Posted in Whathaveyou on June 26th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Double-tap of sweet news from Denver trio The Munsens. Having just hit the Electric Funeral fest in their hometown last week, they’re announcing both a West Coast tour for July and the Fall 2017 release of their yet-untitled debut album. Expect more on that as we get closer to the release, as the band’s second EP, Abbey Rose (review here), was so readily diggable and I’m looking forward to hearing how they balance the rawness of that with the extra breadth that a full-length context will undoubtedly provide. Slow punk plus doom trip-outs? Sounds like a win either way, quite frankly.
They’re playing with some killer bands on the tour as well — Oryx, Disenchanter, Grey Gallows, Astral Cult, etc. — so all the better for their going. The PR wire brings dates and more:
THE MUNSENS: Denver Doom Trio To Raid West Coast This July On Plague Of Shit 2017; New Album Due This Fall
Fresh off a standout appearance June 16th at the second Electric Funeral Festival, Denver, Colorado doom metal trio THE MUNSENS will keep the momentum rolling, embarking on their fourteen-date Plague Of Shit tour through the American West where they will continue to support their Abbey Rose release, as well as unveil a couple tracks off their currently untitled debut full-length, slated for a late fall release.
Originating out of their hometown on July 7th, THE MUNSENS will pummel their way through Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Arizona through July 22nd, with some of the standout shows including a kickoff show with Oryx, a performance at Crawfest X in Powell Butte, Oregon – an outdoor festival in the Oregon high desert – and a set at the Transworld Skateboarding movie premiere in Oceanside, California.
THE MUNSENS Plague Of Shit 2017: 7/07/2017 Lost Lake – Denver, CO *Tour Kickoff w/ Oryx, Ghosts Of Glaciers 7/08/2017 Back Alley Pub – Great Falls, MT w/ Empty Gunfight, Jolly Jane 7/09/2017 Old School Records – Kalispell, MT w/ Wizzerd 7/10/2017 The Pin – Spokane, WA w/ Benign, Tsuga 7/11/2017 The Kraken – Seattle, WA w/ Slut Penguin, PissWand 7/12/2017 The Albatross – Astoria, OR 7/13/2017 DI Pizza – Redmond, OR w/ Hocus, Solo Viaje 7/14/2017 Crawfest X – Powell Butte, OR 7/15/2017 Kenton Club – Portland, OR w/ Disenchanter, Red Cloud, Chronoclops 7/18/2017 Hemlock Tavern – San Francisco, CA w/ Astral Cult, Yarrow 7/19/2017 Siren Song Tavern – Eureka, CA w/ Ultramafic 7/20/2017 Shea’s Tavern – Reno, NV w/ Thünderhead, American Slacker Society 7/21/2017 The Pourhouse – Oceanside, CA *Transworld Skateboarding premiere w/ Los Micheladas 7/22/2017 Master’s Chambers – Tempe, AZ w/ Grey Gallows, Thrä, Black Habit
Stand by for more updates on THE MUNSENS upcoming live actions and more on their upcoming album in the weeks ahead.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 26th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Goodness gracious, Weedeater. Leave some touring for the rest of the bands, huh? You know, the North Carolina sludge mainstays weren’t yet done being on the road with Primitive Man back in May before they announced their June tour, and here we are, it’s an off-day in the home stretch of that June run and they’re announcing their next cross-country stint already, which is set to start Aug. 9 and will last a full month from there out. These guys are fucking unreal. You’d think they were a punk band with a bunch of 20-year-olds in it.
They’ve been on the road constantly since at least the start of 2016 supporting 2015’s Goliathan (review here) album on Season of Mist, and if you want to note something particularly encouraging about this run and really their touring in general it’s that they take younger bands out with them and have a well-established reputation for showing everyone they bring out a good time while also being absolute professionals at what they do. Weedeater touring with Telekinetic Yeti on the latter’s most significant run to-date? That’s awesome. I hope it goes well. Nobody seems to break up immediately after touring with Weedeater — hell, Beitthemeans did a stint with them earlier this year — is all I’m saying. Sometimes that kind of thing happens with other bands.
