manual dexterity summer 2005

8/14/2019 Manual Dexterity Summer 2005

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Six Bands/Six Questions:

Strike AnywhereDes Ark

Paint It Black

Del Cielo

Dr. Dog

These Arms Are Snakes

Interviews:

Chariots (America, North)

The Nein

Say Hi To Your Mom

Live at Last:

The Crush

Braid

Reviews:

Music


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THE CRUSH

The Crush seemed to be heading places. They

released a solid sophomore album which was

their debut on Adeline records. They played sold

out shows in England opening for Green Day and

were getting reviews in major magazines. It was a

shock to me when I heard they were playing their

last show. I thought they had been doing prettygood up to that point. Their last 2 shows were on

the same night on August 30, 2003 at the 7th

Street Entry.


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Braid is one of those bands that most people knowabout, due to their contributions to the indie/punk/emoscene in the mid nineties. Although not very popular

among the mainstream audience, they played manyshows throughout the US and Europe. 5 years after theybroke up, they reunited to play a string of shows to pro-mote their Killing a Camera Retrospective DVD. Thephotos above are from their last show in Minneapolis onJuly 6, 2004.


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How long after the end of Song of Zarathustra

did Chariots start?

We started around March of 2003. Just a few

months after S.o.Z. played our last show. Around

late 2003/early 2004, the line up was solidified as a

5 piece. Then we lost a 2nd guitarist and remained

a 4 piece till this day.

Are all the members from the Minneapolis

area?

Arthur is from Illinois. Eric is from North Dakota, I'm

from Iowa, and Matts from Illinois as well.

Early in Chariots forming, the band had multi-

ple guitars or multiple bass players, how did

you finally end up with the four current mem-

bers?

Just made sense at the time. The four of us wrote

well together,etc.. The other guitarist is amazing,

but just didn't match up for what we were going for

I guess. More or less.

The band name is Chariots, why add the

(America, North)?

There's a Christian hXc band called The Chariot

and a screamo band called Chariots from the UK.

We'll still be known as Chariots. People will just

have to get used to it I guess. But just to not make

an issue, we decided to add to the name.

How does Chariots compare to previous bands

you've done, Song of Zarathustra and Book of

Dead Names?

Natural growth,pretty much. Especially if you know

me personally...It makes sense.

The 2 previous bands you've been in have bro-

ken up, what steps are you taking to prevent

this from happening with Chariots?

You can't prevent it. It'll happen eventually. I guess

what were trying to do is proceed in steps that will

at least help in it's longevity.

How long did it take to write and record

"Congratulations"?

About a year. We scrapped around a full lengths

worth of material though. We didn't want to have a

record full of "filler". Yet, I know we won't play most

of these songs for years. I hope we'll be able to

write more often as we mature as a band, etc..

Was Troubleman the first label you approached

to release the Chariots full length? What is it

like working with Troubleman?

I spoke with a few labels. When I approached Mike

at TMU,TMU was busy. So, it was actually for the

best. We weren't writing as good of songs as we

are now...in our opinion. I like TMU, I like the bands

on it and I like Mike. He's always been more than

supportive.

Interview with Travis Bos

April 2005


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What are the plans for Chariots touring? Do

you plan on touring Europe like you did with

Song of Zarathustra

Yes we are. As a matter of fact, we spoke about it

today with a guy from Germany who has an inter-

est in it.

Tell us about the video you doing for the track

"Hips Unite"?

It'll be finished when we get back from tour. We allenjoy video and audio together. So,we decided to

make it with some friends of ours in town. Pretty

excited to approach that kind of art along with

writing music.

Seems like now a days a lot of bands have

been making MySpace pages, how has the

Chariots MySpace page helped with promot-

ing the band?

It's been good. It's it's own thing. People find the

most random stuff, bands, people on that site ya

know? So,I guess why not.

What would you like to accomplish withChariots?

I just wanna be happy with what we write. Be

proud of it. That's all I really care about at the

moment.

CHARIOTS (America, North)


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Interview with (RB) Robert Biggers and (FC) Finn Cohen

How does Wrath of Circuits compare with your previous releases?

RB: Wrath is our first concentrated studio recording. The previous EP's were reallydemos or documents of what we did live (at shows) with no extra decoration or specializedarrangements. It's also our first release to feature our 4th member, Dale Flatum, on tapes

and samples. Besides, though possibly because of, the studio resources and resultant son-ics, we spread out or grew the songs more than those on the previous EP's. A couple ofthe songs have relatively long instrumental sections, and even the shortest song goesthrough a series of different sounds. Most of which we can't do live, but this will hopefullymake up for the experience of our "live rock band" performance -- which I don't think wecould do in recording.

How did you get together with Sonic Unyon, and how do you feel being one of thefirst American bands on the Canadian Label?

