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Bootleg Theater and Internet Magic: Now What’s Stuck in My Head Can be Stuck in Your Head, Too

Posted in Bootleg Theater on April 27th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

I’ve been knee-deep in a semester-ending term paper the last couple days, which should hopefully account for the relative lack of posts. It’s just about done (and by that I mean I’m ready to say “fuck it” and walk away), but I thought in the meantime I’d share this badass video of Queens of the Stone Age doing “Avon,” a song which has been playing over and over on my mental jukebox since picking up Desert Sessions Vol. 3 & 4 at Roadburn. It’s the band probably when they were at their peak, in 2002, with Dave Grohl on drums and Nick Oliveri on bass.

Taste my pain:

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Nightstalker Set to Inform Stoned from the Underground that (Baby,) God is Dead

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 27th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

What I like about the Stoned from the Underground festival, aside from the lineup, is the acronym STFU, which I’m told in clever internet-speak means “shut the fuck up.” Certainly I’d never have figured that out on my own, but it’s good to know. The fest is set to take place this July in ol’ Bundesrepublik Deutschland, and will feature a host of European stoner types as well as Garcia Plays Kyuss and a few other American acts thrown in for good measure. MeteorCity, via the PR wire, make it known that Greece‘s Nightstalker will partake:

MeteorCity recording artists, Nightstalker, will play this year’s Stoned from the Underground festival in Germany. It’s the 10th anniversary of this festival and it will be held on July 9th and 10th. Other bands performing include Garcia Plays Kyuss, Yawning Man, Black Cobra, Weedeater, Firebird, Ufomammut and many others! This is clearly a festival that you should not miss!

More info can be found here: http://www.myspace.com/stonedfromtheunderground

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On the Radar: Serpent Venom

Posted in On the Radar on April 27th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

When it comes to rendering true traditional doom — like when it comes to flying with umbrellas or shutting down airports due to volcanic ash floated over from Iceland — there are some things the British just do better. Enter London outfit Serpent Venom, whose self-titled demo takes the post-St. Vitus doom that has made The Gates of Slumber catch on so well with their last couple albums and strips it down even further, offering three songs of pure Sabbathian darkness partnered with a ritualistic feel that most American bands (I won’t say all) fail to capture properly.

Of the three songs on the disc (all of which are available for listening on the band’s MySpace), not a one of them is under six and a half minutes, the shortest being “Under the Compass” at 6:28. Both “The Outsider” and “Four Walls of Solitude” — the place to start — top eight minutes, with the latter going all the way to 9:20. So, at nearly 24 minutes, Serpent Venom is a healthy cut of an EP, and the professional recording job only brings out even more the character and mission of the band. Each time guitarist Pete pulls a Dave Chandler-type note and holds it out before cycling through the riff again, it’s hard not to smile. His fuzz-caked lead tone is another highlight of the demo, when and where it comes up.

Vocalist Gaz (no, not Cathedral‘s guitarist; a different Gaz) gives a where-the-hell-did-he-come-from kind of performance, making me wonder in what bands he’s been hiding all this time. His voice has the perfect warble for this kind of doom and is set just far back enough in the mix to give a yelling-across-the-abyss feel. He mostly follows the melodies as laid out by the guitar, but it utterly capable in that regard and lacking nothing in either talent or knowing when to sit back and let the music take over. Each track winds up with an energy all its own, and the demo is one of the strongest I’ve heard in some time in its genre. I can’t imagine these dudes won’t be signed, say, by the time this post is finished, but in the meantime, they’re definitely worth keeping on the radar.

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Aquilonian and Sollubi: Two Great Heavy Flavors, One Very Packed Disc

Posted in Reviews on April 27th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

Notable apart from its hour-plus length for being the first recorded output of the post-Bongzilla project Aquilonian, who’ve been threatening for a while now with MySpace samples and teases of the like, this split CD between them and Ohio sludge demons Sollubi (whose previous At War with Decency full-length might just have been victorious in its conflict) is two tracks — one from each band, each over a half-hour long — that seems to create an economy all its own. If you’ve ever thought of buying music in terms of “bang for your buck,” I fail to see a better option than getting two short LP-length offerings from these bands. Most splits feel like throwaway tracks. This feels like home.

