Dusk had come and was fading, the firey rose and brilliant warm orange tones that belie the chill of evening, even a summer evening, were being over taken by the indigo and black of night. A sprinkling of stars and the sort of suburban boredom that leads to two teenagers, too physically immature to shave, [...]
In a weird bit of Gainesville Rock City news that I found somewhat exciting, drummer Warren Oakes recently left one of my long time favorite bands (Against Me!) to be replaced by none other than Hot Water Music’s (another favorite band) George Rebelo. Warren was a great drummer, but Hot Water Music is much more [...]
It’s dark and the smell of warm bodies pressing up around me is overwhelming. Music plays over the house P.A, speakers that barely handle the crashing cymbals and the roar of the guitars from Bivouac by Jawbreaker. I look over at my friend and take a sip of my beer. Soon. Soon. I realize that [...]
When he had filled my steamer trunk full of the sorts of equipment that I had envisioned needing on my quest, I had the young man carry the beast to a waiting hansom cab in Piccadilly Circus. The journey that I had set forth to undertake was bound to be perilous, but I was an [...]
In the early nineties, there was a thriving punk and hardcore scene in the East Bay area (northeast of San Francisco). Bands from across the bay, as well as more local acts played the venue at 924 Gilman St, which would become a legendary punk venue over time. The echoes of these bands still are [...]
High production values have never done much for me, and in the “loudness war” of the last twenty years or so of popular music, studio production usually boils down to rather poor performance that cannot be replicated in a live situation, without resorting to lip-syncing over the studio tracks.
Not that anyone ever does that…
At any [...]
Wind blows sand and dirt against the weathered white siding, which once had a brilliant coat of white paint that has now been worn and erroded, of a tiny bar that exists only in an imaginary land northeast of Los Angeles in 1959. The patrons of the bar wear straight cut Levi’s, western work shirts [...]
I’ve always felt that CIV never got a fair shot: sure it was the post-Gorrilla Biscuits band, but while “Start Today” is considered a classic of NYHC, “Set Your Goals” is left on the sidelines.
The final CIV album, “Thirteen Day Getaway”, saw the departure of Walter Schreifels and really lost his musical skills and song [...]
Well, I’m certainly abusing the audience to spend so much time discussing one band, the offshoot of perhaps my favorite band “of all time” (as if that could exist), but I’ve listened to the Thorns of Life show from Gilman St (get it here) and it’s pretty nice. The vocals seem much, much louder than [...]
Holy, sweet sweetness, nectar of all that is good, rose in the claw of a graceful flamingo holding a painting flying into a beautiful sunset, ninja, chromed lugs, sheriff star, dew on the morning flowers caught in the sunlight of dawn, ride after a spring rain on a hot day, cold beer after a sun [...]