Because I Haven't Written Anything Here in a While

I've been neglecting this little blog quite a bit lately and feel bad about it. Aside from posting set lists from my Radio Show, I haven't done much in the way of actual writing. Here's a few reviews to start off with:

Whale|Horse - Count the Electric Sheep - S/R
This is a band that came the ashes of the Honor System, which formed out of the Broadways, who formed from the wreckage of Slapstick. This further confirms that somehow you can tie back to Slapstick. When I got a hold of this record, I was hoping it would be as amazing as this band is live, but honestly, I was let down a little bit. Live, this band is a power house that's high energy and really brings a lot to the table that was missing in the Honor System. On record though, you have a low key band that hides behind reverb and vocals that hint at Interpol, who of course borrow quite a bit from Joy Division.
Conversely, it's always nice seeing a band delivering the songs live differently than on record, which is why I was such a fan of bands like the Jesus and Mary Chain and Ride. You'd have a great deal of studio trickery on record, but once you saw them live, it was a completely different experience. Hopefully this is the effect Whale|Horse was going for, because although this record isn't bad, after seeing them live, it was a bit of a let down.
It sounds like a lighter, airier, less mathy version of the Honor System. The record is FX heavy, with reverbs and chorus abound, giving it a sense of depth and space, but unfortunately tones down a lot of this bands more "rock" moments. If I were to lump them in with another band, I'd probably compare this record to Eulcid or one of the later Cave-In albums, but I'm not sure if it does them justice. It's more punk rock than either of those bands, but punk rock that's been over powered by the gods of shoegaze.
Definitely give this band a listen, but make sure to check them out live too, because it will be a totally different experience.
Whale|Horse

Scream Poet, Scream - Illegitimate Descendent of a Pope - Smoke Break
These Chicago natives bring a racket that brings to mind a lot of great bands. Hopefully this project will hold together long enough or garner enough national cred to be considered one of those "greats."
Featuring a solid rhythm section that's reminiscent of Fugazi during the "Repeater" era, and a guitarist that follows in the same Chicago tradition as bands like Gauge and Cap'n Jazz and vocals that are painfully screamed much like early Against Me! or that of contemporaries, Latterman or the O Pioneers!!! All I really have to say is, if someone were to do a comp that sequels "How the Midwest Was Won," (Cap'n Jazz/Friction/8Bark) I think Scream Poet, Scream should definitely be on it.
Assuming these kids don't follow the lead of many Chicago bands and get lazy, you should see them in a town near you a million times between now and August.
Scream Poet, Scream

Drunk Boat - S/T - 1,2,3,4... Go! Records
I really feel like I should know more about this band, but honestly, I don't. When I saw this in my mail box, I assumed it was going to be awkward cow punk and that I was going to hate it, so it sat collecting dust on top of my CD shelves. While cleaning one day a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon it and thought "what the hell, I'll give it a shot." After the first few chords, my cat ran out of the room and hid under my sofa, which I'm assuming is a good sign, since I decided that this pretty much rules. I can chalk this up as one in a long line of bands that I've dismissed because of their name or artwork or whatever.
Instead of cow punk, Drunk Boat brings a style of punk rock that is sloppy, fast and features vocals that are nasally and obnoxious. If you, faithful reader know anything about my taste in punk and/or rock, you know that this is the winning formula. Snotty vocals are really what put this record over the top for me. It's not snotty like Screeching Weasel or the Queers, but snotty like the Connie Dungs. I think this record will probably squeak into my top ten of '06. Check this band out!
1,2,3,4...Go! Records