Dates follow — including stops at Crucialfest and Psycho Las Vegas — as announced by Tone Deaf Touring today:
Weedeater announces August-September dates!
WEEDEATER are touring in support of their new album Goliathan’. The album is streaming here. ‘Goliathan’ is available across various CD and LP formats at the Season of Mist E-Shop.
Weedeater remaining June tour dates: Jun. 27 Columbus OH @ Ace of Cups Jun. 28 Louisville KY @ Trixies Jun. 29 Carborron NC @ Cats Cradle
Weedeater Aug./Sept. tour dates: 8/09 Atlanta GA @ Basement 8/10 Chattanooga TN @ Ziggy’s 8/11 St. Louis MO @ Fubar 8/12 Little Rock AR @ Whitewater 8/14 Houston TX @ White Oak Music Hall 8/15 San Antonio TX @ Korova 8/16 Austin TX @ Barracuda 8/17 El Paso TX @ Lowbrow Palace 8/19 Las Vegas NV @ Psycho Las Vegas* 8/22 Santa Cruz CA @ Catalyst 8/23 Oakland CA @ Oakland Metro Opera House 8/25 Olympia WA @ Obsidian 8/26 Vancouver NC @ Out for a Riff 8/27 Victoria BC @ Sugar 8/27 Seattle WA @ Highline 8/29 Bellingham WA @ Shakedown 8/30 Spokane WA @ The Pin 8/31 Billings MT @ Pub Station 9/02 Laramie WY @ FYT Studio 9/03 Salt Lake City UT @ Crucial Fest* 9/04 Denver CO @ Hi Dive 9/05 Kansas City MO @ Riot Room 9/06 Memphis TN @ Hi Tone 9/07 Chicago IL @ Bottom Lounge 9/08 Cleveland OH @ Grog Shop 9/09 Johnson City TN @ Hideaway
8/09-8/12 w/ Beitthemeans 8/14-9/07 with Telekinetic Yeti * = no Telekinetic Yeti
In the 13 years since they released their self-titled debut, Los Angeles heavy rockers Sasquatch have somewhat quietly — and somewhat loudly — become one of the foremost American delivery systems of straightforward, flawlessly composed heavy rock and roll. Their fifth full-length breaks with a three-record Roman numeral tradition established across 2014’s IV (review here), 2010’s III (review here) and 2006’s II (discussed here) — in being titled Maneuvers, and with a sort-of-self-release through Mad Oak Records where its four predecessors found issue through Small Stone as well as by being the first Sasquatch album to feature Roadsaw vocalist Craig Riggs on drums alongside guitarist/vocalist Keith Gibbs and bassist Jason “Cas” Casanova. Riggs also owns Mad Oak Studios in Allston, Massachusetts, where Maneuvers was recorded by producer Benny Grotto before being sent to Andrew Schneider in New York for mixing and Justin Weis in San Francisco to be mastered — if nothing else, the record has gotten around — and he steps into Sasquatch in place of Rick Ferrante, who still shares a writing credit on some of the album’s nine tracks.
And as ever for Sasquatch, the writing is the crucial element. I am very much a fan of the band and their output to-date, so if you need to, take my saying so with an appropriately-sized grain of salt, but as they have developed over the years into their own sound — Gibbs as attitude-laden vocalist, soloist and riffer, Casanova as anchor and a purveyor of high-class low-end complement and tonal richness– each Sasquatch offering since the first has been tied together through a near-unmatched-in-riff-rock quality of craftsmanship. And on Maneuvers, the thread continues in pieces like “More Than You’ll Ever Be,” the leadoff single and opener “Rational Woman” (premiered here), “Destroyer,” “Just Couldn’t Stand the Weather,” “Drown all the Evidence,” “Bringing Me Down,” “Anyway” and closer “Window Pain,” which if you’re paying attention, accounts for the whole record minus the penultimate interlude “Lude,” which at least goes to the effort of having a clever title.
