Tag Archives: Indie

Breaking Up, Indie, Music, Music News, Punk, Rock, The Suck

The Measure (sa) (2004-2011)

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The Measure (sa) called it quits yesterday…

Making a public announcement about 2011 being the end of the band, guitarist/ vocalist Lauren Denitzio had the following to say on why they decided to split as well as talked about their final plans as a band including live shows and releases.

After a number of lineup changes, the Measure increasingly became Fid and I finding ways to continue making music together. For a while, that was working, but this Fall I made the decision that I can’t continue with the band. There were a lot of personal reasons behind that and I realized that my heart just wasn’t in the project anymore. It’s not fair to anyone to try to keep going after that, especially when you’re expected to tour and write music and play shows and look like you’re having a good time. As far as parting ways goes, it’s a fairly amicable event and I’m glad that we’re ending the band on good terms and as friends.

We started the band when I was 20, and if you had told me then that I would get to travel around the country, put out over 18 records and play with some of my favorite bands because of it, I’d think you were out of your mind. It’s been a great privilege and I hope those experiences don’t end here. Fid and I will certainly be putting out music in other bands soon, so stay tuned.

We’re planning on releasing the next collection record of the more recent 7”s later in 2011 and intend on playing Fest 10 (Oct 28,29,30-2011) for one final show. There’s a possibility of another couple 7”s as well. Locally, we’ll be playing our last shows during the second weekend in April in Brooklyn and New Brunswick. Details to be announced soon.

We want to thank everyone who has been so helpful and supportive over the years. Especially those who have set up shows, given us places to stay and put out records for us (Don Giovanni, Kiss of Death, Salinas, Chunksaah, Ernest Jenning, Art of the Underground, Los Diaper, Team Science, Snuffy Smiles and No Idea) . We’re incredibly grateful to the awesome folks at No Idea who have both distro’d our records and put out a split 7” and LP for us, getting our music out there to a larger audience than we were able to do on our own. They’ve been one of our favorite labels for a long time and it was an honor to get to work with them so closely both as a label and as friends.

To Mike Regrets, Big A, J Nixon, Mikey Yannich, Joel Control, Tim Burke!, Chris Pierce, Gore, Joey Birds, DanO, CJ, and Marco Reosti: thanks for getting through this band with us”.

punkrockneverstop,
Lauren + Fid

The Measure (sa) released their final studio album, Notes, at the end of 2010 on No Idea Records. You can still stream the album in its entirety on the band’s Punknews.org band profile page!

The Measure [SA] – Unwritten from If You Make It on Vimeo.

Akron, Eye Opener, Good Times, Indie, Live Shows, Music, Music Video, Pop Rock, Rock, The Awesome

They Are Called Fort Wilson Riot

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Earlier this year I had one of those evenings that made me remember why I do what I do.  Before you start thinking dirty thoughts, I am talking about my love for music and sharing it with all of you wonderful readers out there via this high tech blog.  I don’t get paid for this (yet), but I can tell you what, I will do this for as long as I can just because I love doing it…

Great, now where was I?

Oh yes, that one evening earlier this year when I remembered why I love music and my blog and blah blah blah…  Flashback time.

It was a warm summer evening and my favorite Columbus folk-duo The Electric Grandmother were playing a show at Annabell’s in Highland Square (a hipster rich area in Akron).  We arrived just before the show was to start and I remember helping them move their gear into a side room of the bar as there was another act scheduled before them.

Mary Alice & Pete (aka The Electric Grandmother) offered me a delicious tall PBR as a thank you for helping them get situation (who later in the night dedicated a song to me – how thoughtful).

As I sat there and enjoyed that 24oz. of goodness, there was a male/female duo getting set up.  I remember specifically stopping everything I was doing the second they started their soundcheck.  All I could think of was “who in the hell is this?”  Mind you I was dead serious and not sarcastic…

The band was called Fort Wilson Riot and they just so happened to fill in a last minute slot at Annabell’s as some unnamed venue in Cleveland cancelled on them.  They were not looking rushed but you could tell they were moving as fast as they could to get set up.  It was then and there they started that song that my attention was captured.

The song they played was called “Snakes & Scorpions” and featured the duo singing in a perfect harmony backed by an electric guitar and electric keyboard as well as a drum machine providing the beat.

It was a simple set up but the sound was not what I expected at all.  The duo consisting of Jacob Mullis and Amy Hager reminded me of everything I liked about acts like Dresden Dolls, Mates Of State, Matt & Kim, and even The White Stripes.  Why?  Because they complimented one another perfectly.  It’s like the ying and yang of music.

