Exitmusic bio via Secretly Canadian:
Church and Palladino started writing together several years ago, when Church, originally from Winnipeg, moved to New York following a year teaching English in Taiwan and India. Palladino, a New York native, had been writing and recording her own songs since she was in her early teens. The pair spent pretty much all of their time creating music, but things really began to take shape when they moved to Los Angeles a year later. They began recording at home, creating music that the UK’s Supersweet Magazine described as “dark, brooding and beautiful… Radiohead meets Portishead in a living nightmare.” The duo eventually moved back to New York in 2009, and have slowly but surely been taking the city by storm with their arresting, intense live shows.
The first taste of Exitmusic’s incredible output, “The Sea,” is unlike any song you will hear in 2011 — it is equal parts driving, danceable, enigmatic, primal, urgent, cacophonous and beautiful. But enough from us: we’ll let the music speak to itself.
bio via Manic Farewood is husband and wife songwriters Lou Lorenzo and Leah Booker. Joining them for live performances is veteran drummer and musical instructor Bob Hill. The band finds inspiration for their tunes against the backdrop of their hometown of Meriden, CT. The desolate feel of the city surroundings consistently finds its way into the subconsciousness of their songs, yielding a sound that at times is shadowy, desperate and lonely. But like many Connecticut towns, once you venture out of the emptiness of its downtown center, the back roads can unfold into beautiful, almost country roads. That duality, or contrast if you will, can be found throughout their music. Their songs can be dark, but underneath it all lies a certain unmistakable beauty.
The duo are currently recording their fourth album and plan to use an array of different studios throughout the state while enlisting the services of Hill on drums. They hope to have the album ready for 2012. Farewood's sound has drawn comparisons to The Cocteau Twins, Sundays, The Cure, Afghan Whigs and Dinosaur Jr.
Please bring donations of canned food for Hartford Food Not Bombs to the show.
Cervix make Whitney House a stop on their Life Fucker tour next week. Washed out reverbed banshee vocals front this NYC punk band by a girl that sorta looks like the Ju-on monster. Grab a "special version" of their newest 7", out on Video Disease Records, at the show.
Hear Cervix's Death Culture:
Supporting are three Connecticut bands, the all-crushing Iron Hand and the new Brick Thrower and also new Zone (ex Ripshit/Dark Circles).
Cervix tour:
Friday-6/24/11-Ottawa w/ Asile, Nightmare Reality, Antimony
Saturday-6/25/11-Montreal w/ Locked Out, Subliminal Decay
Sunday-6/26/11-Montreal (Day off)
Monday-6/27/11-Albany, NY w/ Cancer, Dead Folk
Tuesday-6/28/11-Boston, MA w/Gash, Bloodkrow Butcher
Wednesday-6/29/11-Hartford, CT at Whitney House w/ Iron Hand, Brick Thrower, Zone
Thursday-6/30/11-Philadelphia, PA (Day off)
Friday-7/1/11-Philadelphia, PA at Philly Punx Picnic w/ Nomad, Ratface, plus more
Saturday-7/2/11-NYC Undead Vol. 35 w/ Kromosom, Mundo Muerto, Gash, Porkeria, Perdition
Saturday-7/9/11-Richmond, VA w/ Direct Control, plus more
In this day and age of media over saturation where bands can be declared the next big thing based on the criteria of releasing one good song over the internet, it’s cool to see a band receive attention from the blogosphere by releasing an awesome debut album and following it up with crazy, violent, must see live shows. For the teenage musicians in Danish combo Iceage, the praise is well deserved, because they have touched on something really excellent through their CD “New Brigade” (which will be released domestically on June 21 on What’s Your Rupture? Records) and their fearsome live reputation.
“Our fans and other people around have taken the band really well and we feel like people care. Of course some people don’t like us too. When the album came out the media blew it up really big and we were in every paper and even on the news. That was a bit unreal,” said singer/guitarist Elias Bender Ronnenfelt over e-mail. In addition to Ronnenfelt, the band consists of Johan Wieth (guitar) Dan Kjaer Nielsen (drums) and Jakob Pless (bass).
