| 
This event has been long overdue. As with many great forms of art throughout the ages, true art goes unnoticed until long after it's gone. Fortunately for me and the hundreds of other area musicians and fans, this is not the case here in D.C. Taking the stage on this night at the Black Cat were some of Washington D.C.'s architects of what the soon to be released movie Salad Days calls the Washington D.C. punk revolution. This revolution of sound was unique to this area during the early 1980's. Although aggressive forms of music were taking hold across much of America at this time, the attitude of the Washington D.C. music scene was different from anywhere else. We must remember the period and place that this music comes from to understand how it was influenced and why it's so important. It was all about Reagan and Russia and who can build a bigger bomb and drop it first. It was get under your desk kids, because when the bomb hits the White House doors will be locked! Kids today wear basketball sneakers. Back then it was the combat boot and you were the target. With this being said, this type of music did not begin with Nirvana and morph to a bitter end into Green Day. It really started on the east coast in cities like Washington D.C. where politicians push people around like the game pieces in Stratego. That's right, I'm old and I could care less! At the Black Cat the messages were loud and clear enough to blow the windows right out of the White House. This was the second night of a two night event at the Black Cat celebrating the soon to be released movie Salad Days; The Washington D.C. punk revolution. The first night sold out quick so I was only able to get tickets for the second night. On this night the Black Cat was overflowing with musicians and fans alike that were still connected to this unique sound and message. If this show was not also sold out, it was really close. First up was D.C.'s Youth Brigade. This band to the best of my knowledge was only active for a brief time in the early 80's but nevertheless was on the frontlines of the D.C. music scene in the early years. Founding member Danny Ingram is now playing with the D.C. band Dot Dash. Youth Brigade started the show off with the same intensity that is characteristic of the sound that in my opinion is early D.C. punk. Youth Brigade were aggressive and fast paced while still having a sense of melody about them. Midway through their set the crowd was treated to a rousing rendition of Stepping Stone with guest vocals being provided by Government Issue's John Stabb and the Untouchables/ The Faith's Alec MacKaye. Youth Brigade was solid and tight as ever throughout the entire set. Time has in no way diminished the spirit of any of these musicians. After a very brief break, Government Issue took the stage to continue to bring down the roof. Government Issue was one of the best bands to come out of the early Discord D.C. punk scene and their influence is still seen today in musicians trying to obtain the energy that comes from this time period. John Stabb still delivers an intensity that is instantly recognizable as being true D.C. punk attitude. Attitude is a common thread that is woven throughout all of these bands. John Stabb has it all night long with more to spare. The music was fast here and really driven by some great guitar work from Brian Baker (Minor Threat, Dag Nasty, and Bad Religion).
Government Issue still sounds just as important and urgent today as ever with solid playing and an enthusiasm that is rarely seen in bands with members half their age. Having seen this band in the early 80's, I can honestly say that they have never sounded better. After Government Issue left the stage, the crowd was then treated to some film excerpts from the movie Salad Days. From what was shown, this movie should soon become a classic music documentary. Filled with live footage and from the gut interviews with people who matter and were there, this movie will stand the test of time even if we don't. Last to take the stage were Scream. This band I have seen many times and have shared the stage with in my band Grey march. This band has always delivered great music and tonight was no different. I had not seen them in some time and really didn't know what to expect. Scream took the stage and really owned it with their unique blend of musical styles. Scream were playing music that at times was very fast paced, which is more of the bands earlier sound. They would then play something slower with a more reggae infused sound which worked very well and contained the same intensity as the early music. This combination of styles is very fitting coming from a band that grew out of the same era that influenced another D.C. legend the Bad Brains. Speaking of the Bad Brains, H.R. (vocalist for the Bad Brains) appeared onstage to play guitar and add some vocals to a few songs dressed in a big white Victorian wig and a blue riding coat. The gathering of talent on this night was unsurpassed. I was surprised to see that Dave Grohl did not make an appearance as he did play with Scream in the bands later years in the late 80's before joining Nirvana. Regardless, Scream continued to play at breakneck speed throughout the rest of the evening. Original drummer Kent Stax really stood out to me as he was playing very consistent at a tempo that could easily break sticks. As the show ended, I found myself reflecting on how great this music is and was. In a time where bands are wondering why show attendance seems to be low, we need only to look back at bands like these for inspiration. Two sold out nights can't be wrong. It's the quality of the music that matters and here we see the results. It's time to take off the sneakers and lace up the boots. The target is still there and there is still plenty to fight for.
Ron Weldon (Keyboardist Grey march)
|
|
|
|
Photos By Ally Queen
It was f@#*ing amazing! The End.
|
|
| [click on picture for slideshow] Queensryche shredded the House of Blues Sunset Strip on Saturday November 24, 2012. Showcasing new vocalist Todd La Torre, the band tore through a 90 minute set filled with their heaviest early material, including songs that had not been performed live for many years. This was a band on a mission - a mission to perform, to rock hard, and have a great time doing it. I have seen every tour since 1991, and this is one of the top performances I have seen, and easily the best show in years. They seemed like a band again. Michael Wilton was animated, excited and never stopped moving. Parker Lundgren was finally out of the shadows and clearly enjoying the ability to shine. Eddie Jackson killed it on the bass and backup vocals, with just a little more attitude than we have seen. The best part of all was when drummer Scott Rockenfield announced prior to the encore that the band was heading into the studio to record new material. If they play like they did that night, this new material will be a welcome addition to their catalog. This new version of the Ryche is a metal band, plain and simple. Judging by the reaction of the crowd, that is exactly what they are looking for.
|
|
| So I got there a bit early, since I was there to promote Aries, the amazing up-and-coming metal band from Riva, Maryland. It was my first time promoting a band, so I was a bit nervous. I just went with it, talked to a lot of people, and met a few of the bands that were playing that night, Rio Linda and Anoxia. Crystal from Anoxia was really nice. I told her I couldn't wait to hear the band. I was telling people about the debut of Aries' new song on 98 Rock and their show with Sweet Suicide on November 12. Finally I got in and ran into fellow Shockwave member Gary Thorn and a friend of mine, Greg Bowen, who's starring in the BROS production of Valhella. Greg helped me hand out the demos for Aries and did a great job promoting them.