Aquilonian go first, which given the built-in interest that will no doubt lead many to check out this split is only proper. The duo of guitarist/vocalist Michael Makela and drummer/vocalist Michael Henry (though neither is particularly busy in the vocal department) have composed “Symphonica de Levita” for the occasion, and with it they put on a master class in how to transpose a groove on top of repetitive riffing. Anyone expecting Bongzilla-type grime will be surprised to find Aquilonian residing in a different, less sludge-laden niche, as though all the stoner in the band was distilled to its essential weedian elements. “Symphonica de Levita” reminds heavily of Sleep’s Holy Mountain, but even more than Makela’s tone or vocals, it’s the drum work of Henry that provokes the association. The ready snare taps that Chris Hakius used to make the best material on that album as memorable as it is, Henry seems apt to employ here, and it works to similar effect. The simplicity of their groove is essential, and even when the track breaks down at about 24 minutes in, it is all the more satisfying when it picks up again to finish with some of its most active guitar/drum interplay.

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Worm Ouroboros Announce First West Coast Tour

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 26th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

Though I never went back to it for repeat listens, I’ll be the first to admit that’s more my fault than that of Worm Ouroboros‘ self-titled Profound Lore debut. Certainly, if occasion put me anywhere near the West Coast while the Bay Area outfit were doing the run of dates outlined by the PR wire below, I’d be there, and I can only recommend you do the same, circumstances permitting. Here’s the info:

Worm Ouroboros will be doing their first short US tour on the West Coast in support of their self-titled debut album.

They play their record release show on May 1st in San Francisco with Laudanum and Dispirit (the new black metal band of John Gossard of Weakling and Asunder). Their West Coast tour goes as follows:

May 1 – San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern w/ Laudanum, Dispirit
May 13 – Eugene, OR @ Lucky’s w/ Rye Wolves, Vivemancer
May 14 – Seattle, WA @ The Comet w/ Rye Wolves, Vultures 2012, Dirtworshipper
May 15 – Bellingham, WA @ Jinx Art Space w/ The Narrows, Lozen
May 16 – Tacoma, WA @ New Frontier w/ Lozen
May 17 – Portland, OR @ Tube w/ Atriarch
May 18 – Portland, OR @ Satyricon w/ Portal and Aldebaran
May 21 – Chico, CA @ Cafe Coda w/ La Fin du Monde
May 22 – Arcata, CA @ The Alibi w/ Speed of Darkness
May 24 – San Francisco, CA @ The Elbo Room

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Whose Rock is Fireball Ministry?

Posted in Reviews on April 26th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

There’s no denying that Hollywood rockers Fireball Ministry have, with their new self-titled on Restricted Release, crafted their most commercial album yet. They were never especially defiant in this regard before, but Fireball Ministry takes the band’s proven songwriting ability (a quick run through 1999’s Ou est la Rock? or 2003’s The Second Great Awakening should be enough to make you aware of their obvious chops in this regard) to new heights of accessibility, carrying across the otherwise unpretentious rocking material with a digital sheen only possible in this age of recording technology.

The centerpiece of Fireball Ministry’s attack has always been guitarist/vocalist James A. Rota. Working here with producer Andrew Alekel (Fu Manchu, The Company Band’s full-length), Rota sounds smoother than ever before on a track like “Fallen Believers,” which plunks along at mid-pace without ever really getting spirited or dynamic, or “Thought it Out,” which seems to reach in the direction of Fu Manchu-styled Californian fuzz but ultimately stops just short of pop-punk fluffery. The drums of John G. Oreshnick sound triggered, Johnny Chow’s bass is barely there, and Emily J. Burton, who provides backing vocals and guitar, seems to be resting almost entirely in line behind Rota’s riffing where some contrast between the two players would do a lot to add character to the material.