FC: I sent the EP that came out last fall to a bunch of labels, and Sonic Unyon was the first

one who said "Let us put this out" right off the bat. I'm proud to be part of their global expan-sion takeover plan. They need us and we need them, so it works out well.

RB: We didn't know them or most of the labels we sent demos to; they liked it enough tooffer to release CDs of ours. SU is extremely supportive and generous; we're happy andgrateful. There's a pretty good argument of ours that goes: We'd rather be the one of 2American bands on a Canadian label than one of 20 bands on an American label. It alsogives us reason to travel to Canada, which is pretty nice to do.


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After the release of your self titled EP, you brought Dale Flattum in to the band. Whydid you bring him in, and what does Dale bring to the group, that it was previouslymissing?

FC: Casey knew Dale since they are both artists, and he told me that Dale really appreci-ated the songs that we had early on, especially the ones where I played the sampler as the

main instrument. Dale's also a fan of the Dr. Sample (the brand of sampler we use), so wehad him join in on a Wire cover ("Our Swimmer") about a year and a half ago. It workedout well and his personality seemed to mesh with ours really well; then I listened to someof the Steel Pole Bath Tub and Milk Cult (which was the SPBT alter ego project, wheresongs were constructed out of samples and loops) and really dug that stuff. I started writ-ing some songs with him in mind, keeping room in the demos for Dale to add whatever hewanted to. It was really exciting to give him a song and say "Do whatever you want" andhave him come back with something that the three of us would never have come up with.We started integrating him more and more into the songwriting process and playing shows,and eventually we locked into a way to approach the songs with him as an equal instru-

ment.

RB: Dale's parts have typically come after the bulk of the song is written, but we're hopingto progressively work him in earlier in the process from now on. I think Dale's sound bringsa really unique and distinguishing quality to the overall group sound. Most of the songs areguitar/bass/drums/vocals (some trade guitar for sampler) and his instrumentation of oldcassette tape loops and samples serve to put all that (guit/bass/drums) into a context thatwasn't there before. Of course, sometimes his sounds are less global to the song (a repet-itive noise figure in the background) but I think they still change the entire setting of ourmusic.

FC: One thing that has been kind of frustrating about playing live shows with him is that alot of soundmen see his setup and automatically think he's secondary or don't bother to payattention to what he's doing, so we've had to be really up front about how he should be inthe mix every show we play since we can't afford our own soundman to go on tour rightnow. I don't think the songs we have on the EP are "missing" anything, but when Dale playson them live they are definitely better.

Will Dale be adding his sound manipulations to Nein songs, that were recordedprevious to his joining the band, during live shows?

FC: There were no "sound manipulations" that were recorded previous to his joining theband that he plays live; when we play songs off the EP, he's got parts that he's writtensince he's joined the band that fit in pretty well with the rest of the stuff. Almost all thecrazy sounds on the new record are him, and he wrote those parts. He does play livewith us and some of the parts from the new record get reconstructed, but he has somethings that he's worked out over the course of the past couple tours we've done that aredifferent from the album.

What do you want listeners to get out of Wrath of Circuits?

RB: I don't think I have particularly personal goals here. I want the sounds to engage

people, to catch their ear; I'd like for the songs to leave lasting impressions, seeking morelistens, etc etc. I want to find out what people get out of the album, and don't reallyknow what it'll be.


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What elements helped inspire or influence the new album?

FC: Our friend Randy Ward, who was, in my opinion, the most innovative circuit-bendingwizard in our area (he constructed a one-man band with a drum kit that played itself and allsorts of noisemakers that he had created out of Speak and Spells and Sesame Street toys),died about a year ago. We weren't extremely close to him, but we knew him well enough

to be really affected by how unfair it was for someone that creative to get cancer in his early30s. So, at least from my end, lyrically there are several songs that came from the monthsafter his death, just about what I saw as a huge dent in the music community around here.And his innovations and manipulation of technology that resulted in some amazing musicwere inspiring to think about how we relate to machines, hence "Wrath of Circuits".Musically, Dale had a huge influence in that he added elements to the songs that we neverexpected to be there. And we were just willing to experiment with the arrangements moreand more and not be satisfied with one way of playing a song; sometimes we would just letthings happen and let the songs work themselves out, and sometimes we would go backand forth with each other about what parts should stay or go or be changed. Normal "band

recording an album" stuff.

The title of the album Wrath of Circuits comes from an activity known as circuitbending. Can you explain more about the title of the album and the process of cir-cuit bending?

FC: In a nutshell: you take anything that has a circuit board and makes noise and open itup, linking different circuits together until it creates a new sound. Then solder those circuitsand link them to a switch that allows you to turn that effect on whenever you want. There'sa lot more to it, and I'm not that experienced with doing it, but it's pretty fascinating. Thereare some cool websites you can check out: www.mysterycircuits.com is one run by our

friend Mike Walters, who modified a keyboard I have; it resulted in the demo for Wrath ofCircuits that I did on a 4-track. He does tons of stuff and builds some amazing machines.There's a guy in Chicago named Peter B who makes things called Shinths that allow a per-son to be a conductor of the signal coming out--it's crazy.