Already a sensation in their native land, the band is taking it to the road with a brief East Coast tour that will see them play with other like minded souls in Fucked Up, as well stopping by New Haven for a show at Popeye’s Garage on June 23. With all the attention they have received, they are trying to keep level heads.
“We try to stay calm and not think too much about it, but it’s a bit stressful with all those e-mails coming in every day,” said Ronnenfelt.
The stress should be worth it because “New Brigade” introduces a new major talent to the world. It’s an album that brims with confidence and youthful energy. It sounds like a great collision between post-punk, particularly in the drums and bass, and hardcore-ish noisy guitar. Plus it’s frenetic and sounds like the band are basically going by their gut and just playing what they feel. There’s no calculation here.
“We didn’t sit down and decide what to sound like, and we probably won’t always sound like this. But I’m not sure we get most of our inspiration from bands that sound a lot like us. We might get inspiration from Simon & Garfunkel rather than Joy Division,” he said.
After a brief instrumental intro, the first proper song on the CD, “White Rune” kicks in, with driving bass and drums and noisy squalls of guitar. The title track speeds it up while adding a poppy break at its end. “Broken Bone” rides a skuzzy and catchy riff, while “Count Me In” puts the pedal to the metal and is pure speed. The closing track “You’re Blessed” takes everything great about their sound and finishes it off on a high note. Though brief, at only 24 minutes, “New Brigade” makes quite an impression.
But just don’t try to label them as purely as a punk band, because Ronnenfelt is quick to point out that they just care about making good music regardless of the genre.
“I don’t really care about punk as a genre. I only care about good songs and good sounds,” he said.
Besides being known for their recorded output, the band is also famous, or maybe a little infamous, for their riotous live show, where people go mental and sometimes ending in a little blood being spilled by the audience. There have been people at their shows who’ve had “VICTIM” written in blood on their foreheads. After all, it is a punk show, what do people expect. Well, Ronnenfelt expects a little more from his fans.
“I’m not sure I can answer that question better than anybody being violent at our gigs. But I hope it’s because people actually relate to the music rather than it just being a punk concert,” he said.
So, they have an ace debut record, a penchant for crazy live shows and a whole bunch of justified hype hanging over them. There is no reason why you should miss this gig. You could witness something very special, and if they go onto bigger things, you can always say you saw them in a parking lot in New Haven back in the day. (As opposed to all those people who say they were at the infamous Nirvana show at the Moon all those years ago.)
Iceage The Men Medication Female
Thursday June 23, 2011
Popeye’s Garage, 50 Goffe Street, New Haven
7:00 pm, $7, All Ages
Sue us! One of our favorite local bands is NightBitch, purveyors of some of the finest occult-themed, sleazed-out, trad-flavored metal around. The band will be celebrating the release of their “Sex & Magic” EP on CD, this Saturday at Scotty O’Boyles in Meriden. We thought it would be a good time to check in with guitarist Ryan Adams and see what’s new since the last time we spoke. This show looks like a lot of fun and it’s free, so there is no reason why you can’t get down there and get your sleaze on!
So what’s new in the world of the ‘bitch?We're busying ourselves with writing songs for our debut full-length. We have a few labels in mind who we would like to see behind it and we may precede the full-length with a 7" featuring a cover as the B-side. Probably 10-12 tracks of what you've come to expect from Nightbitch... tradish heavy fucking metal, riffs and sleaze with a sensual, occult bent. We're about half-way to where we need to be. Tons of riffs and a few solid skeletons in place. Also working out a couple of killer new covers that we'll be unveiling Saturday night. Gird your loins and fasten thee chastity belt!
ALSO... Chris and I have just completed our contributions to the Vestal Claret (Phil Swanson project) full-length. I appear on three tracks doing guest rhythms and solos and Chris shares vocals on a track with Phil. Just this week, we received final mixes and we are nothing less than thrilled to have participated in such a stunning album with so many phenomenal guest appearances (Andy from Black Pyramid, Jason from Iron Age / Cyclopean recs, Leo from Forsaken and many more).