I liked what I heard and apparently so did everyone else in the bar that night as the entire basement of Annabell’s filled up after a couple songs in by Fort Wilson Riot.  They were indie rock, they were pop rock cabaret-style…they were…good.

No one was expecting to hear that kind of music that night.  I know I wasn’t.

I remember looking at Pete & Mary Alice and then looking around at all the people who gathered to see this mysterious band play.  It was one of those acts where we could see people mouthing the words “who are these guys” followed by “they are really good.”

When I see people do that while watching a band I can not help myself but smile.  That is why I love music and that is why I like to share it.  Chances are I am not the only one who decided to tell someone about Fort Wilson Riot.  I know I have multiple times, and here I am telling you all.

After their set I greeted them and throughout the night we chatted.  I found out that they were from Minnesota and once were considered an “indie-rock opera” before slimming down to the duo.  They were touring in a van on their own and had been touring with Ice Palace before making the stop in Cleveland.

Amy and Jacob hung out with us for the rest of the night and by the end of the evening they hooked me up with a copy of their latest album Predator Prey, a self-made album that once I listened to, turned me into even a bigger fan.

Not only is it the duo on the CD but they also enlisted a bunch of their talented friends to put together one great listen.  I highly recommend checking out “Forgotten Language”, “All My Friends”, “Snakes & Scorpions” and cabaret-heavy “Diamond Blues”.

Have you found yourself interested in this band Fort Wilson Riot I speak of?  Fear not you can check them out by heading over to their Bandcamp page.  The album is only $8.  What are you waiting for?

Fort Wilson Riot “Snakes and Scorpions” from Fort Wilson Riot on Vimeo.

Fort Wilson Riot “All My Friends” from Fort Wilson Riot on Vimeo.

Alt Rock, Country, Folk, Hip Hop, Indie, Listing It Up, Live Shows, Metal, Music, Personal Entry, Pop Rock, Punk, Rock

Best Of 2010, At Least According To BHP…

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It’s that time of year everyone (in case you forgot), the time of the year where I look back at all that defined 2010.  I am sure many of you can agree that 2010 was not that bad of a year and there were some pretty good releases / events that happened.

I had a good 2010 thanks to all of my great friends.  I went on two mini road trips to see bands I adore and had good times doing so without injury.  There were plenty of albums to keep me going and a good share of bands made their way to play Cleveland.

So, as a blogger I feel it is my duty to continue my “Best Of…” posts yearly.  I am sure I will miss something but here we go:

Best Punk Albums:
Iron Chic – Not Like This

-Hands down my favorite release this year.  Catchy punk rock at its finest.  They kick ass live too.

Menzingers – Chamberlain Waits

–Easily my second favorite release of the year.  This band is going places.  I can not wait for a follow-up release.  They kick ass live as well.

Bad Religion – The Dissent Of Man

-It’s Bad Religion, need I say more?  30 years as a punk rock band with no sign of giving up any time soon.  It is as if getting old is cool…well it is if you are Bad Religion.

RVIVR – RVIVR

-It was brought to my attention that I overlooked this important release.  I knew I was forgetting something as I thought of what albums I really enjoyed…  Ex-members of Latterman as well as a few whose roots cross with members of Jawbreaker in a band?  Yes please.

Best Rock Albums:
J. Roddy Walston & The Business – J. Roddy Walston & The Business

-I’d be lying if I said that I did not listen to this album 3 times a week.  A few of my friends have been fans of J. Roddy for a couple of years now and thanks to them so am I.  This album is so fun to listen to and so well written that I am shocked all those mainstream music magazines failed to put them on their “Best Of” lists…  Jerks.

Gaslight Anthem – American Slang

-I am sure many of you know my slight obsession with this band.  Their new album slid more towards the rock and less of the punk but I am ok with that.  From start to finish this is an excellent release.

Against Me! – White Crosses

-Kind of funny how much I love these guys seeing how I used to hate them 5 years ago.  I love the direction they are taking with their new material and I am sure many will disagree.  Yes, it is not anything what they used to sound like and that is why they are considered to me now as a rock band.

The Black Keys – Brothers

-I have to give some love to this Akron, OH duo not just because I reside near the city they started in but also because they dropped a solid album.  If you have not listened to this album yet, do it.

Foxy Shazam – Foxy Shazam

-Here’s another album I almost forgot about!  Some might think these guys are going to just be another one hit wonder but I disagree.  Foxy Shazam kicks some serious ass!