Couple this essential facet of their approach with Grotto‘s as-expected full, clear and clean-but-not-overly-so production — still allowing for the punch of Casanova‘s bass in “Rational Woman” and a right-on fuzzy breadth swirling in the later, slower, key-inclusive “Drown all the Evidence” — and Maneuvers, as a title, could have any number of origins. The word itself, along with the fighter pilot featured on the cover art by Troy Goodrich, brings to mind a military context, going out on maneuvers, or trying to outflank one’s opponent. That could be a reference to the changes in and around the band itself — a convenient if unlikely narrative — the fact that they released the album with minimal fanfare ahead of a European tour, essentially outflanking their audience — also unlikely, but not impossible — or their use of “maneuvers” could simply refer to the practice of their songwriting itself, serving as another way of saying Maneuvers, the record, is Sasquatch making the moves they make, doing what they do.
Whether or not that’s where the name comes from, it’s true to how Maneuvers plays out. Sasquatch demonstrate clear, obvious mastery of their approach as “Rational Woman” kicks off at a high clip and the nod-groovy “More than You’ll Ever Be” follows with an extra dose of echo on Gibbs‘ vocals, leading into “Destroyer” (not a cover of The Atomic Bitchwax), the hook of which reinforces the push of an opening salvo from which it would be difficult to ask more than is given. It’s a first-third of the tracklist working to establish and build momentum that continues as “Bringing Me Down” expands the melodic context with some vocal harmonies (are those backing vocals by Riggs? layers from Gibbs? it’s hard to tell) in its second-half bridge to set up an all the more fluid transition into the organ-laced centerpiece “Drown all the Weather,” which along with the subsequent “Drown all the Evidence” and “Window Pain” brings in David Unger (a bandmate of Riggs‘ as singer of White Dynomite) to handle keys, only enhancing Sasquatch‘s long-embodied blend of the classic and modern in heavy rock.
“Just Couldn’t Stand the Weather” and “Drown all the Evidence” hit back-to-back and are the two longest cuts on Maneuvers at just under six and a half minutes each, and their pairing seems by no means to be an accident. Rather, after the raucous launch and the shift begun on “Bringing Me Down,” they stand out in the middle of the album as a point of essential listener immersion. The take and tone aren’t radically different from what Sasquatch have already brought to bear, but the keys make a difference to be sure, and where “Rational Woman” barely lets those hearing it catch their breath before shoving them into “More than You’ll Ever Be,” both of the longer tracks allow a more patient rollout to take hold amid the still-resonant hooks. Nothing more than a good band capable of working in different contexts doing just that and doing it well. The following “Anyway” almost seems to make an aside of the two/three songs before it, but brings Maneuvers back to a more grounded and straightforward position à la “More than You’ll Ever Be” or “Bringing Me Down” as they shift into the final movement in the last third.
While the total runtime stands at an utterly manageable 38 minutes (IV was 43, if you want to compare), this last set of three tracks, with the 17 seconds of “Lude” picking up after the quick fade of “Anyway” and leading into “Window Pain,” is the shortest and most deceptively efficient of them. And when it hits, “Window Pain,” naturally, serves to tie the various sides of Maneuvers together, bringing back Unger on keys and welcoming noted Boston improv specialist James Rohr (The Blue Ribbons, The Family Township) on B3 for additional flourish. It becomes somewhat curious that Sasquatch close on an energetic middle-ground — “Window Pain” is more emotional than it is a riot — but five records deep, they know the choices they’re making and one isn’t inclined to argue with either the execution of the finale, the depth of the arrangement or the manner in which it eases the listener to the silence that follows.