I see that you are celebrating the release of the EP on CD after it’s been on two other formats on two different labels. Can you tell me how this came about?Though we have parted ways as bandmates, Phil Swanson remains a very good friend and ally of the band and we have the utmost respect for him. He actually put us in touch with Mark at Psychedoomelic Records, who just released the "Sex and Magic" CD and we couldn't be more pleased with how it all turned out. It's a gorgeous release and we are nothing short of honored be on a label that has released the likes of Reverend fucking Bizarre, amongst other doom luminaries. After selling out of the No Visible Scars cassette and the Cyclopean vinyl pressings, the time was right to enter the digital realm.
There’s going to be a CD release party for it tonight at Scotty O’Boyles in Meriden, can you tell me about this? What’s the idea behind this?Scotty's is my favorite bar in my hometown of Meriden and is conveniently located down the fucking street. It will be nice for once to get shit-hammered and have a 30 second trip home, should I not wind up in the bed of some lucky lady. We'll be taking turns DJ'ing before our set and Handsome Bill Connolly from No Visible Scars will be doing a guest DJ set as well. Vinyl only. FUCK OFF DIGITAL BUTTDARTS! Expect lots of Sabbath, Purple, Priest, B.O.C., Rainbow, Sir Lord Baltimore and Mercyful fucking FATE!!! Basically a bunch of friends fucking off in the company of friends. If you're not into riffs, sigils, tits and Ritchie Blackmore... YOU ARE NOT OUR FRIEND.
You are playing at midnight, any special significance for the band?It's the fakkin witching hour, bro. DUH.
Are there any plans to put out a full length soon? You told me you had some labels interested in the band? Where does that stand? Chris has yet to make his singing debut on a NightBitch record…will that be happening soon?Oh yes. Full-length forthcoming. We'll be shopping around a few songs in the next couple months and hopefully releasing a 7" of one or two new jams and a cover. Chris will surely be singing on it, as he's been hitting it out of the fucking park since assuming vocal duties.
How do you find time for both of your bands? How do any of you find time, as a band, as you all have other projects going too…isn’t Chris in like 20 bands right now?If you're passionate about something, you make time for it. I've got both Nightbitch and Ipsissimus. Mark has De Omega and Nightbitch. Chris has five bands at last count. The man is a promiscuous dynamo, bless his fuck.
Are you hoping some hot nubiles will take it off to your song “Disrober” and then shake it to “Sex & Magic”?It is Hell-ordained, Thomas.
Most bands, if they’re any good (and some that aren’t so good), take a while to get their sound down pat and start attracting local attention. This whole process can drag on longer if the band decides to tour and is trying to get signed. It’s a process that sometimes can drag out for years, depending on the band’s situation.
In the case of San Francisco’s Deafheaven, the exact opposite is true, because within a year of them forming, they’ve already released a well received demo, got signed to a decent independent label and have been able to tour nationally. These unexpected twists and turns are quite surprising for a project that just started out as a way to slake its creators thirst for new sounds.
“We were all in a bunch of different bands and they all started to get a little stagnant. We then decided to go full throttle with this project and come up with a more expansive sound,” said vocalist George Clarke, who along with guitarist Kerry McCoy, form the core of Deafheaven.
It started off innocently enough, the duo recorded a demo and sent it out to a bunch of influential blogs, said demo received all types of praise, which eventually lead to the formation of a full on band, which included bassist Derek Prine, guitarist Nick Bassett of shoegaze band Whirr and drummer Trevor Deschryver of funeral doom band Lycus (Bassett isn’t touring with them due his commitments to Whirr. In his place, Gary Bettencourt who fronts a one man crusty/d-beat project called Black Monolith handles second guitar duty.), and them getting signed to Deathwish records, which is the label co-owned by Converge’s Jake Bannon. Add a buzz building set at the SXSW music fest, and the recording of a full length record, “Roads To Judah”, which was released this past April and you have a band that is living at an accelerated rate.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s talk about the band’s sound. Deafheaven merges the savagery of black metal, with some of the lush atmospheres of post rock and shoegaze, while blending in a little screamo into the mix. It’s a genre defying sound, which really doesn’t fall into one easy category. And they want it that way, just as long as you don’t use the dreaded “bm” tag around them.