Best Metal Albums:
The Dillinger Escape Plan – Option Paralysis

-Love this album.  So much better, to me, than their last release.  Heavy and full of energy.  They put on a killer set at the Warped Tour this past summer too.

Deftones – Diamond Eyes

-Nice to see the Deftones continue moving on.  I was super excited when this album dropped earlier this year.

Best Folk Rock Albums:
Frank Turner – Rock N Roll EP

-All I have to say about this EP is that if you are a fan of Rock ‘n Roll you need to hear the song “I Still Believe”.

Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More

-Still in shock these guys are from the UK…  Not that it is a problem or anything, but they play Americana folk-rock as if they grew up in the mountains.  This album was a suprise listen for me in 2010.  Very addicting if you like this kind of music.

Best Indie Rock Albums:
Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

-Never thought in a million years I would admit be being an Arcade Fire fan, but this album brainwashed me into one.  Catchy as hell and just a solid release.

Bars Of Gold – Of Gold

-I love surprises.  Bars Of Gold surprised me with how awesome they were.  Best underground album I have heard in a while.

Band Of Horses – Infinite Arms

-This album snuck up on me.  It took three listens and now I can not get enough of it.

Best Hip-Hop/Rap Albums:
Sage Francis – LI(F)E

-Oh Sage Francis…  You are a talented talented man.  I was not too sure about this album upon my first taste of it, but it is exceptional.  Love the way this guy puts words together.  I also really liked how he got some of the music for some of the tracks – he had indie bands work with him.

Eminem – Recovery

-This guy is good once again.  The end.

Best Film Soundtrack:
Tron: Legacy Soundtrack – Music By Daft Punk

-I had bee waiting for this release since early 2010 when it was announced that the French dup would be providing the soundtrack.  It is insane.  Insane as in good.

Best Shows I Attended:
The Avett Brothers @ House Of Blues – Cleveland, OH

Frank Turner / Social Distortion @ House Of Blues – Cleveland, OH

Bed Folds @ House Of Blues – Cleveland, OH (minus the douche I almost got into a fight with)

Dale Watson & His Lone Stars @ Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH

Most Fun Shows I Attended:
NOFX @ Madison Theater – Covington, KY

Gaslight Anthem @ Lifestyles Pavilion – Columbus, OH

The Facials as NOFX @ Now That’s Class  – Cleveland, OH
-Seriously, one of my favorite memories of 2010.  My pals The Facials practiced their butts off to do a Halloween-inspired NOFX cover set.  They nailed it. It was just one of those nights where I was surrounded by friends and felt like a kid. That right there is a show.

Worst Shows Attended:
Van’s Warped Tour
–I did not even make it past 5 o’clock this year.  I got to see some of my favorite bands including Face To Face, but overall it was far too hot outside and I just was not feeling it as I had no clue who most of the bands were on the tour.  I guess a time comes one day when a punker gets too old for this shi-, not to mention, my circle of friends dwindled significantly (2).  After being at almost all of the Warped Tours since they started – I am done (I say this every year…).

Worst Albums Released:
Brokencyde
–Words can not describe how I feel about this band.  I will not even go there.

3OH!3
–Any band that collaborates with Keisha or however she spells it is instant THE SUCK.  I really liked the band’s first album but could not stand their recent effort.  Nice guys, but just not my cup of tea.

Album I Did Not Get Whatsoever:
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
-Why is everyone giving this album 5 stars?  I do not get it, am I missing something.  I do not think it is that good at all.  That is me of course…  Give me his older material any day.

Looking Forward To In 2011:
Social Distortion’s New Album

Those Darlins’s New Album
–I got a sample of their new material when I saw them play at the Beachland Tavern and I must say…impressive.  I look forward to their new release as it appears as if they have changed up their sound a little.

The Bonnaroo 2011 Line-Up
–This will be the ten-year anniversary and I am hoping for a line-up unlike any other)

SXSW
–I think I am actually going to be able to make it this year finally…

Making new friends and hearing new music. I always look forward to something new.

What are your favorites of 2010? I want to hear! This comment section below doesn’t fill itself out you know!!!

Thanks to all my readers. 2010 was fun – here’s to 2011. Happy holidays everyone!

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

Album Review: Bars Of Gold – Of Gold

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Bars Of Gold (BoG), a new project including former Bear vs. Shark (BvS) members Marc Paffi and Brandon Moss, recently released their debut album entitled Of Gold through Friction Records.  Moving from the post-hardcore sound the band carries a more punk rock / indie rock sound.  BoG may not necessary cater to many BvS fans out there on this release, but after just one listen, I am a fan.