RB: Wrath of Circuits simplified is: technology evolving and run amok, I guess. Circuitbending is a willful (fun) act that results in happy accidents. Happy accidents and technol-ogy running amok and over us. There's the connection, I think.

What is the music scene like in Durham, NC? What other bands from the area are

notable?

RB: We live in "The Triangle" of North Carolina - consisting of Raleigh, Durham and ChapelHill (and not to mention Carrboro, which is actually geographically within Chapel Hill).Between the 4 of us, we actually reside over the entire triangle. Finn has lived in Durhamfor most of his life - the rest of us are transplants. And it's nice to get a city's name out there(I don't think it gets out there much in the music world). Anyway, I hesitate to say anythingabout Durham in particular, music scene-wise, because all the bands play in all the trian-gle venues. So overall, we have a great scene -- several notable bands (Strange,Rosebuds, Des Ark, Jett Rink, Cold Sides [tooting my other horn], Cherry Valence, MowingLawns, Erie Choir, Pykrete), labels (FrequeNC, Pigeon English, Pox), venues (Nightlight,

Kings, Duke Coffeehouse, Local 506, Cats Cradle), and college radio stations (WXYC,WXDU, WKNC). The scene was once more famous (early 90's grunge/indie phenomenon),but considering the size of the town(s) I think it's great now.


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FC: Durham's got tons of bands but it's been really hard to sustain a venue that has con-sistent shows. Duke University is right in the middle of the part of town that many of theseclubs have been, and they have a club on campus called the Duke Coffeehouse, but themajority of the students don't really care that much about local music, which makes it hardto keep something open that can have shows. As far as bands FROM Durham goes, it'shard to find 100% Durham bands because so many people live all over the Triangle

(Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill). There's Des_Ark, who just put out a record, CantwellGomez & Jordan, who we are doing a split 7" with later this year, Hotel Motel.

The Nein played SXSW this year, how was that? What bands did you check out whilethere?

FC: The show was great. The logistics were kind of a pain in the ass, but that's inevitablewith something like SXSW. I saw The Rosebuds, Crooked Fingers, Bloc Party, The Natural

History, Jet By Day, and some stupid retro-hip bands from NY whose names I've blockedfrom memory.

Does Casey design all the art for The Nein's posters/products? How does it help hav-ing a designer like Casey in the band?

RB: No, Dale does just as much as Casey - Dale did the art for Wrath of Circuits and ournew shirts too. Both are great designers and highly skilled within jargon I don't get at all.Yes, it helps having graphic designers in a rock band, definitely. Obviously there's a lotmore to the band than these songs we record, so that leaves a lot of room for differentexpertise. Yay for Casey and Dale!!!!

FC: They're both fantastic artists, so we always have cool designs, and with all their posterartist friends we usually have amazing screenprinted posters when we go on tour.


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You write all the music by yourself, alone, but you play with a full band when tour-ing, do the people who play with you ever have a hard time learning the guitar,drum, or keyboard parts they need to play? Do you ever have problems where yourmusic isnt played how it should sound?

Well, Ive auditioned many people who cant get the songs right. Its a long, complicated processevery time I need to go through auditions. Theres a bare minimum musical fluency level though,for someone to make the cut. After I unleash my too-purist inner control freak on them inrehearsal (once they have made that cut), they usually get it right. Sometimes it takes a few showsto work out all of the kinks, but, like James Brown does, I charge them for every bad note. Howdo you think Ive been able to afford to put out the records myself? I end up playing to the musi-

cians strengths too, choosing songs for the set that work right with what each player is capableof.

As far as how a song should sound?: The nature of a live performance means some of songs mustchange dramatically, from an arrangement standpoint. In the studio, I can play twenty guitartracks on a given song, to help shape dynamics. When you only have two or three melodic instru-ments on stage, you dont have that luxury. What eventually happens is that we use the recordsas demos and attempt to make the songs more exciting when we play them live. Thats kind of

backward, I know, but thats just how things have ended up working. If we spent this time on thesongs before we recorded them, the records would sound entirely different. That said, there are

some songs we play now that, in my opinion, are far superior in their live incarnations, but vice versa too. Ive never really been comfortable performing Lets Talk About Spaceships orHooplas Involving Circus Tricks, fromNumbers & Mumbles, but they are two of my favoriteSay Hi songs in their recorded forms. Were still in the process of fine tuning the stuff from

Ferocious Mopes for the live show. Ok, now I feel like Im rambling.

How do you write songs? Do start with a guitar part, then add drums or do youwrite music based on the lyrics?

