Tag Archives: EP

Interview: Christian Martucci of Thousand Watt Stare

27 October, 2010 Brian Mc Leave a comment

Punk rock is not dead. I say that a lot recently because I know it’s true and there are still bands out there releasing honest, wholesome punk rock albums for the sake of just doing it. They are not looking for money or fame, just a good time doing something they love.

Here is where I now introduce a punk rock band that I like right? Well you are half right.

I am going to introduce a punk rocker that I like who has played in some pretty solid bands over the years including Black President, The Chelsea Smiles, and even played in the Dee Dee Ramone Band. Recently he formed Thousand Watt Stare with a couple of musicians from Unwritten Law, a band I have been a fan of since I first saw them open for Bad Religion in ’96.

Recently I had the chance to talk it up with Christian Martucci about his new band as well as some of his amazing past. If anyone has lived a punk rock dream, it’s Martucci.

Dylan Howard, Pat Kim, & and Chris Martucci

BHP: Your new band, Thousand Watt Stare, has an EP dropping next month. What can you tell me about this new project you’ve created?

CM – We just love to play music and have a good time with it… I’m very happy to play with these guys. No ego’s, no pressure… It’s a breath of fresh air.

Why the change-up in sound from previous bands you have been in?

In Dee Dee’s band it was Ramones songs, Black President was all Charlie, and The Chelsea Smiles were more of a straight rock n’ roll band… I’ve had the Thousand Watt Stare stuff in my head for years now. It was just never anything that would work with the other bands. I’m glad they’re finally seeing the light of day.

So how did you hook up with Unwritten Law’s Pat Kim and Dylan Howard?

PK played with Black President early on when Hetson was still in the band. We had a great time hanging out back then and always kept in touch. When Black President ended and it was time to start something new, I called Pat and we started jamming. He brought Dylan on board and two weeks later, we started recording.

Why did Black President disband anyways?

I think Black President had to break up… When you consider some of the guys schedules, it doesn’t really allow them to go full steam a head with a side project. The thing with that band is that it wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a cover band to blow off steam. That was actually my favorite part of doing it… Looking back I’m actually really surprised we even made the record. It wasn’t meant to have a long shelf life. I think of it more as a psycho that everyone cheated on their bands with for a few years.

As you already mentioned, you;ve worked with some heavy hitters in the punk rock world including Bad Religion’s Greg Hetson and Dee Dee Ramone. How did those opportunities come about?

Your guess is as good as mine… I wasn’t having good luck where I was, so I saved up $600, packed a suitcase, one guitar and just moved from Philly to LA in ’99. I only knew one person out here and was sleeping on his couch. He introduced me to Stefan Adika. Stefan was playing bass for Dee Dee at the time and asked if I’d like to come down and play. I ran home, went over like 30 something songs and showed up at the rehearsal room that night… Dee Dee had NO idea I was coming down and was a little freaked out… He looked at me and said “So, what are you gonna try to play guitar or something?” I didn’t know what to say.

He was one of my biggest hero’s. I just smiled like a nervous idiot, plugged in and we played “Rockaway Beach”. We got done, he looked at me and was like “OK you better sing the next song now… ‘Chinese Rocks’… 1-2-3-4!” “Alright I think we better go to ‘South America’ now…” The whole time I was standing there I couldn’t believe I was playing with Dee Dee Ramone. That feeling lasted the entire 3 years I was able to do it. Everything about him was for real.

The thing with Greg happened from when Black President was still a cover band called Shithead. We had Marc Diamond from The Dwarves playing with us and… I can’t remember what happened. I think The Dwarves had to go on tour, so Charlie told us Greg Hetson wanted to do it. I actually thought he was kidding at first. Next thing you know, he’s at rehearsal playing Dead Kennedy’s songs with us. I really like Greg a lot… Awesome guy and as down to earth as they come…

You started touring recently around California . Any chance of a nationwide tour any time soon?

No definite plans yet but we really hope so…

Your previous bands toured a lot over the years. Who were some of your favorite bands to tour with?

Bouncing Souls, TSOL, New York Dolls, Social D, Backyard Babies… There are so many but those are the ones that stick out the most for me. They are all very good people.

