90's, Grunge, Metal, Music, Music Video, Post-Hardcore, Rock, Times Of Yore

Times Of Yore: Stompbox – Stress

9 October, 2008 Brian Mc 16 Comments

So this is my first of a series of posts about bands from the past or as I like to call it “Times Of Yore”. Recently I have been digging deep into my collection and found some real great acts from the past and have decided that people need to know about them or at least need to be reminded of their existence. I already have a few in mind and will continue to look. Most of the bands I have discovered were from the 90’s when I was buying everything I could get my hands on.

So let’s kick thinks off shall we?

In the day and age when Soundgarden was more grunge metal than adult contemporary and Helmet was still united there was a band that I found at Disc Den called Stompbox. The CD was called Stress and it might have been the best blind purchase I ever made in 1994.

Already being a huge fan of Helmet, this band was right up my alley. They had a port-hardcore grunge sound that may have been replicated by many bands at the time, but they sounded so good with their hard striking chords and heavy riffs. The lead singer’s voice, sounding like Page Hamilton (Helmet) mixed with Neil Fallon (Clutch),was even tolerable throughout the entire CD. It’s too bad that the band did not continue after their first release.

Not much can be found on the internet about why they disbanded. Formed in 1991 the band hailed from Boston. From what I have gathered they were picked up Sony/Columbia and then dropped after the release. They just didn’t catch on like other bands did and it is a shame.

The lead singer of the band went on to pursue other projects and the remaining members stayed together and changed their band name to Slower (which I am still looking for). I am still trying to confirm this, but there is a possibility that some of the members even helped out The Blue Man Group and even Juliana Hatfield. I can not find any proof though…

There is no band website, no Wiki even. There are some reviews out there from fans and everything is thumbs up. I just wish I could find out a little more about what the members have been up to these days.

I do remember this band having a lot of promotional material for a debut release. There were posters and fliers all over the place after I bought the CD. I was also handed a couple of sampler cassettes to give out to my friends as well as a square 2 song record…and I still am kicking myself for doing whatever I did with it. I wonder if the over-the-top-promotion resulted in this band’s dismay. I know that kind of happened to Sponge and they were out around the same time as Stompbox….hmmmm….

It’s sad nothing else ever came from Stompbox. You look at bands like STP and Soundgarden who got their start around the same time and look at how they have progressed. I can only wonder what would have happened to Stompbox if they would have continued.

This was one band I never got to see live during their heyday. Luckily YouTube exists.

The CD is long out of print but you can find it for $5.00 or less at a used music shop if you look hard enough. I myself saw quite a few come in to The Exchange when I happily worked here (sarcasm at it’s finest). It is worth dishing out the cash if you are looking to hear a straight forward rock album.

Here’s a couple of videos I found of the band. Boy do these bring back memories.

Concert, DVDs, Funny, Metal, Music, Music Video, New Release, Rock

It’s Tenacious D Time (again…)

9 October, 2008 Brian Mc 1 Comment

Comic Actor/Musician duo Jack Black and Kyle Gass also know as Tenacious D are going to be releasing The Complete Masterworks 2 DVD on November 4th. This 2 disc DVD release will includes almost 3 hours of footage including a behind the scenes documentary with Tenacious D as they filmed The Pick Of Destiny. Also included are live performances, videos, and also appearances on SNL and Conen O’Brien.

I have been a fan of Tenacious D since I discovered them one night on HBO back in the late 90’s. I believe there were only six episodes that were shown and soon it disappeared though as per Kyle Gass, HBO was looking to take over creative control and they band preferred to do it on their own.

In 2001 the band released their debut CD Tenacious D with a full backing band including Dave Grohl. They toured constantly and I am happy to say I saw them twice that year, once headlining to Agora and the other when they opened for Weezer at CSU. I witnessed the Sax-a-boom…

Their first DVD collection The Complete Master Works was released in 2003. The DVD included all of their HBO episodes making that alone worth the purchase. Full of videos and live perfomances I must have watched it a dozen times the week I bought it. The duo is hilarious.

The movie Tenacious D in The Pick Of Destiny was released in theaters in 2006. It was a funny movie but…well you need to see it for yourself if you have not. That’s all I am going to say about that. The soundtrack to the movie was all Tenacious D as well making it their second CD release.

Now comes The Complete Masterworks 2. I am very interested to see what this DVD will contain.

But who can wait???

I found this small clip on MySpace and can not wait to see this DVD….

Tenacious D “Complete Masterworks V.2” Official Trailer

Metal, Music, Music Video, Random

Wes Borland in Marilyn Manson?

