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Best Of 2011 According To BHP

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Well it would appear that 2011 is coming to an end.  With that said, it’s time for a “Best Of…” Broken Headphones 2011 edition.

There were a ton of amazing releases throughout the year as well as live shows that I was able to attend.  Below is just a various list of bands that caught my attention, be it a recording or live show, over the past 12 months.

I should add that some of my favorite releases were from local Akron/Cleveland acts.  I am not just dropping their names because we are pals or anything, they all worked hard and put out some excellent releases.  If you have not heard of any of them, you really should check them out.

I may have missed a band here or there, but the following were the ones that stood out over the rest.

Albums of the Year:

Seahaven – Winter Forever

*Hands down this is one of my favorite albums to drop this year.  They just have this indie punk rock sound that is ever so likable – trust me on this.  The first time I listened to it, I was hooked.  I see big things happening with this band in the near future.

Nothington – Borrowed Time

*This is another album I favored over the rest this year.  Catchy lyrics layered over wholesome punk rock is what this album is all about.  To make matters even better, they kick ass live.  They are coming back to Cleveland next month and I can not wait to see them again.  Listening to this band brings me band to the punk rock 90s I grew up on.

All Dinosaurs – Paranoid Indigenous

*So maybe the music was released in 2010, but the LP dropped this past Spring so I consider it a 2011 release.  This Cleveland act is beyond fun to listen to plus they put on one of the best live shows ever.  They are funny, quote 80s movies and are in it for the fun.  It helps they are also all super cool dudes.  If you are a Cleveland native, you should already know how amazing this band is.

Dave Hause – Resolutions

*I was a little late checking this album out as it was released in early 2011, but am glad I did not pass it up.  Hause (The Loved Ones) is an amazing musician and proves it in this killer solo release.  With help from his friends, he put together one hell of a release.  Do me a favor, if you like music, listen to this.

Living With Lions – Holy Shit

*Words can not really describe how impressed I was when I heard these guys.  All I know is I will have this album playing regularly for a long long time.

Deer Tick – Divine Providence

*The boys in Deer Tick changed it up a bit and put forth a bitching rock album that I really dug.

Dawes – Nothing Is Wrong

*Oh Dawes…you’ve done it again.  What a solid release.  You guys are on your way to being huge.  Keep it up.

Those Darlins – Screws Get Loose

*The girls and Lynwood dropped a impressive follow-up to their debut this year and I adore it.  Still kicking around the country-punk attitude, the foursome toyed with a more indie / garage rock sound and did a fine job doing so.

Old Man Markley – Guts n’ Teeth

*This self-proclaimed “New Grass” band was one of the more fun releases I had have the pleasure of checking out this year.  I can not wait to see what happens next with these guys and gals.

Banner Pilot – Heart Beats Pacific

*Impressive release by a great punk rock band.  They need to play Cleveland soon.

White Wives – Happeners

*This was the surprise release of the year for me.  Featuring members of Anti-Flag, this album is far from a pop-punk rock album.  On the lines of indie rock, White Wives needs to be heard.

A.A. Bondy – Believers

*This guy really outdid himself.  You really have to check it out for yourself to realize why I appreciate it so much.  It’s a really beautiful release to listen to.

Bon Iver – Bon Iver

*Not normally something I would listen to, but holy shit – it rules.

The Black Keys – El Camino

*Yeah yeah yeah… The former Akron, OH boys once again put out a release I admit I love.  I do not love the fact that the next time they hit Cleveland, they will be playing an arena.  It is safe to say they made it big time.  Let’s hope they don’t screw it up.

Signals Midwest – Latitudes & Longitudes

*And yet another local act.  These guys are a big deal though…to me at least.  The dropped a really good record.  For serious.

EPs of the year:

Luther – Siblings & Sevens

*Folk / Punk / Rock awesomeness.  I was caught off guard by this band.  They rule.  Sadly they had to cancel their Cleveland show after the band was involved in an accident in Chicago.  Luckily no one was seriously injured.  I can not wait for their full-length to drop.