“We don’t consider ourselves a black metal band because we have a lot more going on to be considered just that,” said Clarke.
This expansive sound is on full display on their debut “Roads To Judah” which was released this past April. Though there might be a little confusion as to whether this is a spiritual record, the Judah mentioned in the title is a reference for to N Judah line which ran by the duo’s house in San Francisco. Clarke said he would come up with a lot of ideas for the band while riding this train into work. Thematically, the record deals with personal themes that were affecting its creator at the time of writing. It must have been a hellacious time, because the music actually burns with a cleansing fire, like he is purging these things from his life.
While there are passages of shoegaze like atmosphere, the album's four tracks are mostly dominated by a savage black metal-influenced assault. There are the atmospheric parts, which reference shoegaze and post-metal, but they add depth to the sound, instead of overwhelming it. This is one angry, blasting record. They’re like an angry urban version of Wolves In The Throne Room, who deal less in nature worship issues, than with the pitfalls of living in a major city and the stress that goes along with that.
“We wanted to utilize all our backgrounds to create emotion on a large scale. This means using sounds that are not just metal,” Clarke said.
For now, the band is thrilled to be touring behind the new record and has plans to tour for it throughout the year. But it might be a while before you anymore new Deafheaven material. Different members of the band are involved with other projects. In fact, Clarke said that Deafhaven is just one of the many things the guys in the band are involved with.
For example, Bassett is busy getting ready the Whirr debut disc for Tee Pee Records. Deschryver has the Lycus project to work on and Bettencourt has Black Monolith. But that doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy their time with Deafheaven.
“We are definitely happy with the way the record has been received. We were not expecting it at all. Right now we’re just enjoying the tour and all that is coming to us because of it,” Clarke said.
Deafheaven
Brass Caskets
Gowl
Girls Just Want To Have Fun
Saturday, June 18
Lilly’s Pad (Toad’s Place Upstairs)
300 York Street
New Haven, CT
7:00 pm – All Ages - $10
Tour Dates
06/17: New York, NY @ The Cake Shop
06/18: New Haven, CT @ Lillys Pad
06/19: Boston, MA @ O' Briens
06/21: Cleveland, OH @ Now That's Class
06/22: Chicago, IL @ The Albion House
06/24: Cheyenne, WY @ The Crawlspace
06/25: Denver, CO @ Blast-O-Mat
06/26: Las Vegas, NV @ Meatheads
06/27: Los Angeles, CA @ Vacation Vinyl - FREE In store
06/28: Garden Grove, CA @ The Cabin
Snake Oil is a collaboration between roughly a dozen people in New Haven County, Western Massachusetts, and New York City. In 1892, the year of Walt Whitman’s death, the circle rose up, fully formed, over the fringes of a blank landscape. The live incarnation for this show includes members (past and present) of Weigh Down, Titles, Mountain Movers, Latitude/Longitude, Charles Burst, Meridians, etc.
Atrina makes music that is equal parts minimalist melodicism, counterpunctal cacophony, and decibel-pushing dissonance. Angular, but accessible. Complex, yet catchy. Eclectic, and electrifying - Atrina makes ears ring, hearts pound, and toes tap.
In the transitions, Shaki will spin jams you've never heard but wish you had. You may think, how have I lived so long without this?
Location:
Heirloom Arts Theatre
155 Main St
Danbury CT
$5.00 - 8:00PM - All Ages
Fresh from their Arch Street performance, where they delighted many and terrified a few, Thank You Mr. Keating returns to the stage. They bring The Baxter Special to life, but loud as fuck, with audio/visual dementia to boil your brains over. Not to be missed!
Danbury's The Saltwater Swells are a decent pop outfit, a little Elvis Costello-ish. Heads up February Records!
Ovlov are one of CT's best power pop bands. Like chunky underground Foo Fighters with extra 90's Big Muff.
Grass is Green have a mix of regular ol' indie rock, Polvo-ish post-hardcore, and barbiturated Piebald. Out of Boston.