There is material on Fireball Ministry that hits with some impact, though. “Followed by a Fall” remains relatively un-neutered by the production it’s given, and “Butcher, Faker, Policy Maker” is such catchy and well-composed pop rock that it could have been recorded in a tin can and it would still be memorable. It’s not so much a question of the songs feeling uninspired or not accomplishing something creatively – and there shouldn’t be any doubt this is the record the band intended to make; Rota’s been heading Fireball Ministry for well over a decade now, and Restricted Release is owned by CKY’s Jess Margera (also Rota’s bandmate in supergroup The Company Band), so one doesn’t imagine there were tight deadlines or restrictions from that direction – but they’re simply lacking the punch that a more rock-centric production could have given them. Certainly they have nowhere near the weight they must carry in a live setting.

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Personally, I’d Have Called it the ‘Fear and Loathing’ Fest, but Whatever…

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 26th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

Those who don’t know Marco Barbieri, he’s big time. Ran Century Media in the US for a number of years and then left to start up Salem Rose Music and apparently put together this new Doom in June fest in Las Vegas. I’m always interested to see who’s a stoner rock fan, and clearly Barbieri qualifies. And no, I wasn’t insulted not to be asked to sponsor. No more than ever, anyway. $20 is a good deal for this many bands. One just hopes the bar is well stocked.

Quoth the PR wire:

Salem Rose Music Presents has teamed up with Vegas Star Bookings to bring a different kind of music festival to Las Vegas. Doom in June fest, which will be held Sat. June 5 at The Cheyenne Saloon (3103 N. Rancho Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89130), is intended to be an annual event every June that will kick off the summer with some of the best names in doom and stoner rock. The musical styles are held near and dear to those dedicated to the cause and Marco Barbieri, owner of Salem Rose Music, is a longtime fan and supporter of the underground music scene and wanted to put his own spin on things.

“With only a handful of doom and stoner rock fests around the world we’ve decided to support these genres by throwing our own party to be held every year in June in Las Vegas. June 5th marks the inaugural Doom in June fest and we’re preparing for a special day showcasing some of the finest emerging bands in the styles.”

Fifteen out-of-town bands will be coming to Las Vegas to perform, including Fireball Ministry, Black Cobra, Slough Feg, The Gates of Slumber, Radio Moscow, Sasquatch, House of Broken Promises, Ride the Sun, Supergiant, Behold! the Monolith, Green & Wood, Aranya, Salvador, Lead Burns Red and Dirt Communion. Sponsors for the event include Doom Metal Alliance, All That’s Heavy Shop, Foundry of Doom Radio and Hellride Music. The event starts at 2pm and goes for 12 hours. Advance tickets are available now for $20 from brownpapertickets.com.

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Frydee Roadsaw

Posted in Bootleg Theater on April 23rd, 2010 by JJ Koczan

Ah, Roadsaw. Perfect summertime rock, and that’s about where it’s at today in the valley. Not that I’d know because I’ve been sitting inside in front of the computer all day, but it looks lovely out the window and all reports from the grand outside are in accord. Cool shit. And Roadsaw. This is “Who Do You Think You Are” filmed live at SXSW 2009. R.I.P. Room 710 in Austin.

What a week. Man, what a week. I don’t think I need to do a summary, but man, what a week. It’s good to be home, good to be getting back into the swing of things, good to eat Jersey pasta for dinner last night before crashing out. No complaints.

Stick around next week because I’ll have my interview with Keith Gibbs from Sasquatch posted, a butt-load of reviews (gotta make up for lost time) and hopefully some killer news about those Obelisk shirts I know we’ve all been waiting for. In any case, be well, enjoy your weekend wherever you are, and thanks, thanks, thanks for reading. I bow to you.

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