For the punk rock lovers out there, can you tell them why they should check out Thousand Watt Stare?

The punk rock I like is the kind where there aren’t any rules. In the 70’s punk didn’t have a defined sound yet, that’s why I think it was a great as it was. Television, Dead Boys, Ramones, The Clash, etc. None of those bands sound like they should be in the same genre. I think you should check out Thousand Watt Stare because we don’t worry about those things either… It’s just honest rock n’ roll.

Thousand Watt Stare‘s self-titled EP drops on November 16th on Hardline Entertainment.

Funny, Music, Music Video, New Release, Punk, Review

NOFX – Cokie The Clown – CD Review

21 November, 2009 Brian Mc 2 Comments

Leave it to NOFX to keep it unique for their fans. This time around the 25 year punk rock veterans have released a five song EP titled Cokie The Clown. The uniqueness of this EP is that four of the songs were choice cut tracks for their most recent full length release that the band chose to take off Coaster and release at a later time. Like a chaser swig of beer to a strong shot, Cokie The Clown follows Coaster perfectly giving the fans just a little bit more NOFX zing to tie them over until the next round.

The cover of the EP shows Cokie The Clown, rather a scary looking Fat Mike clown portrait that makes Pennywise in Stephen King’s IT look harmless. On the back of the EP is a circus flier comically showcasing the band as entertainers of the mediocre show. The EP contains four unreleased tracks and an acoustic version of one song that appeared on Coaster.

Opening track “Cokie The Clown” incorporates anti-sobriety with full on abuse in a first person sung song about said clown and his shenanigans with Eric Melvin providing introduction. I cracked up upon hearing the clown asking to be watched while juggling “eight balls” as well as the line “I will trip you down those 12 giant steps” knowing exactly which steps he referred to.

“Straight Outta Massachusetts” resembled something that Matt Stone or Trey Parker of South Park fame might have written for a musical. Still catchy and fun the song told the story of a rowdy 5 year old (who later grows up to be Fat Mike I am assuming) shun by his father from the east coast to the west coast to be with his mother. The song originally appeared on an episode of Pancake Mountain featuring Fat Mike and his adorable daughter. (If you have never heard of Pancake Mountain you should click THIS.)

“Fermented And Flailing” and “Codependence Day” both kept with the fats riffs and ever so candid lyrics speaking of the pros and cons about alcoholism. Just like most NOFX songs the lyrics are to the point about their opinion but also well formulated.

Unquestionably the most depressing song of the year “My Orphan Year” that already choked me up on Coaster got even sadder thanks to Fat Mike picking up an acoustic guitar and slowing things down all by himself. The true story formulated into song about Fat Mike losing his folks in 2006 seriously will bring tears to eyes of many (including myself). Let it be know, even rampant punk rockers have feelings too.

The EP is available on CD and also will be split into two 7”s for all you vinyl junkies out there. As an added bonus Fat Wreck Chords is offering a Cokie The Clown bundle including a t-shirt and either the CD version or the two 7” discs of the EP.

Cokie The Clown comes out on November 24th but if you can not wait you can pre-order it right now by going HERE.

Fat Mike actually dressed up as Cokie at the Riot Fest in Chicago and pulled a not so typical prank involving a plastic flower and some white stuff…

If that is not hilarious enough, check out the video that just posted up on MySpace for “Cokie The Clown”:

NOFX – Cokie The Clown

NOFX | MySpace Music Videos

Here is the Pancake Mountain version of “Straight Outta Massachusetts” featuring Fat Mike and his daughter:

00's, Music, Music Video, Pop, Review

Lights – Lights – CD/EP Review

28 July, 2009 Brian Mc Leave a comment

The heavy on the synthesizer pop act Lights, also known as Valerie Poxleitner, has been getting a lot of hype for not even having a full length release out yet. It could be solely from her beauty seeing as she is capable of turning one or two hundred heads, but in all honesty this girl is more than just a looker. She is a musician and has the voice to prove it.