I never write lyrics first. They always come well into the process, sometimes just before I recordthe vocal. Ill spend months on songs just singing a melody, without any coherent words. Somesongs start with guitar parts, some with bass or piano. Many songs, especially these days, start

with a scratch drum part Ill program in Reason and Ill write the rest of the song around that.

After reading your lyrics, they seem like answers to questions people ask you. Likeif I asked you what kind of ghost you would be, you could respond with the song IThink Ill be a Good Ghost, and it would make perfect sense. What inspires you towrite the lyrics you do?

It took me a long time to figure out what I was comfortable writing songs about, and in what man-ner I wanted to convey things thematically. I started writing songs in ( wait, how old am I? ) 1989

and am absolutely ashamed and embarrassed about the records I made until I started Say Hi.Deciding not to take things too seriously was a big step. Once I did that, lyrics started flowing likespiked punch on prom night. Even though it creeps in every now and then, I try to avoid pure,emotional gush. Id rather write about the mundane or science fiction. Whether or not people getsomething human out of a song about robots is up to them. I will say that everything I write aboutis fiction, something far more exciting than real life experiences. Too many songwriters thinkpeople are interested in hearing about their own loves and troubles. Maybe some people are. Imcertainly not.

Interview with Eric Elbogen


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You started Euphobia records to release your own records and youve done quitewell since then, do you think other people should do the same to get their musicheard?

Well thanks. Success is all relative. Im quite happy with the way things have panned out. The SayHi phenomenon keeps getting bigger and bigger, which Im glad to see. I think, though, that if I

were on certain record labels I would have sold five times as many records and have been givenmore opportunities to tour with bigger bands. The flip side, of course, is that I can make andrelease the records I want, when I want and that I dont have to split record sale profits with alabel, which makes it easier to pay the bills.

I always try to talk other bands into releasing their own records, but most musicians are intenton waiting for the magic record deal that will change their lives forever. I see it all the time in New

York, where a band will play the same venues over and over again and actually get a following,but never a deal. Or theyll get a deal from the wrong label and fall through the cracks and not getthe attention and marketing they deserve.

I suppose I just dont like to wait. Every time I finish a record, I solicit labels for about two weeksbefore I make the decision to put it out myself. It takessome credit card debt to put out a record, but,its really not that hard to do.


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If you stayed in California and started Say Hi To Your Mom there, do you think thatthe sound would be the same as it is now?

Probably not. It took leaving the comfortable womb of LA for me to realize that I was unhappywith what I was doing creatively. Then it took another year of figuring out what kind of music Iwanted to make. That year was filled with the frantic chaos of New York City and its colorful, caf-finated architecture, culture and nighttime. A year of that will change anybody. It makes youtougher but is also the most stimulating place in the world. Everyone's an artist here. And a goodone too. It makes you want to work harder to compete with the curve.

Do you think where you are geographically influences the way music sounds or howlyrics are written?

As I said before, I think being in this city changed the way I do things. But that doesn't mean I'mwriting exclusively about subways, the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center. So no,I imagine if I spent a few years here and then moved back to California, Id be writing the same

records. Perhaps Pop Music Of The Future, also fromNumbers, would mention the 101 insteadof the L-train, but that's about it

The first two Say Hi records were made using a PC computer that you built. Did youuse the same computer to record Ferocious Mopes?

I did. Some of the drums were recorded at a proper studio this time. But those recordings werethen chopped up and re-processed and programmed at my home studio. All the guitar, bass,synths and vocals were done on the computer, in my bedroom. Just like the last two records.

In most photos Ive seen of you, your face is either half seen or hidden behind anobject. Do you not like having your picture taken, or do you just not want to be rec-ognized?

Its not that I don't like to have my picture taken, its that I don't like to look at pictures of myself.Besides, I think music is always better if you're not thinking about what the people making it looklike. Its better if someone can just appreciate the recording for what it is, devoid of any connec-tion to the real world.

From some of the pages (faq, press(interview)) Ive read on

the Say Hi website, they have all been hilarious. Do you con-sider yourself a funny guy?

Aside from a work ethic, I like to not take any of it tooseriously. People often laugh, whether they're doingit at me or with me I don't know. My few attempts atstand-up as between-song stage banter have beenpretty bleak though, Ill tell you that much.


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At what point in your life did you decidebeing a musician was what you wanted todo?

It was never a conscious decision on my part tobe a musician. It was something that happenedthat I fell in love with and kept doing.

Whats the worst job you have ever had?

Every job is a tie until I started doing graphicdesign and even some of those are absolutely ter-rible.

What would you be doing if you weren't ina band?

I would be doing graphic design and not worry-

ing about paying rent.

Would you rather work for your money orwin the lottery?

I would rather win the lottery so I could continueplaying music with no regard for making moneyfrom it.

Could you ever work a 40 hour a week, 9to 5 desk job?

It's been a while since I've done so but I think it'spossible. It's just a different state of mind.