8 October, 2008 Brian Mc Leave a comment

Black Light Burns (Wes Borland 2nd from left)

Ok so apparently I am late on this one…

Former famed Limp Bizkit guitarist (and current member of Black Light Burns) Wes Borland has apparently joined forces with Marilyn Manson, at least temporary while the band tours. The last time he lent his touring talent was to From First To Last in 2005-2006, he then moved on.

According to BlabberMouth.net:

Manson said, “We have a new guitar player that’s gonna play for the first time tomorrow; it’s the first time we’ll play on stage [together]. His name is Wes Borland and he used to be in a really terrible band that he left because he felt that it was a destructive force in art, and he has his own band, BLACK LIGHT BURNS, but now he is in MARILYN MANSON. We don’t know how permanent that is, but starting tomorrow [Aug 16th, 2008] will be the first step. So this will be the most indestructible MARILYN MANSON.”

Also within the same article:

Manson‘s longtime bassist, Twiggy Ramirez, toured with Manson earlier this year for the first time since 2002. The two co-wrote “Antichrist Superstar”, “Mechanical Animals” and “Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)” together and Manson told The Salt Lake Tribune this past spring that he couldn’t be happier about Ramirez returning.

This could be something huge. Marilyn Manson is currently in the middle of recording a new album that is slated to land next year. If Wes Borland continues to stay with the band after the tour he really could help contribute to the best Marilyn Manson album since Antichrist Superster (that of course would be my favorite album). Twiggy & Borland could be an amazing matchup.

I find it funny that I randomly came across this recently as I just added Limp Bizkit’s debut CD Three Dolla Bill Yall into itunes. Why? Was it because I missed the nu-metal sensation? Perhaps. I actually think the album is good and only took it out of my collection in the past because I was so burnt out on Limp Bizkit.

I was always a fan of Wes Borland though. Big Dumb Face is hilarious. Here, just check out this video and you may agree:

Weird. I love it though.

Then there is Black Light Burns. I had no idea this band even existed until recently and to be honest I am pissed. How could I miss a band that not only had Wes Borland fronting it but also Josh Freese (NIN, A Perfect Circle, and The Vandals) and Danny Lohner (NIN and A Perfect Circle)???

If you have not heard of Black Light Burns you might want to check out the following video just to give you a taste of their sound:

Black Light Burns recently released a deluxe version of Cover Your Heart And The Anvil Pants Odyssey.

Look for Marilyn Manson’s new album to drop some time next year.

Concert, DVDs, Live Shows, Music, Music Video, New Release, Pop, Punk, Review, Rock

Unwritten Law – Live & Lawless – DVD/CD Review

3 October, 2008 Brian Mc 4 Comments

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.

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:

Music, Music Video, Pop, Random

Happy Birthday Gwen Stefani

3 October, 2008 Brian Mc 3 Comments

Pop icon Gwen Stefani turned 39 today!

Wow. She still is looking fiiiiine. Of course this is an old pic to the left, but I am sure you have seen her recent photos.

Seriously now, why do I know this? Well because Fox 8 News kept playing her songs on their show this morning and they keep wishing her a happy birthday. So I guess I will too.

I am not a fan of Gwen Stefani when it comes to her solo career.

I much prefer No Doubt. Sure, she has not damaged her image too much by going solo but by doing so she has attracted a whole new fan base. In fact she is quite the popular one. I myself though can not stand much of her hip hop-ish pop powerful songs. I find the songs too much for me to handle.

I prefer the classics, you know, when it was pop ska punk. Does that make sense? She was cute, innocent, and did not wear bling.

Gwen Stefani left No Doubt to work on her solo project which was supposed to be a new wave sound but to me sounds a little different from that.

Having married Gavin Rossdale, former front man of Bush, the couple now has two children and pretty much successfully manage to stay out of the blood thirsty paparazzi grasp. They to me are the smart couple and just keep to themselves for the sake of family. No point in mixing work and him right?

Now Gavin Rossdale tried his own luck and released his own solo attempt Wanderlust earlier this year that in my opinion was not that good. I wrote a review about it and I must say there were a couple of winners on the disc but for the most part it was not that good. It could have just been me of course.

Rumor has it the remaining members of No Doubt have been writing new material and are waiting for Gwen Stefani to return although she may be taking her time as just just gave birth to her second child over the summer.

When she returns is up to the birthday girl and I hope it is soon.

Here’s a Gewn Stefani time line for ya:

And now for some solo material… (also when she went a little gangsta)

I cringe when I hear this…

And this… (even worse)

She is still pleasing to the eyes though…and certainly does not look 39. Let’s hope with age she becomes a little wiser and calls up the boys from No Doubt to start recoding some new material.