole set was just a blast, a touch of ’90s noise rock more prominent in their sound than I’d previously realized. I was way into it, but hey, I like weird bands.

Fatso Jetson

fatso jetson 1 (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Fatso Jetson‘s set came in two parts. For the first, they played as a five-piece fronted by Sean “The Captain” Wheeler of desert punkers Throw Rag. Wheeler sat in for opener “Trouble Maker,” as well as the mega-boogie “Golden Age of Cell Block Slang” from 2010’s Archaic Volumes (review here), their most recent full-length, and “Swollen Offering” from 1998’s Toasted, trading lines back and forth with guitarist Mario Lalli and also backed by guitarist Dino von Lalli, Mario‘s son. Dino was freshly in the band last time I saw Fatso Jetson, three years ago at Desertfest London (review here), but that dynamic between father and son has clearly taken shape, which came out further in the jammier second part of the band’s set, sans Wheeler. Atop the somebody-should-build-a-statue-in-their-honor rhythm section of bassist Larry Lalli (Mario‘s cousin) and drummer Tony Tornay, Mario and Dino alternated leads between frenetic shredding and airier effects, backed each other on rhythms in “Magma” and “Dream Homes” and shared vocals as they pushed “Orgy Porgy” to what felt like it should’ve been well past the breaking point. They may have been a last-minute replacement for Elder, but Fatso Jetson owned the room immediately — locked in from the start and only built momentum as they went. Yeah, they had that split with Farflung (review here) last year, and one with Yawning Man before that, but it’s been too long since they put out a proper record. As they showed in their finishing jam playing off of “Too Many Skulls,” their chemistry is so dead on that it deserves to be captured one way or another. It’s like the whole planet doesn’t even know it’s waiting for them to out-rock it. They were phenomenal.

Blaak Heat

blaak heat 1 (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Los Angeles by way of New York by way of Paris by way of who knows where else three-piece Blaak Heat — who’ve also dropped the “Shujaa” from their moniker in their many travels — had their work cut out for them headlining the floor stage. Playing between Fatso Jetson and Dead Meadow probably counts as the evening’s least enviable task, but the three-piece flourished. They’ll release their third album, Shifting Mirrors, in May through Tee Pee Records (Europe gets it in April), and aside from closing out with “Shadows (The Beast Pt. II)” from their 2013 sophomore outing, The Edge of an Era (review here), everything they played was new. This was particularly encouraging. I’d heard “Anatolia” on the aforementioned mixtape, but in songs like “Shifting” and “Zeta” (likely partial titles), they affirmed their progressive leanings in winding rhythmic complexity, guitarist/vocalist Thomas Bellier an emergent frontman presence and new bassist Henry Evans (ex-Spindrift) and drummer Mike Amster (also Sinner Sinners, Boarchucker and ex-Abrams) seamless in their execution. It was noted on stage that Amster was just back from Europe — as in, the same day — and while I’m sure having just come from a time zone upwards of eight hours ahead of that in Arizona was taking a toll, it didn’t stop him in the slightest from nailing the heavy psych frenzy and stretches of undulating groove. As an initial impression, mostly their new stuff seems like it’s refusing to settle or be tamed. “Sword” (again, presumably a partial title) was a tornado in the desert, a fitting answer to Fatso Jetson‘s own riffy torrents, less jammy perhaps, but furious in its purpose and instrumental focus. I’m going to look forward to that album, “Shujaa” or no.

Dead Meadow

dead meadow 1 (Photo by JJ Koczan)