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I was thinking about Life Sentence the other day and stumbled across an article that Joe from Life Sentence wrote for the Rocktober zine, where he talked about how they got the word out about their music. It was pretty creative and it showed how a band that really wants to capture an audience can think outside of the box and achieve greatness outside the realm of what's considered the "norm." Aside from the traditional method of touring until you either break through or die, they managed to get heard by well respected bands who touted their shirts and merch. Also, they attacked the skate parks and got the word out through getting the attention of pro skaters. Now, keep in mind, back in the 80's, if some dude from Metallica was wearing a Life Sentence shirt, that carried a lot more weight than it would today. Much like having Christian Hasoi sporting a Life Sentence shirt carried a lot more weight than whatever flash in the pan skater now-a-days would. Those were definitely different times. Now, with the internet, more and more bands are using it to promote and it's getting to the point where the amount of myspace friends you have means more to some labels and promoters than how good your music is or how well you draw live. Many bands have entirely abandoned every other form of promotion to jump on the myspace bandwagon. I'm interested to see what kids in the underground will start doing to promote in response to myspace. There's already a myspace backlash with bands as big as Modern Life is War and as small as Scream Poet, Scream. Neither band have a myspace page that is maintained by the band and neither band has any intention of starting one, which I respect. Coming from a show promoter's point of view, myspace has been a bit of a blessing. I can keep in contact with bands and promote, but I'll be damned if that's my only way of getting the word out. What bothers me is promoters and labels that deal with bands solely based on their myspace numbers. It's completely unrealistic and ultimately will burn someone in the long run (more often than not, the bands).
I think that with this whole online revolution, a lot of bands are going to back to basics, which is what Modern Life is War seems to have done. Utilizing an underground network as opposed to whoring themselves on the internet. I think with globalization, a lot of bands are going to focus on a more local scene and less on touring. A big concern of mine are bands who are trying to book national tours for three song demos, but then cry about playing to empty rooms. This past summer, we booked something crazy like 70 shows in three months. We had shows almost every night and although we promoted them the best we could, it was getting harder and harder to get kids to come out "just because there's a show." In a city as big as Chicago, this mentality is a myth. When you have a show almost every night, kids are more selective of which shows they're going to go to. Especially with a shakey economy and gas prices that broke three dollars a gallon. When you have a lot of kids coming in from the burbs, they're not going to drive in to see generic stinky punk band from Milwaukee, when they were just in the city to see Against All Authority a few days before hand. Even when you have local support, the locals can't always bring their friends, especially when it's a Wednesday night and they're playing another show in their suburb in a couple days. Unfortunately, Stinky McPunkowski doesn't understand why no one shows up, so ultimately it gets turned onto the promoter. Here's a FAQ of sorts.
Q: "Why didn't you flyer?"
A: We did ten shows in the last twelve days. The only way we can realistically advertise every show is to put out a shows list for all upcoming shows. If Johnny Local and the Suburbatones put out the word the night before to their myspace list, I don't think anyone's gonna show.
Q: "But I sent you a flyer, why didn't you post it?"
A: See part one of the previous answer. If you send me a flyer early enough, I'll run off copies and put it up around town while dropping off shows lists, but if you send me a flyer THREE DAYS BEFORE YOUR SHOW, I'm not gonna have time. That's the reality of it.
Q: "If we don't play, are you gonna pay us?"
A: That depends. Are you driving back to your mom's house an hour away or are you going to bumble-fuck Arkansas? If it's the latter, than yes, I'll toss you bank from the door to make sure you don't get stranded in "deliverance country," because despite any douche bag behavior being aimed in my direction, I know that running out of gas on the highway sucks.
This was a scenario I ran into one night over the summer and I pretty much decided that I'd never deal with this band again. They were kissing my ass when they saw our space, because it felt really "punk," but once they realized that Johnny Local and the Suburbatones didn't promote really well, they turned it on me. I can understand the frustration, but promoting shows is an art. Sometimes you pull it off really well and sometimes the cards don't fall in your favor. Sometimes show A draws really well and that will have a direct effect on show B. Which brings us back to the importance of bands promoting their own shows. If you're in a local band, try not to book too many shows too close together, because someone will get fucked (more often than not, it will be both, a promoter and a band, because no one will show up). Also, don't just advert in your local burb. Take a ride down to the city. We all know where the punk kids hang out, so advert there too. Finally, don't wait for three days before your show to flyer, get the ball rolling about three weeks ahead of time. Work hard, because even if no one comes out, promoters see hustle. I go out, I see flyers and posters. If I see a band playing one of our shows advertising everywhere, I'll definitely give them a show again despite poor draw. That's just the way it goes.

Completely unrelated, if you can get a hold of the Mint Records/Nardwuar calendar for 2007, I highly recommend it, because it features a lot of great, classic pics of your favorite punk bands.