I am a huge fan of Coheed & Cambria. I am also a huge fan of vinyl toys.
Kill Audio (bloody) Vinyl Action Figure
Recently, rather a couple months back, I came across Kill Audio. Kill Audio is a comic/vinyl action figure created by Coheed & Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez and artist Sheldon Vella. The comic is more of a project between the two with the comics being featured on the Kill Audio Myspace page, as well as featuring in Popgun from Image Comics. An actual hard copy should be available in 2009. Accompanying the comics are limited edition Kill Audio vinyl action figures, basicly a mini Claudio Sanchez who is the focus of the comics. The comic is just about as interesting as everything else that has been thought up by Claudio Sanchez.
I want.
So far the vinyl figures are available to fans through Comic Cons and other special events such as random signings at pop culture toy stores. A limited edition version gunmetal gray Kill Audio figure will be sold at the Neverender shows that Coheed & Cambria is playing in select cities. The Neverender show is the show of all Coheed & Cambria shows with the band playing through all four of their albums in four nights… What I would give to be a part of that.
Kill Audio (non-bloody) Vinyl Action Figure
For more info about Kill Audio, check out the following links:
Japanther, an amusing, Brooklyn, experimental, trash punk rock act has recently released Tut Tut Now Shake Ya Butt on Wantage Records. This twosome do-it-yourself band has been going strong for over seven years thanks to their inimitable style and rareness. If you are artsy or into performing arts, chances are you may have already heard of this duo. Far from being in the spotlight, they hold their own having played shows in famous NYC museums and venues but have caught a taste of mainstream recently opening for Against Me!
I heard their band name before I ever actually heard their music and I must say after checking out Tut Tut Now Shake Ya Butt I have to say this is a weird yet interesting band reminding me of Negativeland meets the Dead Milkmen. It’s good though in the sense that the duo, art school heroes, do things all by themselves with limited assistance.
Opening tracks “Um, Like Your Smile Is Totally Ruining Me” sounding like a high school basement project and the unusual “Bloated Corpse” made it clear that these guys are in their own little world. Their sound is not what I thought at all but I found myself enjoying it.
“Bumpin’ Rap Tapes” was a cute friendless love track with lyrics that reminded me of something I might have written back in the days of high school hell. The cover of New Bad Things “The Dirge” entertained with under processed rock, but just wasn’t enough for me.
I was impressed to see that legendary Crass drummer Penny Rimbaud was not only the executive producer of their album but also contributed some of his poems for use in “Africa Seems So Far Away” and “I Thee Indigene”. Both tracks were spoken words of sorts with strange beats accompanying Penny Rimbaud reciting his works. Perhaps boring to some but when you are a fan of William S. Burroughs or spoken word in general, like I am, you tend to like stuff like this.
MC Spank Rock from Baltimore added his style to “Radical Businessman” an indie sounding track inspired from actual events of MC Spank Rock getting arrested. “Before The Sun Goes Down” closed out the CD with a track I favored over the rest. The song was a little more punked out over the previous.
The CD may not seem too exciting at first listen but then again this band is more of a DIY performing arts band and probably could care less what anyone thinks. They are known to take their music to the next level with interesting live shows that have featured synchronized swimmers at one show and puppets fighting at another. Not knowing this in advance may really stray you away from their material but once you see a clip of a live performance you can start to understand what the hell is going on…maybe.
The following videos are from previous releases. After viewing them I really see that Tut Tut Now Shake Ya Butt really strays in a different direction and I am thinking it was a result of Penny Rimbaud working with the duo. From what I have seen I think it would be best if I checked out Japanther’s catalog.
Against Me!‘s Tom Gabel has been doing a little sumptin sumptin on the side. The front man of the ever popular Against Me! is doing things his own way this time. He will be releasing a solo album on Oct 28th, 2008 called Heart Burns.
Leading up to the release Tom Gabel has been releasing music videos via MySpace of songs that will be appearing on his project. I hadn’t had a chance to check them out until now…and now you can too:
From what I am gathering the EP to be released will actually be live performances. This is really a highly anticipated release for me. This comes from the guy who used to HATE Against Me! too.
When I first got into Against Me! there was already a huge following and a couple of albums had been released. I listened to a few tracks and tried real had to like them but I couldn’t. It was mostly from fans telling me how awesome they were and how incredible they sounded before my ears even got a taste. Scene kids jamming them down my throat was not helping the situation when I worked at a record store.