Who do you owe your success to?

Success? I wouldn't call it success but I definitelyowe where I am at to all the people involved withthis band. From the rest of the boys in the bandto Jade Tree, David Lewis, Susanne Dawursk

and of course everyone that likes our band andbought our record. Thank you.

At what point in your life did you decide

being a musician was what you wanted to

do?

I started playing drums at age 17 literally rightafter going to Lollapolooza and watching PattySchemel play drums with Hole. I had never seena woman play drums like that before and wastotally and completely enthralled. I started tak-

ing lessons, and in a few months started my firstband. I was hooked.


Cashier at Mr. Chicken n Ribs. I am vegan. Thiswas in high school and miserable. I was just veg-etarian at the time but still. Ugh.

What would you be doing if you weren't in

a band?

I do other things besides my band that I mightfocus on more, such as freelance writing andtravel, but there isn't anything I would say I ammissing out on because of my band.


I'd love to win the lottery! I run a small record

label Exotic Fever www.exoticfever.com and Iwould like to be able to have tons of money tosupport the rad artists on it!


Hehe. I do! I am a grantwriter at a nationalyouth violence prevention nonprofit based in DCcalled The Empower Program www.empower-

program.org.


My mama. She is the single most loving, ener-getic person I have ever met!


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I think I was a freshman in high school. I hadbeen going to shows and buying records for a cou-ple of years as a fan of the music but once I started

becoming aware of how amazing and vibrant theD.I.Y. scene in Philadelphia was (mainly thanks toshows at the First Unitarian Church and Stalag 13)I knew I had to get involved. And I have been ever

since.


I worked in a fried foods joint for about fifteenminutes. Hard up for cash, I accepted a friend'soffer of hooking me up with a relatively stress-freeposition slinging chicken fingers and wings, but

when I realized that no matter how hard I tried, Icouldn't get the stink of the friers out of myclothes, shoes and hair, I stopped showing up.

They could have paid me a hundred dollars anhour and I doubt it'd have been worth it. Thusended my career in the service industry, hopefullyforever.

What would you be doing if you werent in aband?

Probably trying to start one. Or maybe working asa nightclub singer, radiantly going on with mydecadent show (even in the face of a second Bush

presidency) and holding my many admirers atenough of a distance that I might keep from havingto bother with genuinely deep emotions.


How about both?

Could you ever work a 40 hour a week, 9 to5 desk job?

I've done it a couple times. It's only as bad as thejob itself is. Some of the more creativity-basedones were amazing, barely even like working at all;however some of the ones felt like being in prison.For now I'm content to stay out of that world soI'm more free to tour, help out with R5 Productions'shows and pursue my modeling career.


I've never actually decided this actively. I am adedicated half-assed dilettante who has studiedmusic most of his life. Starting a band seemedlike a reasonable thing to do, but I never expect-ed it to be my main occupation.


Fixing classic arcade machines for this completedick who would challenge me whenever I tried toget paid.

What would you be doing if you weren't ina band?

I think I would start one of those 'car title' loanplaces. That or a credit card company. Maybe

both.


I would like to win the lottery and devote all ofmy time to learning interesting things and mak-ing stuff.


Nope. But I can work an 80-hour-a-week, all-over-the-world, very taxing and glamourous job.Turning this band into a successful business has

been the most stressful and sweat-inducing thingI have ever done in my working life, and I'm noteven doing it alone.


Everyone who works with us through our label,our booking agent, our publicist - David Lewis,

everyone in the distribution chain who has said akind word encouraging buyers to pick up ourCDs, and everyone who has ever spent adollar/euro/kroner/whatever on us. Also, theother bands who taught us how to operate: Availand Hot Water Music.


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The other guys probably decided by middleschool, but it took me a little longer. I didn't startplaying guitar until my first year of college. But I

would say sometime in the next year or so I'll beready to make the leap of referring to myself as amusician.


Actually I've kind of liked every job I've ever had,I just get really tired and hungry after an hour ortwo so I want to leave. I was a dishwasher atUniversity of Delaware when I was in high school,

which seems like it would be terrible, but about 15people who I was friends with got jobs in the samedining hall and we mutinied and pretty much hadthe run of the place for the next two years. So that

was awesome.

What would you be doing if you werent ina band?

I'm actually a Law School Graduate, so I guess Iwould be expected to do something with that.


I think I can speak for all members of Dr. Dog insaying that we would rather win the lottery thannot win the lottery.


I would like to imagine that I could, but I'm notreally that interested in finding out. I have mas-tered living on very small amounts of money just

to avoid those type of situations. I do admire afinely crafted desk though.


Our band has been dealt a series of insanely luckybreaks, from being asked to open for My MorningJacket, to being featured in the New York Times,

to having an amazing manager appear out ofnowhere to help us out. But more abstractly, weowe our sense of musical success to people likethe Beatles, David Bowie, Neil Young, BrianFerry, the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Pavement,Sonic Youth, the Kinks, Nirvana, Sam Cooke,

The Clash, R. Stevie Moore, Otis Redding, BrianEno, Talking Heads, and about a million others.