It’s been half a decade since I last saw Dead Meadow. That was Roadburn 2011 (review here). In the interim, the shoegaze-psych pioneers issued a studio full-length, Warble Womb, in 2013 and toured vociferously to support it. Now 16 years removed from their self-titled debut, Dead Meadow are both massively influential and completely underrated. Once they took stage, there was never any doubt. Drummer Mark Laughlin‘s stiff-armed swing rolled out the swim-in-this-tone bass of Steve Kille and the guitar of Jason Simon, and Simon‘s quiet vocals set a particularly molten vibe. It’s fortunate Mad Alchemy was around, since Dead Meadow are essentially the aural equivalent of a liquid light show. It took me a couple songs into their set to realize what was going on, but it marked a fascinating turn for Borderland Fuzz Fiesta 2016 to have Dead Meadow end the night. After Fatso Jetson and Blaak Heat, each more furious than the last, Dead Meadow were a sharp turn toward the laid back, and rather than drive the evening’s momentum over this or that edge, they melted the entire evening down and gave everyone an opportunity to bask in the warmth. Through cuts like “I Love You Too,” “The White Worm” and “Good Moanin’,” they were a gentle easing out for the night, all fuzz righteousness and non-aggro heft, effects wash and mellow-out. I wouldn’t try to make rash predictions or anything, but that’s a spirit I’d expect Yawning Man to echo at least in part in closing out Night Two, giving the festival a kind thematic cohesion that resonates as much conceptually as sonically. Either way, Dead Meadow — who’ve already toured South American and the West Coast in 2016 — were a trip into raw psychedelic bliss, which is a trip I just about always welcome taking, and in rounding out the night, they expanded the palette and minds alike. I’m going to try very hard not to let another five years pass before I see them again.

Before Dead Meadow went on, solo act Leonhardt went on near the merch area for a quick set of solo acoustic material. Another last-minute addition, his inclusion demonstrated a growing reach on the part of the fest stylistically. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did more of that kind of thing in the future.

More pics after the jump. Thanks for reading.

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En Route to Borderland Fuzz Fiesta 2016 in Tucson, AZ

Posted in Features on February 26th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

sfo silver balls

02.26.16 – 9:39AM Pacific – SFO International Airport

Last time I was at SFO I was in exactly the same area of the airport. That was July. I was out here for work, trying to make the most of the trip and succeeding to various degrees. This time I’m just passing through on my way to Phoenix. I was on a 6AM Eastern flight out of Boston, will leave here at some point soon to go to the Phoenix airport, where I’ll pick up a rental car and drive about two hours from Phoenix to Tucson, where Borderland Fuzz Fiesta 2016 is happening tonight and tomorrow.

The flight plan has me getting into Phoenix at 2:30PM. Show starts in Tucson at 6:30PM. With the drive, I’m not sure if I’ll have time to check into my hotel before the show, but I should probably get something to eat. This is more difficult than it used to be; gone are my days of blueberry muffin travel subsistence. Long-ish story. In any case, I’ve been up since 12:30AM Eastern, having gone to bed around nine, so I’ll need something sooner or later. Slept a bit on the plane here. Loading up on caffeine now. Still feels like Thursday. I love traveling.

Amidst all this nonsense of swapping time zones and the pilot on my flight saying he hoped being early today may have made up for anytime in the past year that a United flight was late — as it happens, my flight to SFO last July was delayed five hours for an apparently irreplaceable flat tire; seriously, they had to get another plane — the good news is I’ll spend the next two days doing something I’ve done far too rarely thus far into 2016, which is enjoying live music. The lineup for Borderland Fuzz Fiesta is so solid it’s ridiculous, and because I’ll be writing about the fest over the weekend, posting a review of tonight tomorrow and one of tomorrow on Sunday, I’m going to forego the usual closing-out-the-week ritual and kindly ask that you stay tuned for more to come over the next couple days. Once I get past that whole “driving through the desert on next to no sleep” thing, I’ve got a really good feeling about the whole weekend.

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Sun Blood Stories Post “Witch Wind” Video

Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 26th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

sun blood stories (photo by Jaclyn Hutchens)

Nope, it hasn’t been all that long since the last Sun Blood Stories video — only about a month — but whatever. They keep making ’em and I’ll keep posting ’em. Interesting too how utterly different “Witch Wind,” which you can see below, is from the preceding clip for “Misery is Nebulous.” That was a seven-minute journey through human tragedy, ecological and geopolitical, while “Witch Wind” is dancing silhouettes. Yup. From visuals that make you feel sad to be alive to dancing. That pretty much sums up the scope of the Boise outfit’s 2015 long-player, Twilight Midnight Morning (review here), which I put on the other day simply because — and this is 100 percent true — I missed it. True story.

As it happens, “Witch Wind” was an easy favorite from that record, the call and response in the hook from Ben Kirby and Amber Pollard making it an immediate standout. Catchy in itself, it also speaks to the fluidity that KirbyPollardNik Kososik and Jon Fust are able to conjure from the ether throughout while also evidently dwelling in that ether, getting more tripped out as the three-stage progression of the record unfolds. The band released a follow-up in the even-more-experimental Samhain Variations (review here) last Halloween, but they’re reportedly also debuting a new offering live next month at Treefort Music Fest in their hometown. I don’t know if that’s recorded yet or not, but I’ll take new Sun Blood Stories as good news one way or another.