The Canadian born singer actually wrote her first song when she was only eleven years old. At twenty-two Valerie Poxleitner was discovered when she casted to be a model for corporate giant bastards Wal-Mart. The modeling supervisor asked if she was a musician while looking at a picture of the hopeful model holding a guitar. Without hesitation she began to sing for them and the rest is pretty much history.

Her songs were first featured in Old Navy commercials and before long, Lights was playing the Facebook party at the 2009 SXSW, appearing on Canada’s MuchMusic, and even playing live for MTV. After grabbing a Juno award for being the best artist of 2009 she jumped on board for a summer tour with the Van’s Warped Tour. All of this happened within a four year period and Lights is still going. With plans on releasing a full length album this September and also acting as a supporting artist for a Fall Keane tour, Lights certainly as a lot on her plate.

So what is the hype about Lights you ask? Trust me I was asking myself the same question. While at the Warped Tour this summer I missed out on seeing this Lights act everyone was talking about. I read the schedule wrong and completely missed her set. Finally I have obtained a copy of her EP and I must say it was an interesting listen.

Opener “Ice” reminded me of all the cheap pop acts out there I just never cared for. You know, the one time Mousekateers that grew up to be pop stars that have everyone else do the work for them while they look pretty. I had to keep reminding myself that this was an honest musician. This song aside from the poppiness was catchy and I loved the Vanilla Ice throw in.

“Drive My Soul” was down shifted a few gears from the opening track as was “February Air”. At times I though of Gwen Stefani when she ditched No Doubt to go solo. The one song I actually enjoyed was “I Owe You One”, a thank you song for someone special. I think if Ben Gibbard did some back-up vocals on this track it would have been awesome. I guess it’s me, but I feel the song was very reminiscent of The Postal Service.

Think of a modern day Cyndi Lauper, Tiffany, or Debbie Gibson with keyboards galore and that pretty much sums up Lights. Honestly while listening to the EP I kept hoping for Lights to break into “Goonies Are Good Enough” cover. All I could image was 80’s style throughout the six songs. It was just too much for me.

Björk may be Lights’ most major influence but there is not any egg laying on the red carpet crazy experimental anything going on in this EP. It is straight forward syth-pop music for all the pop fans out there and not for me.

Lights certainly has an amazing voice, and the looks as well. I think it is just the music that backs her vocals that turned me off from most of the tracks. I think with a full band backing her she would sound amazing in my ears and others for that matter. With her full length debut The Listening dropping in a little over a month I can honestly say I am curious to see what is to come.

“Drive My Soul” video:

Good Buy, Music, Punk, Vinyl

Good Buy: Detournement – Screaming Response EP

14 May, 2009 Brian Mc Leave a comment

While at the Bouncing Souls show last week I was checking out the merch booth grabbing some goodies for myself. As I was waiting for the merch guy to return to the booth, I saw this interesting looking 7″ vinyl on the counter. It grabbed my attention mostly because of the jacket. The jacket was actually wrapped in sand paper making for a unique look.

Not knowing who the band was I added it to my pile of goodies and went on with my night.

Today I finally had a chance to check out my impulse buy. The band is called Detournement and their debut EP titled Screaming Response was released on the Bouncing Souls’ record label Chunksaah Records. The band enjoyed the EP so much they were selling it at their shows and boy am I glad they did.

The eight song EP is full of political powerful punk rock goodness with very thought out lyrics combined with punk music that almost reminds me of Rancid especially with the Matt Freemon-like bass riffs throughout the EP. Heavy on the hardcore punk side at times and overall a good listen, I really enjoyed this blind purchase a lot.

If you want to pick up a copy for yourself head over to Chunksaah Records and grab one for the low low price of $6!

Detournement features members of Lifetime, Bigwig, Ensign, Plan A Project, and Worthless United.

Pressing Info:
Yellow Version: 195 pcs available from Pirates Press Records
Grey Version: 190 pcs available from Chunksaah Records
Black Version: 85 pcs available at Detournement shows (or Bouncing Souls as that is where I got mine)

Music, Music Video, New Release, Punk, Review

Tom Gabel – Heart Burns – EP Review

11 February, 2009 Brian Mc Leave a comment

Tom Gabel had a busy 2008. Not only did the front man of Against Me! headline the Van’s Warped Tour with his associates all summer long but he also recorded his own solo EP called Heart Burns and toured solo on the Revival Tour this past fall in support of it. The seven song EP was released under Sire records and has Tom Gabel taking things under his control, making for a good listen.