Also, Philadelphia has been very good to us.


If I had to pick a point in my youth where I decid-ed that I wanted to be a rocker it would be thesummer before my senior year of high school. I

was 16 I think, and was playing guitar and singingin this noise punk band called the geEk

Aggression. Im from a medium sized city in

upstate NY called Syracuse and in the early 90sthere was a huge local hardcore scene. As a really

young kid we would skate all week and go to TheLost Horizon for their Hardcore Matinees. It wasa full days worth of the craziest hardcore bandsfor like 3 or 4 bucks. Through that I got into bandslike Youth of Today, Quicksand, Fugazi, Split Lipand Op Ivy as well as some of the killer local

bands like Earth Crisis, Infusion and Framework.I dont know if it was my age or the just overallstandoff-ish attitude of the scene but I didnt feellike I could be out there doing what those bands

were doing. Around 90 or 91 this shift happenedin the local hardcore scene and all these skate-

board kids started going Vegan X-Edge and all ofa sudden the scene got even more suffocating.

Youd go to the same Sunday shows you had beengoing to and if you didnt have huge Xs Sharpiedto your hands you were scum. I tried to stickaround for a while but it just didnt feel right. A

year or two later I met the guys in the band geEk

Aggression and started playing guitar with them.Through those guys I got introduced to the greats Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, Scratch Acid,Ramones.


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We used to practice almost every day, just getting

stoned and making the loudest most angry noise

our little bodies could. Once we started playing

shows it all started to make sense. At that point I

began meeting people, older guys who were in

their mid 20s still rocking out. The two people that

made the biggest difference in my young rocker-

dom were Rob Walsh from the scariest band in

Syracuse, SpamHammer and Lee Waters, the

drummer of Sonic Whirlpool, who is still the most

rock motherfuckers I have ever met. It was actual-

ly those guys that got me to Chapel Hill, the rest is

historyor something like that


I sold vacuum cleaners door to door for Kirby

Vacuum. I had to wear nice shirts and a tie. They

would sing songs like "gimme a K. I. R. B. Y. Whats

it Spell? KIRBY! What do we sell? KIRBY! What do

we make? !!MONEY!!" I think I lasted 4 days. I

would ride my bike to work and get there all

sweaty and have to freshen up in the gas station

bathroom near the shop, get in a van with a group

of hopefuls and knock on doors. It was the utmost

in humiliation.

A very close second was going door to door collect-

ing money for NCPIRG. They had a killer help

wanted add "Earn $300-$500 a week working for

the environment" I lasted a little longer there,

maybe 3 weeks. I hated interrupting strangers

lives to ask for money and would usually just sit

under trees and read pretending to be working.

Needless to say I really sucked at it and I think Ionly made my weekly minumum one week and

that was cause one of the managers felt sorry for

me and gave me one of his donations. They would

bring us out in groups, drop us off in a neighbor-

hood and leave not to return until late in the

evening. We would go all over Chapel Hill and

Durham. One day they dropped me off in one of

the low income ghettos of Durham. I got out of

the car and my jaw dropped. I couldnt do it, I

wouldnt do it. I absolutely would not subject thesepoor people to the spiel I was taught. Our country

had cut out very definite areas of low priced hous-

ing, keeping the poor legally segregated by the

only thing more powerful than laws, money. Yeah

sure, segregation is against the laws held upon us

by the US Government, but not the laws of eco-

nomics. I decided that instead of asking for money

I was just going to spread the information, one

thing that doesnt flow freely in these parts of the

country. I went door to door and instead of giving

my "please help us out and give generously" spiel,

I told them the facts and as an experiment collect-

ed signatures. I think I made it to 4 houses before

I was approached by two men, one very large and

one small, both drunk. The little one asked me for

some change while the big one made his way

around to my side and before I knew it he gave me

a bear hug, picked me up and the little one rum-

maged through my wallet and took what little

money I had, thus concluding my stint as an envi-

ronmental activist.

What would you be doing if you were not in

a band?

Probably getting a lot more sleep, having a lot

more money and looking for people to play in a

band with.

Would you rather work for your money or

win the lottery?

I would love to win the lottery, but only because it

would enable me to be able to do more financially

for the punk community. Even if I, out of the blue,

got a lot of money I would never stop "working". I

would just be able to "work" in different ways.

Instead of being a productive tool making money

for something or someone else in exchange for a

living wage, I would be working towards helping

other people make a living wage through their artin a way that doesnt compromise what they are

doing by commodification for a mainstream

demographic.

Could you ever work a 40 hour a week, 9 to

5 desk job?