One might have said the same thing about the preceding album, but Maneuvers finds Sasquatch wholly mature and in unshaken command of their craft and style. They’ve been through some changes in the last couple years, perhaps, but what makes them who they are very much remains intact and pushes forward with characteristic boldness and the update of classic methods and structures that has made bridging generations of rock impulses sound so completely natural across their entire discography. Sasquatch are nothing short of a treasure in US heavy rock and roll, and their Maneuvers are sharp, refined and something special to behold. One of 2017’s best, easily.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 26th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Don’t sweat it if you see something waving in the distance — that’s just the collective freak-flag representing the right-on psychedelia proffered by San Francisco trio Carlton Melton. The improv-specialist instrumental three-piece have a new three-song EP titled Hidden Lights due Aug. 25 from Agitated Records that’ll be released on limited vinyl and “unlimited download” — I like that — as the follow-up to their 2015 outing, Out to Sea. They have a new video for the title-track streaming now.
The PR wire has it like this:
CARLTON MELTON announce new EP ‘Hidden Lights’ on Agitated Records & share title track video
San Francisco tripmakers-supreme Carlton Melton return with a new 25 minute-plus three track 12″ EP for Agitated Records, their first release since their widely received 2LP “Out To Sea” in 2015 and, indeed the accompanying 2016 RSD “Aground” 12″ release.
Hidden Lights is the first missive from recent recordings undertaken once again at El Studio with the watchful engineering and collaboratory help of Phil Manley (Trans AM / Lifecoach / Fucking Champs). Phil throws in some slinky guitar moves that help make the Carlton Melton Magick Karpet soar… John McBain (Evil Acidhead /Monster Magnet /Wellwater Conspiracy ) also guests on keyboards, and has once again mastered the ’Melton’s sike-adelic-drone to perfection.
The band CARLTON MELTON formed along the Mendocino County coastline in Northern California on the weekend of July 17th, 2008. The idea to play live, loud, improvised, experimental, instrumental, psychedelic music in a geodesic dome had been discussed for many years prior to this date. The opportunity came to fruition after the dome was completely rebuilt and the acoustic sounds inside were fully realized.
It is understood this music is not for everyone. If you prefer top-notch, modern day production and crafty songwriting you may want to stop here. If you prefer old SST label cassette tapes or an early Spaceman 3 cassette you recently found wedged in the back seat of your car you may dig some of this… or perhaps you like to listen and gaze at an old David Crosby LP now and then.
Released on 500 12″’s or unlimited DL!!!
Take a trip to the hidden lights… immerse…
Tracklist 01. Rememory 02. The Warbler 03. Hidden Lights
Carlton Melton: Andy Duvall Rich Millman Clint Golden
Posted in Features on June 26th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Doing something different with the giveaway this time. If you’re on Thee Facebooks, I’ve teamed up with Ukrainian heavy specialists Robustfellow Productions to give away a special grab-bag with the new CD from Contra (review here), a copy of the 3CD Electric Funeral Cafe Vol. 3 compilation (review here), a Contra tape, a DVD and a bunch of other stickers and other goodies from the label.
All you have to do is hop on Thee Facebooks, follow Robustfellow Productions (their page looks like this) and comment on this post to enter to win all the stuff. If you’re not on social media or otherwise averse, I’ll count comments on this post as entries too in the usual way, but yeah, I’d like to give the label a real boost on Thee Facebooks if we can since they do good work, so if you’re up for it, thanks in advance for entering.
Here’s the prize pack and info:
Robust Bag for Robust lottery @ The Obelisk
Robust Lottery is a tradition of each Robust Event.
This time we have a fresh, ground-breaking release that’s coming in the middle of the summer, so we have decided to ask The Obelisk to conduct the Robust Lottery throughout the whole globe.
Participating in the Robust Lottery you can win a lot of tasty stuff:
• Contra “Deny Everything” CD • Contra “Deny Everything” MC L (ltd.ed. tape vs. cartridge and pin set) • VA – Electric Funeral Cafe vol.3 (3 CD) – interstellar psychedelic voyage. “Immense document of Ukrainian heavy” • Robustfest vol.III (DVD) • bundle of stickers, patches, pins related to Robust scene
Here are few simple rules that you should follow to win a Robust Bag:
1) Press like, follow -> see first to “The Obelisk” and “Robustfellow” pages (if you haven’t done this before) 2) Write a comment below this post 3) Winner will be chosen randomly
The lottery starts today and ends next Tuesday (4 Jul 2017, +2 GMT). Don’t miss your chance!