Harvey Pekar – Thirty Ghosts

*Dear Harvey Pekar (the band), thank you for existing.

Worship This! – Demo

*I normally do not mention bands that I am really good friends with the members, but I adore this band.  That’s all I have to say about that.

Two Hand Fools – Believeland

*These guys better get signed in 2012 or else I am going to fight someone.  Another Cleveland act with plenty of talent.

Cherry Cola Champions – EP

*I remember the first time I saw these guys live.  I was not into them during their first song, and once their second song started, I was blown away.  Looking forward to seeing what this duo has up their sleeves next year.

The Awesome:

-Going to SXSW and seeing bands such as The Dead Milkmen, Flatliners, Dead To Me, Eyehategod, and tons others at various venues in Austin, TX earlier this Spring.  It was one hell of an experience to see so many bands cramped into such an amazing city.  Sadly when you have that many bands, you tend to miss out on some great sets by amazing bands.  Regardless, it was just awesome.  Plus…I saw Dale Watson play at Ginny’s.  That right there made my trip.

-Hanging out with Ninja Gun for a few days.  These guys are some of the best dudes I know.  They wanted to play shows on the East coast and I was able to lure them to Kent to play a show in September.  We all enjoyed hanging out so much that they kicked it for a couple more days where I took them up to Melt for some cheesy deliciousness.

-Getting Dave Hause to play a house show in Akron.  After seeing that Dave Hause was not playing a show in the Cleveland area just 2 weeks ago, I threw him the idea of a house show and he and tour mate Cory Branan were totally down with the idea.  The result was a show to remember with Hause and Branan trading off songs all night long.

-Hanging out with friends, new and old, at the Inner Sanctum Pier show on the E. 9th pier.  More people could have showed up, but regardless, I had a killer time that sunny day and got to watch Pat The Producer turn into a human tomato.

-Hanging out with Rise Against and doing some charity work them at the Malachi House in Cleveland.  The guys were super cool to hang with and really did not have that “rock star” attitude built from success.  Props to 92.3 for making that happen.

-Making the trip back to Austin, TX early November and attending Fun Fun Fun Fest.  I got to see some of my favorite bands all in one weekend including Murder City Devils, Hot Snakes, Hum, Slayer, Eyehategod, The Damned, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, and Russian Circles.  This was one of my favorite festivals of all time.  It was a festival I had wanted to attend for a a few years now and I decided to go for it.  I am so glad I did.

-It’s A Kling Thing House & Girley House.  Both houses put on some amazing shows in 2011 with local acts as well as touring bands.  Seeing Jeff Rowe over the summer as well as Mixtapes just a month or so ago in a basement is as good as live shows get for this guy.

-Daytrotter’s Barnstormer Tour.  What a great evening of music that was.  The show was in a freaking barn.  Yes, I do not remember much as the beers were going down like water, but I know I had a blast with some pretty special people.

The Suck:

-Ben Weasel’s SXSW blowout.  Sadly I was on the other side of town watching Cleveland’s very own Ringworm in a ghetto ass bar.  Don’t ask me why I skipped out on seeing Screeching Weasel live, I was under the influence of many ice cold Lone Star beers.  Honestly, I am kind of glad I missed Weasel acting like a little girl on stage.

-Danzig’s Fun Fun Fun hissy fit.  One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Fun Fun Fun Fest was because the Danzig Legacy was playing it.  I was stoked to finally see Danzig sing some Misfits songs with Doyle on stage.  Instead I witnessed a diva take the stage late and get their set cut as they played past curfew.  I only heard two Misfits songs and left with a bad taste in my mouth.  People can think what they want about Danzig and that night.  I was in the crowd watching heater being pulled on stage as well as the side of the stage tarped up so that little Glen would not get cold.  It was over an hour until the stage met his needs and the dude was fully aware of the curfew.  I will say that the two Mistfits songs had me feeling like a kid all over again.  Shame I could not witness the entire set that he had planned.  Lucky for me Ted Leo did a TV Casualty set the next day and made up for the Danzig drama.