I do work a 40 hr a week job right now, actually its

usually more than 40 hours a week but my desk is

a work bench and my paper work is carving hunksof wood into beautiful guitars. I think the whole

desk job thing really comes down to what your

options are. I dont ever believe Ill be in a band

that will afford me to not have to work for some-

one else in some capacity.


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The AquabatsChargeUpon first listen of the new Aquabatsalbum, I realized that there are nohorns anywhere. If you know any-thing about The Aquabats, then youknow that they started out as a ska

band. Ska bands have horns, The Aquabats do not. Does that meanthey are not ska anymore? Truthfully,it doesnt really matter. Charge isthe best album theyve put out sinceFury of The Aquabats. (Nitro)

Carter TantonBirds and Rain

A good set of songs by 23 year old

Carter Tanton. Birds and Rain has alot of good songwriting and guitarplaying. (Park the Van)

CexKnow DoubtCex is a very provocative name for a

band. Having sex or making love tothis album would be like having sex toroad work noises. (Record Label)

The Cherry ValenceTCV3

With dual drummers, vocals and dou-ble riffing, The Cherry Valence soundlike a band not to be messed with.They are a 2005 version of classic

rock. With all those duels, you cantreally tell there is 2 drummers. Theguitars sound more full, but whatsthe point of having 2 drummers orguitars if it sounds like theyre play-ing the same notes/chords? Thisshould be played with cruisen forchicks in your 1970s Chevy musclecar. (Bifocal Media)

ChixdiggitPink RazorsQuite a catchy punk album. Id say itsmore guitar driven then most punk.The last track is a 27 minute com-mentary by the band as they playthrough each song. (Epitaph)

Chin Up Chin Ups/tThis is a re-issue of Chin Upx2s first

album We Should Have Never LivedLike Skyscrapers. This new albumfeatures some of the songs off theirprevious album, some remixes and a

video for ...Lived Like Skyscrapers.(Flameshovel)

CriteriaWhen We BreakWhen We Break has a great open-ing song that rocks and sets the pacefor the rest of the album. A lot of thesongs are really good and there isreally no disappointment in this

album. (Saddle Creek)

CursiveThe Difference BetweenHouses and HomesI was a semi fan when I first heardCursive. They had a song that I liked.

When Ugly Organ came out, Ienjoyed their sound a lot more thantheir older stuff. The Difference

Between Houses and Homes, is acollection of out of print 7 inches and2 unreleased tracks. The songs on thisalbum are from early in their career,and sound nothing like their newerstuff. Some of its good and some Idpass up. (Saddle Creek)

The Aquabats


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Deathray DaviesThe Kick and The SnareOh Deathray Davies, my have yougrown. And become happier. Theirlast album was a little on the darkside, sound wise. Their new album,much brighter and upbeat. They eventhrough in some trumpets to roundout the sound. (Glurp)

Des ArkLoose Lips Sink ShipsI was at a restaurant once and there

was a painting on the wall that saidLoose Lips Sink Ships and it had aship sinking. It was art from time of

war. This new Des Ark album doesntremind me of war, but it does remindme that there are duos out in the

music world better than the WhiteStripes. (Bifocal Media)

The EpoxiesStop the FutureI dont understand this whole new

wave music revival going on. So whenI first popped the new Epoxies albumin, I was expecting the same synth

blah blah blah thats been going on.

But I was pleasantly surprised thatThe Epoxies sounded a bit different.They have a very upbeat and funsound, much like Devo. (Epitaph)

EuphoneVV shows Euphone going in a newdirection than his previous albums.

While the majority, if not all thesongs on his previous albums weinstrumental, V has a couple tracks

with vocals. (Record Label)

Get HimEat HimGeographyConesThe sound on G e o g r a p h y Cones is almostas strange as thename of the band.By mixing wurl-itzers, organs, andsynthesizers withtraditional instru-ments and superbguitar playing, GetHim Eat Him has

released a strongdebut album. The artwork is alsosomething to be mentioned. It looksas though they used constructionpaper or felt cloth and made interest-ing animal shapes, but it makes this

band even more unique. MumbleMumble is a stand out. (AbsolutelyKosher)

Gold RushOzonaThey named this album after a smalltown in Texas, that their bus brokedown in. Ozona has a polished and

well played sound. (Truck)

Jackson UnitedWestern BalladsChris Shiflett, of Foo Fighters and Me

First and the Gimme Gimmes fame,shows off his lead singer/songwriterskills with perfect punk album withelements of The Get Up Kids, Savesthe Day, and Weezer. (Magnificent)

The Deathray Davies


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Jim Yoshii Pile UpPicks Us Apart

It took me a couple listens to get intothis, but after I did, I was quitepleased. They use very good ideasplaying the songs, by how they playthe guitar and how the vocals sound.If youve heard Zykos, then you havea close idea to how The Jim YoshiiPile Up sounds. (Absolutely Kosher)

Josh JoplinJaywalkerJoshs past included a 2 record stay at

Artemis Records and a contractedsongwriter at Jive. But one day whilegoing to do his laundry, he saw a man

playing guitar on a stoop. The manasked if Josh wanted to join in, Joshdid, and the experience remindedhim why he loved playing music.