Contra, Deny Everything (2017)
Various Artists, Electric Funeral Cafe Vol. 3 (2017)
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 26th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
I was kind of wondering if the Munich-based Keep it Low festival would add Colour Haze for Keep it Low 2017. The long-running German heavy psych progenitors have played multiple editions of the event and have kind of become a staple of the lineup, so to see them added as they support their new album, In Her Garden (review here), is definitely cool. Joining them in this round of adds are Belzebong, The Necromancers and A Great River in the Sky, and on a bill with Saint Vitus, Brant Bjork, Radio Moscow, Mars Red Sky, Conan, Ufomammut, Stoned Jesus, Monolord, Mos Generator and so on — the list is fucking wild — they only make it stronger and richer.
Of all the Fall fests in Europe — there are many and I won’t take away from what any of them are doing — Keep it Low has been the one I’ve most wanted to see over the past few years. It’s grown into what really seems like a unique vibe between its stages, skatepark, biergarten, and so on, and though they’re promising heavier acts this year and delivering that already with the likes of Ufomammut and Vitus and Conan, etc. — see also Belzebong here — there’s still plenty of heavy psych and rock and roll to be had, and that blend, as we all know, is what it’s all about. Anyway, it looks awesome. It won’t be this year, but I’ll get there one of these days.
It’s presented, of course, by Sound of Liberation, who updated the lineup thusly:
Keepers, Today we have 4 new band announcements for Keep It Low Festival 2017! We’re happy to present you:
Colour Haze BelzebonG The Necromancers A Great River In The Sky
It has become a kind of tradition that mighty Colour Haze headline Keep It Low’s Friday, so never change a winning team!
Line Up: BRANT BJORK (with Special Guest Sean Wheeler) | SAINT VITUS | RADIO MOSCOW | MARS RED SKY | UFOMAMMUT | STONED JESUS | CONAN | MONOLORD | NAXATRAS | HOUSE OF BROKEN PROMISES | BEASTMAKER | MOS GENERATOR | USNEA | ELEPHANT TREE | KALEIDOBOLT | MOUNT HUSH | GODSGROUND + many more TBA
Limited 3-day tickets available!
October 20 | 21 | 22 2017 Feierwerk München
After an amazing and once again sold out edition in 2016 you can expect 3 days, 27-30 bands, amazing people and good vibes at Keep It Low 2017! For the very first time we will have the “Doom-Frühschoppen” with some HEAVY bands on the last day of the Festival.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 25th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Sorry to see these guys go, but one could hardly argue Norwegian doomers Tombstones aren’t disbanding at the top of their game. In 2015, the Oslo natives released their third album, Vargariis (review here), through Soulseller Records and this Spring found them on tour with doom legends Saint Vitus, which felt like a culmination meeting after guitarist/vocalist Bjørn-Viggo Godtland, bassist/vocalist Ole Christian Helstad and drummer Markus Støle made runs the last few years alongside Egypt, gigs with Conan and slews of others, appearances at Freak Valley and Roadburn, a US incursion with an appearance at Psycho Las Vegas and a founding involvement in the Høstsabbat fest in their hometown.
Stepping back and looking at it, one can’t help but wonder if that tour with Vitus didn’t have some impact on their decision to keep going, or if there was a conversation afterwards about direction or some assessment of where they were at and headed as a band. Earlier this Spring, Støle released a debut offering from his new band Hymn (review here), which pushed in a different direction than Tombstones, so it’s certainly possible that exploration will continue. As for what Godtland and Helstad will do going forward, it remains to be seen, but when I hear or see something, I’ll do my best to keep up with it. On levels of style and substance, Tombstones felt like a band who had come into their own and still had much to offer. So it goes.
