Music, Music Video, New Release, Pop, Punk, Review, Rock

Album Review: Grey Area / The Reveling / The Copyrights / Luther – 4-Way Split

Leave a comment

Leave it to Black Numbers to gather up some kick-ass pop-punk/post-hardcore bands and drop a sweet split release on vinyl and CD.  At 8 tracks long, the 4-way split features a pair of tracks from Grey Area, The Copyrights, The Reveling, and Luther.   The result is a great listen by a group of bands that have been having no difficulty getting noticed lately.

The release was dropped earlier this year, but I kind of fell of the face of Earth, so my apologies in advance.   Shall we continue?

NYC’s the Grey Area started off the split  with “Lucky”, a pepped up punk rock track that easily reached back to the 90s punk rock scene.  This song was amazing and perfect for opening up the album.  Following was “Bad Anything”, a track that reminded me of Dag Nasty in a good good way.  Having not been too well versed with this band prior to listening, I know what I am going to be doing once I finish this review up.

Brooklyn’s The Reveling was another band I have not gotten into just yet, but of course after hearing their tracks on this release, I intend to change that.  “Trust Me” sounded of The Menzingers at times but not in a bad way at all.  The song was a little too quick for me and seemed to just drop, but all was well once “Its Time To Ride” kicked in.  I must say, I was impressed with what I heard and can’t wait to hear more.

Do I really need to say anything about The Copyrights?  Most of you probably know what they are all about already, but still, this is a review so I will at least tell you all that they are from Illinois and they rule. “The New Frontier” was easily the hardest sounding track in the split.  Never ceasing to amaze me, they dropped “Straight To The Office” from 90s punkers Scared Of Chaka.  The cover was great in my opinion and I hope more kids will check out Scared Of Chaka after hearing the cover.

Philly’s Luther put out one of my favorite EPs last year, so I may sound a little biased here, but their offerings on this split were killer.  “Sixty-One” was likable the moment the signing kicked in.  Seriously, this track was fun from start to finish and just more proof how talented this band is.  “The Door Is A Penthouse” impressed me as well.  I told you I probably was going to sound biased, didn’t I?

This split is a great dose of 4 hard-working bands that I feel one day will be all over the music scene.  Thanks to Black Numbers for putting together such an excellent 4-way split.  Having played the split over and over since I got it, it’s easy for me to think that fans of punk rock of all types will dig this regardless if they know any of the bands on the cover or not.

The split is available on CD, LP, and digital download.  What the hell are you waiting for?  Go grab you one!   Rumor has it you actually appear to be cooler once you have a copy in your hand.  Just saying…

Death, Hip Hop, Music News, Punk, The Suck

RIP Adam Yauch (aka MCA)

Leave a comment

My heart seriously just sunk a few moments ago when I learned that Adam Yauch, also known as MCA of the Beastie Boys, passed away today after a 5-year battle with cancer.  He was 47.

When I heard he was not attending the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony a few weeks back, I knew something was up, but I figured he was just getting treatment again.

At the ceremony, Ad- Rock (Adam Horovitz) and Mike D. (Michael Diamond) read a letter from Yauch in response to being inducted to the Rock Hall:

“I’d like to dedicate this to my brothers Adam and Mike. They walked the globe with me. It’s also for anyone who has ever been touched by our band. This induction is as much ours as it is yours.”

I think “touched” is an understatement.  The Beastie Boys are one of the most important bands of my lifetime.  Love them or hate them, the B-Boys changed music in a good good way and Yauch had a big part in that.

Yauch at the 2007 Virgin Mobile Festival

Currently the website / blog for the Beastie Boys is down, so I am waiting to see what the rest of the band has to say about this unfortunate loss. (UPDATE – The site is now up and there is an amazing piece about Yauch on it.  Head over to the Beastie Boys site if you would like to check it out.)

All I know is that when I found out, I was sad – really sad.  Maybe some people do not care, but I do…

I have been a fan of the Beastie Boys since I picked up Licensed To Ill in a Gold Circle store in 1986.  I remember hearing them once on MTv when it was a cable channel that actually played music videos all the time.  My Mom caved in and bought it for me.  The way I looked at music changed the moment I ripped off that cellophane wrapper.

I grew up with them and wanted to be like them as a youth.  My Paul’s Boutique cassette was played so much that it disintegrated.  I have caught them a handful of times including when they headlined at Bonnaroo in 2009.