While still under contract with Artemis, Josh went and recordedJaywalker with childhood friend,Issa Diao. He sent the new album to

Artemis and they told him thatJaywalker was not the record that

they needed. While Jaywalker ismostly acoustic guitar, there is astrong presence of a full band, andthe songwriting is great. (ElevenThirty Records)

Lake TroutNot Them, You

With Not Them,You, Lake Trouthas blended many different genresinto one album and actually pulled itoff. How you ask, theyre just thatdamn good. With songs ranging frompost rock to instrumental to shoegaz-er. It sounds like Cave In got together

with Radiohead, and instrumental

band Explosions in the Sky and madean album. But there is also the down-side of so many different songs, it dis-rupts the flow of the album. Anyway

you look at it, Not Them, You, is agreat album. (Palm)

The Lawrence ArmsCocktails and DreamsCocktails and Dreams is a collectionof B-sides, tracks from out of printsplit CDs, exclusive tracks, newrecordings, and bonus tracks. If youra fan of the Lawrence Arms, or likepunk music, then I suggest you pickthis up. (Asian Man)

Lake Trout


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No Use For a NameKeep Them Confused

Almost sounds like a copy of TheAtaris, but No Use For a Name have been around a lot longer than The Ataris. Overall, Keep ThemConfused, is a good album, but thesound is nothing new. (Epitaph)

Parish SchoolAlikenessThis is Brian Cases, from90 Day Men, first solorelease. All of the songs onthis EP were written on apiano, and have certainelectronic elements in eachsong. Track 4 sounds likeRatatat, with vocals.(Record Label)

PortastaticBright IdeasSuperchunk singer Mac McCaughansside band. What Mac did with Bright

Ideas was, write 10 lovely indie

songs about ghosts and girls he wantsto know. With each listen, youll fallin love with this album more. (Merge)

Say Hi to Your MomFerocious Mopes

You could honestly play Say His 2previous albums, along withFerocious Mopes and you wouldnotice that their is hardly a differencein sound. But all the songs are infec-tious and fun to listen to. (Euphobia)

Schoolyard HeroesFantastic WoundsScathing high energy female fronted

metal, with guitars like Slash anddrumming that would make that guyfrom Rush proud.(The Control Group)

The SoviettesLP3This is The Soviettes debut release onFat Wreck, since leaving AdelineRecords. Danny, the sole male in the

band, sings more on this album, thanon their previous albums. LP3 has anice blend of punk rock with plenty ofedge. (Epitaph)

SparrowThe Early YearsSparrow is a new band from JasonZumpano, who was in a band withCarl Newman, before Carl left to do

the New Pornographers. Sparrow hasa lot of piano elements, and it kind ofsounds like the Shins, without copy-ing the Shins sound. Definitely some-thing worth checking out.(Absolutely Kosher)

Schoolyard Heroes

Portastatic


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SpoonGimme FictionThe line forms to the left toshake hands and congratu-late Britt Daniel and com-pany on another fineSpoon album. I wont be inthe line. I do enjoy some ofthe songs off GimmeFiction, but I think Killthe Moonlight is a much

better album. (Merge)

StatisticsOften LieDenver Dalleys Statistics project gets

better with each release. He has greatsongwriting skills. The only disap-pointment on this album is its only 9tracks. 1 or 2 more to fill it out would-nt have hurt. (Jade Tree)

StnnngDignified Sissy

Stnnng hold a special place in myheart. Mainly because their music isall over the place. The guitars, drumsand vocals come from all over, buttogether it just makes sense.(Modern Radio)

The TeethCarry the WoodThe Teeth have a sound that is remi-

niscent of the Beatles with their vocalharmonies and piano. You can telltheyre having a lot of fun on thisshort 6 song release. Track 4 hassome nice trumpet work that givesthe song on old big band feel. (Parkthe Van)

The VetsAd Infinitum

(Modern Radio)A great follow up to their last album.Ad Infinitum is over 70 minuteslong and needs to be listened to inone sitting. There is some excellentguitar and drum work here.(ModernRadio)

Tim KinsellaCrucifix SwastikaTims got great wordplay. This isTims second solo album. He wrotethe songs while on his honeymoon.But I dont know if they are about hishoneymoon or not. (Record Label)

Vox Vermillion

Standing Still You MoveForwardIntricate and somewhat eerie, Vox

Vermillion has created semi epicgems of brilliance. VV is a cross

between The Umbrella Sequence, fortheir piano driven songs, and A

Whisper in the Noise, for their moodsetting and cello. (Women Records)

Spoon


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manual dexterity summer 2005

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