-Seeing NOFX over Those Darlins.  I regret that decision a lot.  Two of my favorite bands played the same night and I had to choose one over the other.  The good news was that I got to see and meet Old Man Markley.  Sorry Darlins, I will not miss you next time you all hit up Cleveland.  Please forgive me.

-Atari Teenage Riot’s Cleveland show getting cancelled.  I was stoked to see these guys and was prepared to lose my hearing that night.  Hours before the show, their promoter cancelled the show.  Needless to say, I was pissed.

-92.3 and 107.3 changing formats.  Cleveland is a lost cause with radio now that both those stations were yanked.

Wrapping it up…

2011 ended with a bang for this music lover.  Thanks to all my friends from all over who made this year extra special for me.  You all know who you are.  From letting me crashing on couches to allowing bands to play in their basements you helped make this year what it was.  Also to everyone who attended shows with me and shared the same passion I have for music, thanks.

Happy holidays everyone and thanks for taking a part out of your day to visit this site.

Ok 2012, let’s see what you have in store.


00's, 70's, 80's, 90's, Alt Rock, Austin, Babble Blog, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Good Times, Grindcore, Hardcore, Hip Hop, Indie, Live Shows, Metal, Music, Personal Entry, Pop, Pop Rock, Post-Hardcore, Punk, Road Trip, Rock, The Awesome

Dearest Danzig…Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 Still Ruled.

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I am sure many of you caught my last post about good ol’ Danzig’s awesome show I caught at Fun Fun Fun Fest this past weekend.  Love it or hate it, Danzig’s set on Friday night had the potential to ruin my weekend.

I knew the plug was going to get pulled the moment he announced to the crowd that they were told they could only play 5 more minutes.  That’s why I grabbed my camera and took that terrible video.  I wanted to capture the moment shit hit the fan, and I did.  I just discovered the Spin.com has used the video in one of their posts.

Prior to that announcement, I was finally starting to get into the set, granted the band just played “Vampira”.  I will not lie, they could have sounded way better.  I am sure there was a multitude of factors that resulted in what I heard.  It was windy as hell out and the equipment was heavily used all day , but there is no doubt in my mind that the band’s techs were not satisfied with their sound check.  Not only did the asshats do an impromptu sound check while the Murder City Devils were still playing (dicks), but they also had that extra 45 minutes before Danzig went on stage.

One of the whole reasons I went to Fun Fun Fun Fest this year was to check out the Danzig Legacy.  I was so hoping to hear “Hybrid Moments” and maybe even “Hollywood Babylon”, but we all know that was not the case.  Instead I heard heard Danzig, including 2 mediocre songs, some not so good sounding Samhain, and you know what happened after…

Plug pulled + Temper tantrum on stage = Me leaving and getting awesome vegan pad thai in downtown Austin.

Danzig make $100k that night and never finished his set.  The fans were all disappointed, and I was too.  Face it, we were all standing in front of the Black Stage to hear Misfits songs and nothing else.  With the time limit, one would think that Danzig could scrap one part of his set and focus on what people really wanted.  I felt worse for Doyle who probably just caked all that make-up on his face before coming out on stage.

Don’t worry, I did not want to tear off my Misfits tattoos and stomp on it after what I saw.  Hell, I am still a fan and always will be.  I was just pissed that Danzig was acting like a diva but also knew that I had 2 more days of Fun Fun to look forward to.  Perhaps the Misfits, the REAL Misfits, were never meant to be resurrected.  I do not care what Danzig has done for the music world, all I know is what I saw was unprofessional and beyond rockstar.  He was given fair warning of the time limit, did not want to even play, and then pulled his shit.  You know what?  I’m done talking about it.  Maybe if the Danzig calamity happened Sunday night I would have a different “Attitude” about the weekend but it was only night one.