They announced their breakup as follows:
Everyone!!
The day has come. Tombstones will no longer exist as a band. We are eternally grateful for what the band has granted us over the last decade. Fans, promoters, bands, bookers, labels, festivals and friends have given us more memories filled with joy than we could ever hope for. After such a long time, you go through ups- and downs, and the decision to put the band on hold feels right, but still sad.
The decision is mutual, and is based upon the fact that we as a group are no longer able to continue in the same direction. Sometimes motivation can be lost, the juice runs out and you long for inspiration elsewhere. This is the crossroads we found ourselvses in at the moment.
We would like to thank Jorn from Soulseller , Klaus from Vibra and Jerome from Eclipse in particular. You have been nothing but awesome over the years.
This doesn’t mean we will stop making music. Keep your eyes peeled for future projects.
In hindsight, Astra were at least as much ahead of their time as they were behind it. I won’t speak for everyone, but I know that when in 2009 the San Diego heavy progressive-psychedelic rockers released their debut album, The Weirding (review here), on Rise Above Records, I didn’t really have the context for understanding where they were coming from. I saw the five-piece live that year at the one-time-only Planet Caravan festival in Asheville, North Carolina, and even then I feel like I didn’t properly appreciate the fluidity and the richness of what they were doing or the effect it would have on the then-nascent scene around them. But though few around them would come close to touching on the same kind of Mellotron-soaked artistry of extended pieces like “Beyond to Slight the Maze” and the earlier key-worship and Moog textures of “Silent Sleep,” Astra and The Weirding in particular would have a significant impact on the overall mindset of what we now think of as the West Coast psych boom, still very much in progress. If nothing else, the title of the album seems to have given the entire process of dudes picking up guitars and shredding with SoCal gnarl and abandon a name: What else would you call it if not a weirding of the wicked world?
When I hear The Weirding on my mental jukebox, as I still do from time to time these eight years after the fact, that line from the early-appearing 15-minute title-track remains a standout, in part because it’s catchy — and it is, despite the extended runtime — but also because of the willful sense of defiance in it. These are the freaks talking to the norms, and if you look at the Arik Roper cover art and listen to the eight tracks/78 minutes of The Weirding as a whole, it’s happening all across the record. What I called “pastoral” at the time I might call otherworldly today, but the work of Richard Vaughan (guitar, vocals, Mellotron, synth), Conor Riley (guitar, vocals, Mellotron, synth, piano and other keys), Brian Ellis (guitar and Moog), Stuart Sclater (bass) and David Hurley (drums, percussion and flute) hits like a dream either way, and as a debut, The Weirding is all the more of a stunner. The patience and sure hands that guide the currents of “The River Under,” or the sweet folkishness of “Broken Glass” — which is like a piece of buried treasure after the hypnotic 17-minute “Ouroboros” before it — land with such a resonant feeling of their own direction and confidence behind them, that it’s nearly impossible not to be swept up in it. Lush in its melodies and unremittingly graceful in the flow between its tracks, The Weirding remains a joyous update of classic progressive rock, reveling in joy at what King Crimson seemed to take almost too seriously in their formative work and thereby establishing Astra‘s own sonic persona as one bright and brimming with life despite being so thoughtful in its presentation.
That blend of concept and poise in execution has proven a precious rarity in the years since The Weirding arrived, and accordingly, it’s only become easier to appreciate what Astra brought to their first offering — which is to say nothing of the ultra-trustworthy getting-it on the part of Rise Above, who over the years have proven able time and again to meet bands’ visions on their own levels, whether it’s a group like this or Orange Goblin, Uncle Acid, earliest Witchcraft, and so on. The same imprint would stand behind the second Astra full-length, The Black Chord (review here), in 2012, and having played to support the debut in 2010, the group returned to the Netherlands for an appearance at the Roadburn festival in 2013 (review here), where they brought both records to the stage with due energy and molten kosmiche. Sadly, The Black Chord remains the final Astra album to-date. Ellis has continued to make contributions to the West Coast aesthetic through producing and the crafting of solo/side-projects on El Paraiso Records, and Vaughan has a graphic design company, but half a decade after their sophomore long-player, there’s been little sign of a third installment from the band either in the writing or recording stages. Never say never in rock and roll — that is, it could still very much happen — but to the best of my knowledge, there’s nothing currently in progress.