A Nintendo-y opener, properly titled “Boss Level” started off the album with me scratching my head wondering what the rest of the album would entail.  Not that there is anything wrong with a little 8-bit-core, it was just unexpected.

“Heaven Has A Heater” focused more towards an indie sound with a punk singing style that really sounded amazing.  This is definitely a track that needs to be checked out.  While I am talking about tracks that needed to be checked out, listen to “Birds” as well.  The sound was like what might happen if Modest Mouse and Talking Heads decided to collaborate.  It was catchy and bizarre all at once.

“The Hustle” was unlike any other track on the album and by far the most entertaining to my ears.  The banjo almost hypnotized me throughout the wild folk-heavy track with Paffi’s vocals howling all over the place.  Dare I say Hot Water Music vocals meets Travis guitar playing?  Yes, I just said that.

The melodic “………….” was a nice, chill track to listen to at the start but soon had a little group vocals going on in the background leading up to Paffi taking over.  The song reminded me of Cursive track in a good way.

“Cannibals” was a great track to sit back to and just enjoy.  In the true spirit of indie rock, this song kicked ass and I loved how the beginning crept up around you and then just turned into a mad frenzy of insanity.

It’s nice to see musicians move on in differnet directions without sounding like they are trying too hard.  Bars Of Gold have a good sound going for them and I am loving what they have created.  I am sure there are BvS fanatics out there wondering what happened and it is expected, but I have the feeling that once a few of them make way through this album they will grow to appreciate all that it is.

2010 is coming to an end and I think I have found my favorite indie-ish rock album of the year.  Check it out for yourself:

Cleveland, Indie, Live Shows, Music, Music Video, Personal Entry, Rock, The Suck

Disappointed is a 12 letter word.

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disappointed [dis-a-point-ted]

adj – saddened by the failure of an expectation, etc.

Last night was the first time in a long time where I was disappointed, not just a little bit, but a whole lot.

I was not the only one in my group of three either who had this unbearable feeling occur.  It’s happened before, and I am sure it will happen again, but last night was not the night for it to happen.

Why so disappointed you ask?

Well, in a nutshell, last night was the J. Roddy Waltson & The Business / Shooter Jennings show at the Beachland Ballroom.  I, and two of my closest friends, have been looking forward to this show since we first caught wind of it a couple months back.  We were not excited for Shooter, but rather, J Roddy.

My friends had seen J. Roddy a couple of times but I had not.

Last night around 8pm we left my homestead and made the 45+ minute trip to Cleveland to hit up the show.  We were all smiles during the rainy drive up there and anticipated a killer show.

Arriving we hung outside the venue for a moment as a female Chris Farley looking cop (seriously, just like Airheads Farley) chased a seemingly drunk patron down the sidewalk with her trusty stun-gun in hand.  She was pissed about something he did, maybe asking her how it felt to be a Farley…

Anyways, we walked inside, and realized something was terribly wrong.  There was music playing and it sounded like J. Roddy.

Wait – it WAS J. Roddy.

We ran inside the ballroom literally to J. Roddy stating that they were playing one more song, “Used To Did”.  The song was amazing live and for a brief moment I was in a music bliss like none other enjoying the song and then it happened.

J. Roddy Waltson & The Business finished their set.

Disappointment took over.  I wanted to crawl in a dark corner and cry.  One song was not enough for me at all.  I wanted more and I could not have any.  We arrived 1 hour late thinking the show started at 9 p.m.

The three of us stood there.  Depressed, pissed off for not rushing one another to get there and most of all disappointed as hell.

I honestly thought there was a local opening act and what band starts on time anyways???

A very friendly J. Roddy greeted us and was bummed to hear we missed his set but did give us a heads up that they just wrapped up a new Daytrotter session.  That was cool to hear.

Still, we were not satisfied at all.  We did not know if we wanted to stay or not so we sulked over a cold one and felt sorry for ourselves.

Add insult to injury, Lady Chris Farley super-cop pushed us aside in the bar to make way for Shooter Jennings and his band so they could hit the stage.

Screw you super-cop.

A few songs into Shooter’s set we decided to bail.  We were not feeling it.

Jumping in the car we decided to play a fine mix of J. Roddy songs all the way home.  We sang the songs at the top of our lungs, almost making up for the live show we missed.

Good friends and great friends mix so well especially when you need a pick-me-up.

So, I guess I wait till next time J. Roddy makes his way back to Ohio to check him out.  I can wait, and I know he will be back, and it is going to be amazing…