The first band went on, and from the sound quality, I could tell the sound was better than other nights; with Soundstage, it seems to happen like that. The band was called Neverthought, and they were decent. I'm not big on Nu Metal and Rap Rock, but the sound was good, and the vocals reminded me of Limp Bizkit and other bands that you may remember from the 90s. Their set ended, and the crowd seemed to approve. There was not much movement within the place and people were still coming in.
My accomplice handed out more Aries demos as I went around talking to different people, including my friends in A Sound Of Thunder, Josh Schwartz and Nina Osegueda. As the next band took the stage, I considered that there were seven bands there that night, and I wasn't sure if I'd stay the whole time; I wasn't overly impressed with the first band, but the second band, Hillsmere, definitely came out of nowhere. I was expecting something similar to what I heard from Neverthought, but this band was quite interesting. They had two talented keyboardists, a guitarist, a bassist, a good drummer, and a lead singer who had a lot of energy and didn't stand still for very long. I listened intently, trying to identify their style, but they were all over the music spectrum and reminded me of avant garde rock metal or something along those lines. The singer compelled the audience with a lot of harsh vocals akin to hardcore yet could also deliver with melodic clarity. They were impressive and had me moving, but it was a 50/50 split – some people liked them, others not so much.
Interestingly, the next band setting up, My Enemy Complete, also had a keyboardist. The band's look was very "New Order," and they started out great. The lead singer had one hell of a stage presence and reminded me of a young Maynard James Keenan. The programmed music reminded me of NIN and Depeche Mode, and then the guitars started up, sounding like Tool and A Perfect Circle. The drumming was really solid. You could hear The Cure's influence in the vocals, as well, in the raw passion of the singer, his ability and range from a whisper to a scream. I did not expect music like this from a local band, and wow, they finished their set leaving the crowd wanting more. Afterward, I approached the keyboardist to tell him I loved their sound and ask if they had an EP out, and I got the chance to tell to the other band members how much I enjoyed their set.
|
|
| Melvins Lite @ The Ottobar--Baltimore, MD. 10-7-2012
|
|
Written by Pete Swindler of Rezin
Friday, 02 November 2012 12:23 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Photos By Benjamin Hilts
Who am I? What am I doing here? Where's Ally? Well, I'm the biggest Melvins geek that Ally knows, so when Shockwave Magazine told her they scored an interview, she asked if I would do the write up. More than happy to oblige! My biggest fear was that I would go too Fanboy on them, but I think I did a respectable job of containing myself. I thought that we'd probably get about 10 or 15 minutes with Buzzo and Dale, but we talked to them for nearly an hour, and still there were so many questions left unasked! Still, I am beyond grateful for all that we did get to talk about, even if the answers weren't always to the questions posed – I expected nothing less.
But first, a brief bit of history: It was back in the halcyon days, around 1990, I believe, when a friend of mine liberated one of his brother's cassette tapes (which was the style at the time.) On one side of this tape was a mix of Pixies B-sides, which was cool, but on the other side was (unlabeled of course) the Melvins' Ozma. The girl I was then with told me that it gave her a headache; I immediately knew that they were on to something. Aside from aggravating people who have bad taste in music, that album, and any others that I could subsequently get my hands on, fundamentally changed the way that I thought about music – I mean, fuck the 1; the 1's where we say it is! They were way more together than the punk stuff that we had, and yet, still filthy. In short – magnificent. Between then and now, I've probably seen them more than 20 times, and I've never been disappointed, except one time at the Black Cat in the early 2000s when the P.A. was underpowered (the Black Cat quickly remedied that unfortunate situation, thankfully). Throughout the intervening years, I've had the chance to talk to the guys a couple of times, and it was always entertaining – even sometimes accidentally enlightening (they can be somewhat enigmatic in conversation, understandably so after ripping through sets the way that they do), but never like the chance we had this time.
To start with, the Melvins are currently attempting to break a Guinness World Record by playing 51 states in 51 days (the 51st being D.C., which they say they believe should be a state). The show at the Ottobar was number 33. When asked about the difficulty and inadvisability of such an undertaking, Buzzo replied that it only seemed so ridiculous because they were being compared to other musicians – a notoriously lazy lot, to paraphrase – also adding that nobody makes a big deal in other professions when someone works that much, usually for longer than 75 minutes a day. Personally, I think there's a bit more work involved than that, but who am I to argue? The whole tour is being recorded by the band and posted on Spin magazine's site; it is hysterical and informative, and I highly recommend checking it out.
Now, I've never done an interview before, and this was a hell of a one to cut my teeth on. Having talked to these guys before, I didn't think that our talking points would be strictly adhered to, and I was not disappointed. We kind of threw things out there and let Buzzo go off, for the most part. Dale was very helpful in reigning in the screeds. The conversation covered a whirlwind of topics, from the death of music to, well, the death of music; not really, but it was an amusingly recurring theme replete with dinosaur imagery. I did get a chance to ask Dale if Altamont (one of Dale's side projects) had anything in the works but, alas, nothing is set as of now. The Altamont show at the old Ottobar, by the way, was the loudest show I've ever been to, which is saying something, with the decibel level probably owing in part to the fact that the place was a glorified broom closet– and I mean that in a good way.
|
|
|
|