More on that as I hear it. Until then, here’s the “Witch Wind” video and appropriate credits.

Enjoy:

Sun Blood Stories, “Witch Wind” official video

Witch Wind is the 4th track from Twilight Midnight Morning, released June 23, 2015 by Sun Blood Stories

Danced by PROJECT FLUX at MING STUDIOS in Boise, Idaho

Ben Kirby: Guitar, Vocals,
Amber Pollard: Slide Guitar, Vocals, Effects Pedals
Judah Claffey: Viola
Nik Kososik: Bass
Jon Fust: Drums
Dale Hiscock: Mixing

Sun Blood Stories on Bandcamp

Sun Blood Stories on Thee Facebooks

Sun Blood Stories website

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Leeches of Lore Announce West Coast Tour

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 26th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

New Mexico bizarro rockers Leeches of Lore will head out on a West Coast tour starting April 9 with a hometown show in Albuquerque. The gigs pick up again a couple nights later in Tucson and continue from there, taking the band up and through San Francisco, Portland and Seattle before heading south again through Boise and Denver, all in support of their Toshi Kasai-produced 2015 outing, Motel of Infinity (review here), which found them as gleefully weird as ever, but obviously with a more pro-shop-type production value, their songs both memorable and endearingly strange.

Their live show, at least that time I saw them, back when life was a broke adventure and my only monotonies were of my making, is likewise memorable and likewise strange, the band utilizing heavy rock as a core from which to branch out with more individualized expression in a matter of minutes than most conjure in a career. Yes, I mean that. If you live on the West Coast and you don’t know these cats — but of course you do, because if you live on the West Coast, you’re hip to all kinds of stuff — get yourself informed and get yourself to a show.

Dates follow:

leeches of lore tour

Leeches of Lore West Coast Tour in April

We will be heading West in April.

Here are the tour dates:

Sat 4-9: TOUR KICKOFF at Moonlight Lounge ABQ with Jackhammer
Thu 4-14: High Life Tucson
Fri 4-15: Cafe NELA L.A.
Sat 4-16: Bender’s Bar and Grill San Francisco
Sun 4-17: The Maltese Chico, CA with Sex Hogs II and Panther Surprise
Mon 4-18: High Water Mark Lounge Portland with EMS and A Volcano
Tue 4-19: Funhouse Seattle with EMS
Wed 4-20: The Shredder Boise
Fri 4-22: Tennyson’s Tap Denver with Modern Goon

If you don’t live in these towns, please invite any friends you may have that do.

Here is the Facebook event page if you are into that kind of thing. https://www.facebook.com/events/220111945002828/

The new record “Motel of Infinity” will be available at the shows for a discounted price, or you can always get it and our other releases at https://leechesoflore.bandcamp.com/.

https://www.facebook.com/events/220111945002828/
https://leechesoflore.bandcamp.com/
http://lorchestralrecordingcompany.com/
http://facebook.com/leechesoflore
http://leechesoflore.com/

Leeches of Lore, Motel of Infinity (2015)

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Dream Death Premiere “Cold Hard Light” from Dissemination

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on February 26th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

dream death

Reignited Pittsburgh sludgers Dream Death will release their third album, Dissemination, on March 4 via Rise Above Records. It follows just three years behind their 2013 reunion outing, Somnium Excessum (discussed here), which though they had released a live outing and a compilation in the time between, was their first studio full-length since their 1987 debut, Journey into Mystery. Here’s where the story gets complicated. Five years after that album was released, in 1992, the current lineup of Dream Death — guitarist/vocalist Brian Lawrence, guitarist Terry Weston, bassist Richard Freund and drummer Mike Smail — issued their debut as PenanceThe Road Less Travelled, on a then-nascent Rise Above, and a winding 24-year course brings them back to that same label for Dissemination as Dream Death.