I was already in a great mood after seeing Murder City Devils and Russian Circles take the stage Friday night.  Saturday I got to see Hot Snakes and The Damned (both were mind-blowing).  Sunday I saw Eyehategod, Kid Dynamite, Cannibal Corpse, HUM ( amazing) and eff’n Slayer. I also throughout the weekend saw Major Lazer, Diplo, Childish Gambino, Big Freeda, Spoon and Del The Funky Homosapien.

There was one quick performance though that just made me happy to be a part of the entire weekend.  While my friends and I were walking across Auditorium Shores to check out a veggie hot dog eating contest we noticed that there was a band covering Misfits songs on one of the main stages.  We all stopped dead in our tracks and literally ran to see what the hell was going on.  We caught the end of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists’s set where Leo and friends were performing their Misfits cover band TV Casualty.  It was awesome, it was funny, and it sounded awesome.  The four songs that Leo and crew played made up for the bullshit Danzig stirred up Friday night.

I’ve been to a whole bunch of festivals in my time.  This years Fun Fun Fun Fest was the best one I have ever been to and I was only at maybe 1-1/2 of it.  I missed all of the early shows due to other things going on in Austin like eaten grub or getting a sweet tattoo (stay tuned for that).  I was ok with missing a couple of the acts as the main ones were in the evening.  I got to see MCD, Hot Snakes, and HUM all in a weekend.  How cool is that?

This is not a review.  This is me declaring how much fun I had last weekend.  Great music with the greatest of friends, old and new.  Throw in the sweet motor-boating I did on a healthy rack right before Slayer and, my friends, I may have had one of the best weekends ever, in fact, I know I did.  Thanks Austin.  Thanks Fun Fun Fun Fest.  I wish it was last weekend all over again.

Hardcore, Music, New Release, Review

EP Review: Bayonet – Bayonet

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I know I am not the only one that has been waiting what seems a lifetime for Bayonet to release something since they announced their existence.  I was immediately excited when I heard earlier this year that members of bands like Senses Fail and The Banner had joined forces to create a hardcore band of sorts.  Well wait no more, Bayonet just dropped a self titled EP, a first taste have you, and I am loving what I am hearing.

The New Jersey hardcore act features Senses Fail’s Buddy Nielsen behind the mic, The Banner’s Jeremy Comitas, Suburban Scum’s Paul Klein and Fit For An Autopsy’s Will Putneyalls. Having already supplied a taste of what they were all about on their MySpace page, the EP features five hardcore songs that range from a minute to three. Nielsen seems to just lose himself through out on the EP dropped on Mightier Than Sword Records.

“I really wish I was better than this” is screamed by Nielsen towards the end of “Nightmare”, a full-on brutal intro that slowly mellowed towards the end (this might have been more suitable to close the EP). The band supported a hard and tough sound backing Nielsen’s livid vocals up perfectly. “Who’s Gonna Want Me Now” followed in a minute…literally.  “One, two, fuck you!” starts off the minute long mosh pit enhancer and before you know it, it’s laid to rest. “Harsh” reached way back into the hardcore styles I remember growing up with and stayed tough all the way through. “Blackbird” had a little horror-punk feel to the start only to jump kick into awesomeness.  “New York Minutes” again just was looking to pick a fight.  Great song full of opportunity to sing along and get rowdy.

Senses Fail seemed to be getting weaker and weaker with their last few efforts and I pretty much stopped listening to them. When I heard Buddy Nielsen belt out a harsh grouping of vocals at the beginning of this EP, I knew I was in for something good.  The combination of musical forces have structured quite the beast of a band. There are no positive songs on here, only hate and self-loathing ideas mashed with hardcore goodness – Kids are going to love these guys.

If you are a die hard fan of Senses Fail and think you are going to be treated to new material by them, stay clear. This is a little harder than what you might be expecting. Additionally, if you are tired of hearing about Buddy and want nothing to do with Senses Fail, maybe you should still give Bayonet a chance. Who knows, you might dig them like I did.