I still gave them a couple more chances and even saw them play with Smoke Or Fire. Soon after hearing them a few more times I started hearing the more folk driven tracks and I suddenly liked them. When I caught them live my opinion changed entirely. They were so fun, full of smiles, and played their hearts out. Sing-a-longs galore. Suddenly I liked what I once hated…
I remember when New Wave came out earlier this year. Die hard fans soon hated the band and called them sellouts. They were upset the band went mainstream. I became a bigger fan myself after hearing that album, it is insane. That’s music industry for ya though… You have to pay the bills some how and if selling out means helping ensure a financially sane future then I say go for it…
Oct. 28th is right around the corner and if you like Against Me! you should support Tom Gabel and pick up his solo release.
Usually when there are two names of objects that can cause harm in a band’s name you might think the band should be heavy and brutal. This is not the case for Ninja Gun, a more southern country/folk/rock act from Valdosta, Georgia. In fact, previous to listening to Restless Rubes, I prepared myself for something loud and furious since the band name is a little tough sounding. To be quite honest, I was not in the mood to hear that type of music but I threw the CD in anyways just to give it a chance. I am glad I did.
Ninja Gun
Unexpectedly, I was treated to an amazing album with perfect blends of rock and folk satisfying my ears from start to finish. I am being honest when I say that this is one of the best underground CDs I have heard all year. It’s different, addicting, and certainly has replay value. Think of the distinctiveness of Black Keys (plus more musicians) or perhaps the Avett Brothers (minus the banjo) and you have a slight idea of the sound this band has. At times the rock is deep and other times there is a slow wandering country feel but in good ratio and not to the point where you forget who you are listening to.
Title track “Restless Rubes” has a southern hometown gentleman feel to it. This song was just the introduction of the CD and I found myself an instant fan of the band. Everything about this song seemed to fit in place from the singing to the Oasis like guitar riff in the middle of the song. It was just such a welcoming way to start.
Things picked up on the rockier “Eight Miles Out”, with a chorus and straight up guitar rock playing that was quickly jammed in my mind. “Red State Blues” followed and easily was the best sounding track on the CD as it pulled from 90’s rock but kept a distinctive edge. Lead singer J. Coody really displayed his singing style on this track and the rest of the band provided for a striking song.
Taking a different approach was “Front Yard Screamers”, a track dedicated to the band growing up in the south. This more country jam just made you want to sit on a porch and drink some ice cold, sweet tea. Another quality track was “Life Is Loud” a more rock track that escalated from folksy to rock. This song was best listened to with headphones and has the ability to make you gently shake your head in approval as you listen.
“Asking Price” had some nice harp playing going on with the nice harmonizing singing ensuring a moment of chill. “Nostradumbass” on the other hand was questionable at first and then just blasted into a full out rock song. The guitar playing really reminded me of the Raconteurs at times and it really stood out over other tracks
“Permanent Press” was another track that got lodged into my head. After listening to it a couple of times over I really appreciated the country style singing mixed with a hint of 90’s alt rock, even more proof of how original this band is. The CD closes out with “Breaking Light Of Day” which I feel is the perfect song to end such a great CD. The soft playing and singing serenades you a sweet farewell.
Seeing how engrossed I was with Ninja Gun, I was shocked to come across an old review of their earlier material from a past writer on Blogcritics.Org who entirely bashed them. I respect one’s opinion, but if you read the review there is nothing encouraging about the band at all from the pro –Tennessee writer’s standpoint and he really stomped on the community the band represents.
However, if you look at the comments below that outwardly bash of a review you will see a certain retaliation response over two years later from when it originally posted from the lead singer of Ninja Gun, J.Coody. I really got a kick out of the read and could sense his frustration with the review. This J. Coody who may be a part of Ninja Gun (you never know these days who is real and who is not) posted a lash back to the reviewer.
“If you came to our show looking for a bunch of illiterate punks in cowboy boots trying to pimp out some form of fashion, then I’m sure you were both confused and let down.”
Mind you that was just one line from a very long response to a bad review that the lead singer of Ninja Gun just happened to come across one day. At this time it is unclear what a young Ninja Gun had to offer back in the day and quite frankly I really want to know. I will be searching for their back catalog even more so now. I am interested if their sound has changed since 2005 or if the person who reviewed their early material years ago was just looking to deceive readers from honest good listening music.