The more things change? Well, in a way, yeah, because listening to Dissemination, the vibe is that the shifts in sound that Somnium Excessum presented have been cast off as Dream Death dig back to the bitterness and death metal-style chug that has cast their influence over a generation of extreme sludge. “Conform or die,” shouts Lawrence in the opening title-track, and the stakes remain similarly severe throughout, and while cuts like “The Other Side” dares to work in a bit of melody and closer “In Perpetuum” takes a more personal lyrical viewpoint than some of the direct social commentary in cuts like “Crawling,” “Cold Hard Light” or the raging “Neutral Ground,” the crux of Dissemination is still seeing-red angry, and that remains true regardless of pace or any other turns Dream Death might present in the material.

As a running theme, it’s a disaffection that leaves little room for argument, the feeling of lost agency pervasive among the downer riffing of “Expendable Blood Flow,” violent gutturalisms met by channel-swapping static and toy piano transitions before the even-moodier “Crawling” puts worms in the brain as a lead-in for “Cold Hard Light,” which brings lurching death metal groove to the foredream death dissemination and only builds in intensity as it moves methodically forward, through tempo switches united by an overriding sense of disgust. The subsequent “All in Vain” and “Dominion” follow suit, the former with a slight touch of C.O.C. in the chorus that’s just as likely unintentional and the latter with a thrashier take overall, the guitars becoming a flurry of low squibbling, Slayer-esque but shifting into a temporary slowdown in the midsection before raging to the end. As the longest cut at 5:52, “The Other Side” is somewhat more ambient, but its core mission remains consistent, and “Nothing Ever Will” brings the central idea of Dissemination back into focus with its opening lines, “The machine gets/What the machine wants/The machine wants us to die/More each day.”

Ultimately, “Nothing Ever Will” and “Neutral Ground” summarize between them a decent portion of what’s driving Dissemination. Stylistically working between aggressive doom, raw thrash and death metal, they trade off grooves and paces but keep the central pissed off thematic like a current of electricity running them both. Even as it falls to “In Perpetuum” to expand the album’s context, Dream Death don’t necessarily sacrifice impact to make that happen, a sample mirroring the opening hypnosis and some organ adding a creeping vibe to early acoustics, but the chug kicks in at about the two-minute mark and Dream Death are still very much themselves. They cap with that same hypnotic sample — literally, it sounds like someone is being hypnotized — which makes for a quiet ending compared to much of the teeth-clenched, fist-tightened onslaught preceding. I don’t know if there’s resolution, or catharsis in taking Dissemination‘s central themes and using them as a lens to look inward, but “In Perpetuum” does effectively add to what they’re doing sound-wise without giving up the fury they’ve displayed all along, and for that it’s a noteworthy finish.

Now past 30 years since their inception, Dream Death have long been an underrated band, a kind of extra-angry footnote in the history of sludge, which has veered more toward punk influence than the definitively metallic style the Pittsburgh four-piece proffer, but Dissemination proves they’re able not only to draw on their past to match with current inspiration, but to take those ideas forward into current relevance as well. Of course it’s not as raw as Journey into Mystery or their prior demos — nor should it be — but Dream Death‘s third LP is so clearheaded in its ferocity that it seems all the more vital and all the more punishing.

Today I’m thrilled to host the premiere of “Cold Hard Light,” which you’ll find in the embed below. Enjoy:

Dream Death, “Cold Hard Light” from Dissemination

Somewhere in the darkest depths of Pittsburgh, Dream Death have risen from their self-imposed grave. After making their full-length debut in 1987 with the groundbreaking doom/death/thrash masterstrokeJourney Into Mystery—an album that somehow bridged the groaning gaps between Celtic Frost, Slayer and Saint Vitus while going on to influence many a notable death metal and death/doom faction—the vastly underappreciated band pulled their own plug in ’89 and formed the more traditional doom outfit Penance. The latter’s 1992 album The Road Less Travelled was one of the earliest Rise Above releases, while Dream Death began what would prove to be a 22-year hibernation. In 2011, vocalist/guitarist Brian Lawrence, drummer Mike Smail (formerly of both Pentagram and Cathedral), bassist Richard Freund and guitarist Terry Weston regrouped and eventually stormed the studio for Dream Death’s 2013 comeback album, Somnium Excessum.

The band’s third and latest, Dissemination, marks the return of The Road Less Travelled lineup to Rise Above, this time in their resurgent Dream Death incarnation. Forged in the dank recesses of Lawrence’s basement, Dissemination is the apogee of a creative process that recaptured and reinforced the singular spirit of Dream Death’s late ’80s triumphs. “While I’m proud of the material on Somnium, I think there was some experimentation there that could have been reigned in a bit,” Lawrence offers. “The tracks on Dissemination are much more focused and delivered with intent.”