These days, I’m a little too weathered to be swinging about in the pit and picking fights with the concrete. Still, I know when I hear something I like.  All I can say to Bayonet is: “Good job, when is the full length coming out, and when the hell are you guys touring my way?”

Akron, Cleveland, Experimental, Hardcore, Music, Music News, Techno

Atari Teenage Riot Return To Cleveland!

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I may very will lose my hearing at this show and I am perfectly fine with that…

The last time I saw Atari Teenage Riot live was in 1998 when they opened up for Wu Tang Clan and Rage Against the Machine. I only caught a couple songs from them but loved it. I was a fan already but just could not get into Blossom that quickly. I also missed them when they played with Beck at the J.A.R.

This time I don’t plan on missing them. This show is going to be insane.

Monday Sept. 26th @ Peabody’s – Tickets $17 / $20 d.o.s.

Eye Opener, Good Times, Hardcore, Live Shows, Music, Punk, Review

Henry Rollins – The Kent Stage – Kent, OH – 04/01/2010

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Tonight was one of those nights I have been looking forward for quite some time now and now I find it coming to an end but have vivid memories of it still fresh in my mind.

A few months back Matt asked me if I wanted to join him and Mr. D.X. Ferris to see Henry Rollins perform a spoken word at The Kent Stage in, you guessed it, Kent, OH.  My response was of course a “HELL YES” and as time flew by I found myself meeting up with the vinyl addict and Ferris at the lovely Taco Tantos for a bite to eat before the show on the first warm evening of the year.

Before I start talking about the show I need to touch base with Taco Tantos.  The place is amazing if you fancy a burrito, taco, or any other traditional Mexican finger food.  Having been there a handful of times I have never had a bad thing to say about it, that is, until I wat there with Matt.

I don’t know if it is luck or fate but is seems like things go bad when Matt and I hang out.  I could bring up stories from the past but I would rather focus on the present.  I ordered my food followed by Matt and then Ferris.  I told the eye catching order taker that I wanted to eat on the patio and I thought all was fine.  Well 45 minutes later Matt and I are still waiting for our food, Ferris has a plate of tacos, and I am getting pissed.

I ask a kid if my order is ready multiple times and he just seemed to be getting annoyed with me.  Being calm and not trying to lose it I notice 2 plates of food next to the cash register that have been sitting there for a while and manage to get the freshman stoner’s attention once more and point out that those two plates look like the food we ordered.  The kid looked at me like I was crazy and said that since they were for the patio I had to ring a doorbell to let them know I was out there.

A doorbell?  Are you serious?  I was not told about said magical doorbell let alone how to get into the patio area nor did Matt.  We both waited by the pick up area in hopes they would call out our name and hand us our delicious, and damn were they delicious, burritos.  Instead we were ignored until I was about to erupt in obscenities.

Is there a moral to this little rant?  Yes, don’t order food to be eaten in the patio unless you are fully aware of the doorbell.

Now that I got that off my chest i might as well go into the point of this blog entry – Mr. Henry Rollins.

I was introduced to Rollins when I was a teenage music lover and have grown up with him since.  From Black Flag to Rollins Band I have always appreciated him as a musician but it was not until I started getting in to his books of poetry as well as listening to his spoken words did I realize how intelligent and inspiring this guy was.  I started to identify with him and used his smart words of encouragement and reality and put them in front of me daily.

The guy seriously saved my life.  Rollins had a huge impact of me growing up and as much as some people may not want to believe this, he helped shape me into who I have become as a person.  There was something about the way his words came out that attacked me and woke me up.  I learned that I was not the only one like me out there who took hell from the naive and dumbfounded.  I learned to chose my words wisely and be happy with who I am.  He was a punk rock psychologist for me through words and music, he was an idol and still is to this day.

When Rollins took the stage today I knew I was going to be in for something good.  I started thinking about all the times I saw him live when he was in the Rollins band as well as the only other time I saw him perform a spoken word in Kent.  Before he even spoke I was immediately in a good mood because I knew for the next three hours or so this guy was going to talk and I was going to listen to every single word he had to say to me.