All I know is this, Ninja Gun’s Restless Rubes is amazing. For an underground act this production of the CD is next to perfect. It’s not so often a CD like this captures me so. Suburban Home Records has a gem of an artist on their hands and with some luck you can too.
Video of the band rocking out at Suburban Home Records 13th Anniversary weekend this past September:
California punk rockers Unwritten Law have recently released their second live DVD for your visual and listening pleasure. This time around the band has teamed up with Suburban Noize Records to release Live & Lawless, a CD/DVD release that is more of a celebration of their success as a modern punk rock band rather then just another live show.
Recorded in March of 2008 at the historic Key Club on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, the band consisting of singer Scott Russo, guitarist Steve Morris, bassist Pat “PK” Kim, and temporary stand-in drummer Dylan Howard, make a point to play their hearts out to their hardcore fans.
Unwritten Law
Formed in the early nineties, Unwritten Law first started out as a speedier punk band but throughout the years they took different approaches to making music, and soon matured into more of a hard rock act. 1998’s self titled album had a couple of tracks that were put into heavy rotation on the radio but nothing more than that. In 2002, the band came out with Elva and their song “Seeing Red” became a chart topping hit.
Just one year later, the band was approached accidentally by VH1 (they meant to call Jimmy Eat World) to see if they would play some acoustic tracks. The result was Music In High Places, a part studio part live acoustic album that coincided with a separately released DVD called Live In Yellowstone.
Live & Lawless is the band’s first start-to-finish live DVD. This release also comes with a CD full of the tracks the band played that night in Hollywood. The CD has seventeen tracks plus a bonus track. The DVD covers the twenty-two song set and also contains some bonus footage.
The show starts with the band on stage in full force playing “Underground”. One of the first things I notice is that there are no bouncers in front of the stage and to me that is a nice thing to see. This show is strictly the band facing the fans. Hit songs “Teenage Suicide” and “Calin” were played to approving fans as they sang along as loud as they possibly could
The acoustic version of “Rest Of My Life” featured just Scott Russo and the crowd. His voice was on point throughout and did not crackle or show any signs of being tired even though sweat was dripping off his forehead. The rest of the band slowly snuck on stage where they smoothly depart into “She Says”. The crowd erupted as soon as they sang the refrain to the song.
“Before I Go” is a bonus treat to the crowd as the band starts a mini acoustic session with the entire band playing their acoustic instruments. I love the way this song sounds. They continue with “Elva” and surprisingly “Shallow”, a real old track by the band.
This was the first time I had heard the old school song performed acoustically and Scott Russo even admitted to the crowd that is was a special song they were going to play. I must say the song brought back some memories. Hearing the band slow the track down a bit and play it unplugged just made it that much more enjoyable. The only sad thing about this song is that I would guess two thirds of the crowd may never have heard this before. Arms waving and smiles were among the many but when it came time to sing along there was not as much partaking.
Before engaging in “Save Me” front man Scott Russo took a moment to spread some love to all the sardine packed fans in the front row. He asked everyone for some crowd participation before starting the song and just about everyone complied. With big thank yous it was clear that the concert was coming to an end.
Making this show even more memorable to myself, the very first song the band ever wrote, and one of my personal favorites, “CPH” closed out the show. Nothing like an oldie to wrap things up, especially when it was one of the first songs I heard as a teenager that caused me to become an Unwritten Law fan.
DVD bonus features included the music video for “Shoulda Know Better” as well as a intimate interview session with questions coming from the fans who were actually at the DVD shoot that evening. Hearing the story from Pennywise about Fletcher jumping a van into someone’s backyard was amusing. The band answered questions individually, shared their influences, decisions to change up their style, and even some more personal stories. The answer to how would Pat “PK” Kim look if he were bald had me laughing out loud as the bassist drew up a picture of himself.
There was not a dull moment throughout the entire live show. This DVD is pure evidence what a punk rock show should be. Seems like only yesterday a young punk rock me was in the crowd checking out Unwritten Law singing all of the songs they sang at the top of my lungs. Over ten years later, they still have it and show no signs of tiring out one bit.
Here’s a couple of clips from the DVD just for a small taste:
This music blog could have a driver's license by now…