The opening title track was the first song written for Dissemination, and ultimately formed the basis for one of the album’s lyrical themes. “Mike had the title before we ever had a song,” Lawrence explains. “He wanted something to express the idea of people blindly accepting the crap that’s dished out to them on a daily basis and how little ability they have to change it even if they were aware of it in the first place. You think you’re in control of your life? Guess again.”

Dream Death on Thee Facebooks

Preorder at Rise Above Records

iTunes preorder

Preorder at Amazon

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Helen Money Touring with Magma; New Album Soon on Thrill Jockey

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 26th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

helen money

Chicago-based experimental cellist Helen Money was in the studio as of December recording a new album that will see release at some point this year on Thrill Jockey Records. Like its predecessor, 2013’s Arriving Angels (review here), the new LP will feature a guest appearance from Neurosis/Sleep drummer Jason Roeder (at least if the studio pic is anything to go by) and Helen Money, aka Alison Chesley, is set to tour with prog legends Magma ahead of the release on that band’s first major-market run of the US in I don’t even know how many years. A lot, presumably.

Shows are presented by Nanotear, and the tour starts March 15 in San Diego. More on the new release as I hear it:

magma tour

Magma tour featuring Helen Money

HELEN MONEY TOURS WITH FRENCH PROG ROCK MASTERS MAGMA including dates in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York

Helen Money will tour the U.S. with Magma and play all but two dates (Atlanta and Toronto). “These shows with MAGMA are really special for me,” Chesley explains. “Their music comes from such a pure, inspired place and their audience is so open minded and willing to listen. To do this tour with them is a once in a lifetime thing and I can’t wait.”

“The first time we saw Helen Money play her cello we immediately thought about former Magma bass player Jannick Top, who was also playing cello,” Magma stated, adding “Her playing is genuine and intense! It will be a perfect introduction to our show”

Cellist/composer Alison Chesley, a.k.a. Helen Money, merges her classical training with a lifelong affinity for punk rock and a taste for heavy metal. She has toured with Shellac, Bob Mould, Mono, Aggaloch to name only a few. Chesley has also recorded with and/or directed string arrangements for artists like Anthrax (Worship Music), Russian Circles (Geneva), Broken Social Scene (Forgiveness Rock Record) and Yakuza.

Helen Money Tour Itinerary (all dates with Magma, check local listings for set times):
Tuesday, March 15th at Brick By Brick in San Diego, CA
Wednesday, March 16th at The Regent Theater in Los Angeles, CA
Friday, March 18th at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, CA
Saturday, March 19th at Wonder Ballroom in Portland, OR
Sunday, March 20th at Crocodile in Seattle, WA
Tuesday, March 22nd at Gothic Theater in Denver, CO
Wednesday, March 23rd at Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, OH
Friday, March 25th at Reggies in Chicago, IL
Saturday, March 26th at Reggies in Chicago, IL
Sunday, March 27th at Mohawk in Austin, TX
Wednesday, March 30th at Underground Arts in Philadelphia, PA
Friday, April 1st at Le Poisson Rouge in New York, NY

Helen Money’s current release, Arriving Angels is out now on Profound Lore, and was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio and features drummer Jason Roeder (Neurosis, Sleep). Her next album will appear on Thrill Jockey Records and the release date will be announced soon.

http://helenmoney.com/
https://www.facebook.com/helenmoneyband
https://twitter.com/Helen_Money
https://www.facebook.com/ThrillJockey/

Helen Money, “Beautiful Friends”

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Psychedelic Witchcraft Post The Vision Album Details; Lyric Video Available

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 26th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

Italian four-piece Psychedelic Witchcraft, for whom I’ve yet to come up with a more descriptive phrase than their moniker, have set a firm April 29 release date for their debut album on Soulseller Records. The follow-up to their 2015 Black Magic Man EP (review here) has been given the title The Vision, and the artwork and tracklisting has been revealed by the label ahead of preorders, which one can only assume are forthcoming.

Soulseller announced last month it has picked up the band and would release the album, which was news that came after Black Magic Man had been released by both Twin Earth Records in the US and Taxi Driver Records in the band’s native Italy, so if it’s Psychedelic Witchcraft‘s intent to go one label and one country at a time in a quest for world hypnosis/domination, it’s hard to argue they’re not well on their way.