I was lucky enough to have met Yauch, and the rest of the B-Boys, in 2007 at the Virgin Mobile Music Festival in Baltimore.  I interviewed the band for about 7 minutes and laughed more than anything.  They were cool guys and I remember specifically  Yauch just laughing hard while Ad-Rock stood ever so close to me while I rifled off some questions to them.  It was a memory I will never forget, and now plan on cherishing for the rest of my life.

Yauch was always the bad ass of the group.  He was an inspiration, an icon, a legend.  He will be missed.

Bad Times, Music, Music News, Punk, The Suck

The Menzingers Could Use A Little Help…

Leave a comment

It really sucks that people need to resort to robbing other people.  It’s trashy, mindless, and just pathetic if you ask me.  I am not trying to tell people out there how to live your life, but stealing from someone, especially from a hard working someone is just shitty.

Yesterday, Philly punk rockers The Menzingers fell victim to some douche who decided it would be best to smash out their vehicle’s windows and steal a few things while the band was hanging with fans at an after-party.  Normally this would not be something I would even make a big deal about, but the boys are overseas in Manchester currently and in those bags were their tour money and more importantly, their passports.

Greg from The Menzingers posted what happened on their Tumblr account  this morning.  At first I glanced over it and thought their clothing and electronics were lifted, but once I read it over some more, I realized that they really do need some help.  Maybe their label will be of some assistance, but I am pretty sure these guys are freaking out and need all the help they can get.  Hopefully someone will just step forward and give them back their passports.

Here is what Greg had to say:

Ok so here’s what happened…

We played a sold out show at The Moho last night in Manchester which ended up being the absolute best show of tour. Seriously! Stage dives, singalongs, shots of mystery liquors.. It was one for the books. An after-party started to form at a bar down the street. In the great moods we were in we decided to partake and spent the night singing and dancing to  The Cure and Springsteen with The Souls, Red City Radio, Leagues Apart, and tons of friends. 

Dave March (our driver/front of house/lifemate/best friend), Eric (bass player/ good looking one) and I decided to only have a beer and then hit the road. Tom and Joe were going to take a cab back to the house. Ok cool. Everything’s going great. We walk around the block To the van and I hear Dave give a quiet “oh fuck”. The driver side window was smashed out and 3 personal bags were stolen. Unfortunately my bag was stolen with all of our tour money inside it. To top it off, we brought around $2000 in US cash with us in case of an emergency. So let’s see €5000 Euros, an iPad, 3 iPods, 3 passports, 2 pairs of raybans (I know, I know they’re super expensive but they make you look pretty cool), my personal tour journals from the last year and a half which included all of my “On the Impossible Past” lyrics and all of my god damn memories, a digital camera, prescriptions, blah blah blah.This sucks. It really fucking sucks because it’s not your fault and so many, in fact an absurd amount of you want to help out. It’s pretty surreal and heartwarming to know we’re not alone in this situation. Thanks, thanks, thanks. Cant tell you how much it means. 

The absolutely wonderful folks at  Banquet Records have set up a donation drive for us. They really are the best. If you live in the UK and care to help you can donate there. I hear they’re matching donations which is just too nice. Too nice. http://www.banquetrecords.com/MenzingersAppeal

While we’re extremely apprehensive about this we’re going to open up our paypal account if you care to donate. We don’t expect much and we feel extremely uncomfortable putting our hats out like this but here’s our paypal account if you care to help: MenzingersSkrilla@gmail.com  Tom made the account name up years ago. Sounds about right.

We’ll find a way to make it up to you by way of acoustic demos, new songs, free shows. Whatever. Thanks for the help. Love you all. 

-Greg
Kudos to Banquet Records for being so awesome to them.  I know this is a reach of help for the fans in the UK, but it is open to everyone all over the world. 

If you fancy yourself a fan and want to help out, you know what to do.

Luckily Jaded Punk Hulk, as found on Twitter, as already pitched in to help:

Music, Music News, Music Video, New Release, Punk

Yellow Dogs & Joyce Manor

Leave a comment

I admit, I have not been too good to this site.  You see, school is wrapping up for the semester so that means tons of writing, reading, writing and studying.  It sucks.

I thought I would take a moment out of my busy day and talk about two bands that I have been getting into a lot lately.