Rollins, who is 49 years old, still looks tough as hell.  He came onto the stage in a black tee and black pants.  He looked a little thinner since I last saw him and over all had the same full forced charisma I have grown fond of.  The punk rock musician / actor / writer took the mic, put it up to his mouth, and began to speak.

For three hours Rollins took everyone in the Kent Stage on a tour of words with out taking one break.  He spoke about current events, the government, growing up, traveling, and just being himself.  The great thing about his storytelling abilities is that he would take a story, sidetrack for a moment, and then jump back to the original story with out causing confusion at all only to flow into a new story about something not related to the previous.  All stories were true stories from the internet loving punk rock hero.

Rollins had such a love for the Constitution and proved his intelligence on that stage tonight.  Admitting that he reads the document daily he shared his excitement for it and history for that matter to everyone.  I admit I was getting excited as well as he talked about the freedom of speech and why he loves America so much.  He dished our articles from that document like a professor would in a college history class with ease, it was impressive.

Adding his humor into some of the stories it was still clear that he had a point with his stories.  He would talk about the lesbian high school student who was denied the prom in Mississippi and then formulate a better generalization for a better outcome.  From there he went into organized religion and their intolerance for same sex relations only to find it as an escape and opportunity for those who were shunned from their beliefs for being who they are.

Once he was done with one subject he would move to the next and just keep the flow going.  I am not sure if everyone in the house agreed with him 100% on everything he had to say but I know I did.  Once again I found myself sitting there relating with this punk rocker who I wanted to grow up and be when I was a kid.  I sat there with a stern smile on my face and found myself laughing at some of his jokes more than others.  I was not trying to be a super fan, like the girl next to me was, I was just enjoying his company.

For a few moments Rollins touched on the most recent election, where he was, and what he did.  I was jealous to find out that him and Ian MacKaye went to see Bad Brains at an afternoon show before the polls had closed.  The stories he told during that segment were humorous but also personal.  He talked about how MacKaye and him first discovered Bad Brains while seeing The Damned at a D.C. show and how they all became friends (he also bragged to the crowd he was at the first Minor Threat concert and saw Led Zeppelin).  Rollins shifted back to the show him and MacKaye went to and talked about the lead singer of Bad Brains who pretty much has lost his mind in the mid-eighties.

It was funny to hear what Rollins saw that during that show but also kind of sad.  Rollins admitted that he and MacKaye were floored when they were young and saw Bad Brains for the first time.  He admitted that HR’s actions were not welcomed by some of the crowd at the election day show and they seemed discouraged and not wowed like he and MacKaye were.

From helping Rupaul as a judge to acting on Sons Of Anarchy he just kept dishing out great stories about his life.  I found myself most interested in when he talked about the time he was invited to a college to give a commencement speech at Sonoma College.  Where he did not recite the speech word for word (you can read the speech in it’s entirety here), he did unload a good chunk of it and my God it was…inspiring and just wholesome.

I could see the honestly in Rollins’ eyes throughout the night as continued to speak to everyone.  Rollins was a great storyteller throughout and not once did he reach for a sip of water or lose his place.  Seriously, three hours of non-stop talking, and not the kind where you want to excuse yourself from the room.  This was energetic, fun to listen to material.  He was full of information that he just wanted to release though the entire crowd and that he did.  Before I, and everyone else, knew it he was closing the night telling everyone he was going to return everyone’s asses to them and exited the stage.

I left The Kent Stage satisfied and full of knowledge and I know I was not the only one.  Perhaps some people attended tonight because they know the name Henry Rollins and heard his spoken words are entertaining but I went there knowing about him.  I wanted some inspiration from a tough SOB that pretty much was there for me when I thought no one else was.  He may not know it and may never will but as he left the stage I clapped my hands heavily and gave a thank you to him for all that he has done for me over the last 15 years.