Tom Gabel playing at the Vans Warped Tour in Cleveland 2008

Just in case you didn’t know, Tom Gabel was Against Me! from the get go. He started the band at age 16 all by himself and played acoustical shows in support of his first release the Acoustical EP. In a nutshell, his success with his solo material, which came from years of hard work and dedication, soon turned into the band Against Me! many are now familiar with. Hoards of fans have eaten up many of their albums that incorporated folk with punk rock and high sing along qualities. The rest is history.

Of course that history includes the heartbreak of many dedicated fans when Against Me! went so called “corporate” and signed to a nation label. They released the radio friendly New Wave, one of the band’s most successful releases to date. Tom Gabel and his band mates were called sellouts for what they did but, regardless of their decision making, they have moved on with new fans all over the world and seem to handle being seen in the spotlight quite well.

Now why Tom Gabel chose to do another solo album remains to be determined. Some may think he wanted to stray away from the band to focus on his individual talent while others think he went back to his roots as an apology to all of those die-hard fans.

Regardless why he chose to do the Heart Burns EP, I was looking forward to it, as I became a fan of all of his material once I finally pushed aside the hype and decided to actually listen to the band. The first time I was told about Against Me! I wanted nothing to do with them. I hated them without ever giving them a chance. Soon thereafter I was working at a record store and a little scenester girl I worked with played the CD and I was hooked. I have since seen Against Me! live every time they come to my city. They put on an amazing show.

Leading up to the EP’s release, Tom Gabel took use of networking wonders MySpace and released one man performance videos for each song released from the EP. The videos were just a taste of the EP with rough cut versions of politically charged songs and were visually pleasing. Check out Tom Gabel’s MySpace page if you want a taste of them and while you are at it, check out a previous blog I posted with some other videos there for your viewing pleasure. (I also posted a couple of my favs at the bottom of this blog…)

After seeing the videos I figured this EP would in fact be a collection of those mostly acoustical songs and nothing more. When “Random Hearts” started with electronic beats leading to Tom Gabel’s trademark raspy singing I realized this was something entirely different. My initial taste of Tom Gabel’s new solo material sounded like Against Me! meets The Faint without all the dancing.

The following “Conceptual Paths” added elements of folk with very mild reverb on his voice at times. I loved this song and to think I just stared playing the CD. “Cowards Sing At Night” humored me; it was clearly about John McCain as the song ended “your war is over Johnny”. The simple indie rock riffs kept the song flowing

“Amputations” seriously reminded me of classic garage rock with its heavy on guitar distortion. At one moment I am reminded of “Ballroom Blitz” with the way Tom Gabel sings “There’s no heat between lovers and a summer night.” Perhaps if you hear the song you will know what I am talking about. Aside from the sweet similarity, the song is incredible and by the end you are surrounded by the trademark Against Me! group signing. The song was initially played by Against Me! acoustically last March at in-store events causing a lot of fans to question if the song happened to be a New Wave b-side.

Just when I thought I could not be more impressed by this EP “Anna Is A Stool Pigeon” came on. The lyrics, a hidden secret love story revolving around an activist guy who fell in love with an undercover FBI agent unknowingly, were an adventure alone. Chuck Ragan from Hot Water Music added back up vocals and harmonica kept my interest. Butch Vig from Garbage, who also is the executive producer of the EP, even added his drumming skills to pull together one hell of a track.

This EP is continuing evidence that Tom Gabel is to be heard by many regardless if he does it on his own or with Against Me!. I have high expectations for his musical career and I see him not slowing down anytime soon. You don’t have to like Against Me! to enjoy the Heart Burns EP. Sure it has its sing along moments and for the most part sounds like Against Me!. I am sure all the die hard will rave about it, or bitch about it for the sake of it not being Against Me!, but it is a genuine effort and to be enjoyed by all.