First up is The Yellow Dogs.

This Brookyn-based-originally-from-Iran punk act surprised me the other day when I listened to them.  They are more of an up-beat dance-y punk rock act and carry no gimmick at all.  This is no rap-punk or whatever the hell these kids are making these days, this is a nod to 70s/80s punk acts that, dare I say, has some major musical Clash-like qualities (even some Joy Division as well).  The band will be dropping a new EP titled Upper Class Complexity on May 10th.

There there is this little band called Joyce Manor. Holy shit this band rules.  Some of you may know this already…

Their new album Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired dropped the other day on Asian Man Records.  This sophomore release is about the best 13 minutes I have heard this year. The songs may be short, but are poignant, consistent, and beg to be listened to over and over. I can not tell you how excited I am about this release. Why the hell did I wait until the 2nd half of this post to tell you???

Do yourself a favor and pick it up if you like the punk rock.  I highly doubt you will be disappointed.  Sometimes a little bit of something does in fact go a long way.

Check out “Violent Inside” off of their new release and then go and buy it.

If you fancy yourself a fan of Tim & Eric, you should check out this track by track post David Liebe Hart did of Joyce Manor’s Of All Things I WIll Soon Grow Tired.  It’s kind of hilarious even though I do not get Tim & Eric at all.  Maybe I need to do drugs or something.  Still, check it out.  Well worth the read.

Country, Folk, Indie, Music, New Release, Review, Rock

Album Review: Lucero – Women & Work

Leave a comment

I am sure it’s pretty safe to say that Luerco is a band name that many have you have at least heard of.  Maybe you are a huge fan of them already, or perhaps you have been meaning to check them out.  For all I know, you have no idea who I am talking about. 

My point is, if you are reading this, you now are aware of a band who calls themselves Lucero and I hope by the time you finish reading this mess of works you check them out if you have not done so already.

The boys in Lucero, for those of you who do not know, hail from Memphis, TN, and have been mixing their punk rock roots with their Southern style creating some entertaining  country and indie folk rock music since the late 90s.  Recently the band dropped their ninth release in their career titled Women & Work.

The honky-tonk “On My Way Downtown” started the album right with the pure intention of getting the girl to come out and have some drinks.  “I know the last time we drank I was a little less than behaved” was sung by Ben Nichols and rubbed off as an honest apology.  The horn-heavy title track “Women and Work” followed with a let’s-drink-this-bad-day-away-feeling.  I loved the repeating lyrics: “Come on kid, let’s drink ’em down.  Kid don’t let it get ya down.”

“Juniper” was one of my favorite songs on the album.  It was just a fun upbeat Southern country / rock track perfect for getting weird to.  The combination of horns and twang was perfect.  I could only imagine the appearance (Read: “A dark-eyed beauty and a dangerous thing”) of the woman this song surrounded. 

I found myself enjoying “Who You Waiting On?” mainly with the story told.  It was a simple jam but the lyrics provided a clear image of a guy trying his luck at picking up a lone lady during last call. 

The sorrowful “I Can’t Stand To Leave You” captured perfectly that which is called heart break.  I felt the pain in that song and would be lying if I said I never felt that way once in my life. 

“When I Was Young” reminded me that age may only be a number, but memories will last a lifetime.  “Go Easy” ended the album with a  gospel vibe especially when the  female backing vocals kicked in.  “Go – go easy.  And we’ll find our way” repeated throughout the track and eventually put the album to rest.   It was a nice switch, but something I was not expecting at all.

Overall, the album was a great listen, but there were two changes I noticed.  First, I found myself missing the punk rock vibe.  I did not feel it like I have in previous Lucero albums.  It was almost like they decided to set it on the shelf this round.  Secondly, Nicolis’ voice was not nearly as raspy.  There is just something about his scratchy singing voice I have always been a fan of.  On Women & Work, his voice is a tad smoother, almost as if he was dropping lozenges while singing. 

I will say that this album grew on me tremendously after my initial listen.  At first I was scratching my head on if I liked it, but after a couple of times through, I was hooked.  I loved how personal the album was throughout and how I related with the lyrics.  It’s catchy and it’s something that punk rockers and country lovers can all enjoy equally.  Women & Work is one of those kinds albums I’d have my parents listen to and I know they would not give me shit for it, but rather, ask for more.