There’s a lyric video out now for “Magic Hour Blues” that you can check out below. The song, as you can see in the tracklisting, will close the record. That’s a big reveal on the part of the band, but I’m sure they’ll have more tricks up their collective sleeve.

From the PR wire:

psychedelic witchcraft the vision

PSYCHEDELIC WITCHCRAFT – Album details revealed

The debut album of Italian occult-doom-rockers PSYCHEDELIC WITCHCRAFT, entitled “The Vision”, will be released on April 29th 2016 through Soulseller Records on CD, limited vinyl and in digital versions.

A first song is already available – check out the “Magic Hour Blues“ official lyric video at this location: https://youtu.be/gvSDMdmOf5Y

PSYCHEDELIC WITCHCRAFT is a project fronted by an Italian doomstress named Virginia Monti. The band was formed in March 2015, living through the imaginary of occult and witchcraft with psychedelic colors and emotions, inspired by the sounds and the pictures of an almost lost era. The EP “Black Magic Man” was released on vinyl in July and sold out in less than 10 days.

Tracklist:
1. A Creature
2. Witches Arise
3. Demon Liar
4. Wicked Ways
5. The Night
6. The Only One That
7. War
8. Different
9. Magic Hour Blues

https://www.facebook.com/PsychedelicWitchcraft
https://psychedelicwitchcraft.bandcamp.com/
http://www.soulsellerrecords.com
http://www.soulsellerrecords.com/

Psychedelic Witchcraft, “Magic Hour Blues” lyric video

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Queen Crescent Post “Zodiacal Woman” Video

Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 25th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

queen-crescent

San Francisco four-piece Queen Crescent will be featured on the upcoming split, Sweet Times Vol. 5, from Who Can You Trust? Records. Part of an ongoing series that has also featured the likes of Hot LunchThe Golden GrassPastorDeath Alley and Comet Control, it presents an opportunity for the flute-laden Bay Area heavy rockers to demonstrate their driving progressive fuzz in excellent company, and clearly they’re making the most of it. I’m not sure on a solid release date for the 7″ — the stated format for the Sweet Times series — but Queen Crescent have a video now for “Zodiacal Woman,” which will be their contribution.

The band issued their self-titled debut full-length in 2015, basking in the sheer Tullness of it all while keeping another foot in classic Sabbathian blues rock riffing and boogie, songs like “Ancestors” and “I Wish a Muthafucka Would” refusing rhythmic constraint in their groove. It would seem Queen Crescent have swapped out bassists since then, but “Zodiacal Woman” only finds them with an even more professional style and a firmer grasp on their aesthetic than did the LP, the lineup of vocalist/flutist Melissa Vu, vocalist/guitarist Andrea Genevieve, bassist Eden Savage and drummer Amy Martinez offering a sense of space in a quiet intro before unfolding proto-metallic thrust in the track’s verses and intricate guitar and flute solo tradeoffs.

It’s basically a performance clip — nothing against that — but one that’s well lit, and it should be more than enough to give a sense of where Queen Crescent are coming from. Not sure on the release date for Sweet Times Vol. 5, but “Zodiacal Woman” makes me want to keep an eye out for one.

Enjoy:

Queen Crescent, “Zodiacal Woman” official video

OUT NOW! Queen Crescent’s music video debut “Zodiacal Woman”!

We couldn’t possibly be more excited to make this announcement. Thank you all to who were involved, especially Director/DP Ethan Indorf, Director Doug Avery, and Set Designer Aaron Rodriguez.

“Zodiacal Woman” will be out soon on vinyl format on Germany’s Who Can You Trust? Records compilation “Sweet Times” (Vol. 5).

Video by Doug Avery and Ethan Indorf
Set build by Aaron Rodriguez
AC Adam Avilla & Matt Chen
PA Nick Kemp
Lighting rental littlegiantlighting.com

QUEEN CRESCENT IS:
Andrea Genevieve: vocals, guitar
Melissa Vu: vocals, flute
Amy Martinez: drums
Eden Savage: bass

Queen Crescent website

Queen Crescent on Thee Facebooks

Queen Crescent on Bandcamp

Queen Crescent on Twitter

Queen Crescent on Instagram

Who Can You Trust? Records on Bandcamp

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