Still, one doesn’t need the promise of a new record to grasp the importance or immersiveness of The Weirding, which is fortunate, and whether you’re listening to it for the hundredth time or the first time, it’s very much the kind of album in which one can always find something new. I hope you do, anyhow, and I hope, as always, that you enjoy.
Thanks for reading and listening.
—
You’ll forgive me if I don’t really think of this week as being “over” in the true sense of the word, since for me it isn’t. Yeah, I’m gonna check out of Obelisk stuff for a day or so as much as I ever do — I don’t — but after being on the road since leaving Pawtucket, Rhode Island, last Friday following my last day at work, I’ve yet to return home to Massachusetts.
To recap: The Patient Mrs. and I headed on Friday from my work to York, Pennsylvania, for a wedding on Saturday. Sunday night and Monday we stayed with family in Sparks, Maryland. Tuesday we made the eight-hour trip to Statesville, North Carolina, to see my father. We stayed there through Wednesday, saw my aunt and uncle and cousins whom I hadn’t seen in at least 20 years, and then left Thursday morning — yesterday morning — to arrive back in MD as kind of a waypoint/crash-spot. Shortly, we’ll get back in the car and make a break north for New Jersey, where my mother and sister and her family are celebrating my grandmother’s 102nd birthday. Dinner with them tonight, then we stay with my other cousin nearby — still in North Jersey — before seeing friends tomorrow morning quickly, grabbing my mother (who will be staying with us for the next week) and heading back north at least as far as Connecticut, where I think we’ll probably stay until Sunday, if only because it’s less driving than heading directly back home to MA. What’s one more day away at this point?
It’s been a long trip already, I don’t mind saying. And it hasn’t all been pleasant, I also don’t mind saying. But The Patient Mrs. and I went to bed at around 9PM last night and I slept an extra hour this morning, getting up at 5:45AM instead of 4:45, and I had a mug of coffee for breakfast with cinnamon-flavored protein powder in it, and it’s been quiet as I had time to write about the Astra record above, so I can’t really argue with the moment’s setting. One has to steal minutes where one can sometimes. I feel like I’ve managed to do that somewhat effectively this morning. It’s just before 9AM now. We want to be on the road by 1PM.
The elephant in the room here is Maryland Doom Fest, which I’m missing this weekend. I wouldn’t be were it not for the legitimacy of the family occasion — Earthride are fucking great, but how many times does one of your relatives turn 102? — and perhaps even in my younger days I would’ve blown off the celebration in favor of the riffs. I don’t know if it’s a product of being an adult or what, but the can’t-miss factor seems to have shifted my priorities. That lineup is incredible, and if you’re going, I hope you have a great time, but yeah, from where I sit, my presence seems more crucial at the birthday. Getting old is strange.
Whether you’re in Frederick for that fest or not — you should be — I hope you have a great and safe weekend. Here’s what’s in the notes for next week, subject to change as usual:
Mon.: Sasquatch review; Robustfellow giveaway.
Tue.: Tuna de Tierra review/track premiere; Bones of Minerva video premiere.
Wed.: Shroud Eater review/track premiere; The Great Beyond video.
Thu.: Fat Dukes of Fuck video premiere; Six Dumb Questions with Stoned Jesus.
Fri.: Bible of the Devil/Leeches of Lore split review/stream; Atala video.
So that’s what I’ve got as of this moment. Week after (yes, the week of July 4) will be the Quarterly Review. Busy times as always. Once again, have a great couple days, whatever you’re up to. Thanks for reading, listening, watching, sharing, commenting, and so on, and please check out the forum and radio stream.
