Chronicles of Super Bad Ass weekends ~ Oh God Yes!

This weekend was a twofer for me.  I was doing nothing on Friday night up until I decided with a friend we were going to go pick up tickets for a show on Saturday night we spontaneously wanted to go to.  So, 2 in the Chest made it clear they would be at Goathead Saloon... off to the saloon we went.  Expecting to have a couple beers, getting the tickets, then leaving (I had to work at 6am the next morning) we walked into a metal show.  Not just any metal show.

The return of Havens End.  More hard rock than metal, Havens End was a band I had not seen, yet knew of.  I was in and out during their set with other things, so really didn't have a chance to check them out. 

There were three bands we did really pay attention to, however, and totally shot my plans of sleeping for work out of the fucking water!  I hate when the talent on stage is soooo good I don't wanna leave!

Cactus Chainsaw.  An amazing metal band with superb energy and full on no shit taken music!  Check em out and go to a show! 

Throw the Switch, which is a hybrid of members of Cactus Chainsaw and another band, added more to my list of Pheonix metal I wanna get on CD.  Gebus these guys, on stage, drew me in like a fish on a hook!  Turbulant strings and lyrics that will take the paint off a car!  Which would be a good thing if you needed a paint job.  Or didn't care about your car.  Otherwise leave your car OUTSIDE! 

Then there was Unconscious Minds.This band was so rock steady they gave me whiplash from head banging.  Its wonderful when a band gives you so much enjoyment you actually injure yourself enjoying it.  Unfortunately, as with most clubs in the valley, we were given the "no slamming into each other" tap on the shoulder.  Killers!  After I acquired mysterious bruises all over my body.

Unconscious Mind is a band I will be following, and you should too!  A wondermous whirlwind of fuckin metal!  I got a demo CD, however as with most demos the music is ok.  This show was not just ok.  I strongly suggest seeing them live, as you will not be disappointed. 

After working 8 hours the next morning, I arranged to meet my friend at Big Fish pub for the Saturday show.  2 in the Chest, mother fuckers!  We arrived late so missed the first half of the show.  But it was still fantabulous!  It was my first time seeing them in full garb and with their new bassist, who by the way was just as bad ass as Mudrup.  Great show guys!  They now have an album out which fully portreys their show musically.  Wonderful job! 

There are two more bands I'd like to mention from this show. 

First one, Latency.  I'be heard about em, but never seen em.  They are one of those bigger, prolific local bands that everyone raves about but I miss because of other bands I love. 

Positioning myself next to the cabs, I enjoyed a rather excellent performance that lived up to the hype.  Despite my whiplash from the metal show I enjoyed the night before, my sore neck found itself enjoyably sore and moving!  I love a band where every member plays an instrument, especially a guitar slingin lead singin man.  And you gotta love a bass player that jumps around like he's a kid excited for his birthday.  In fact, every member of the band moved and reflected an energy as if the floor was on fire.  And facial expressions!  Man, this band had all the enjoyments of my almost perfect show!  If I had to pick an MVP for tonight, the bassist would be it.  This guy flailed his fingers across his stick like he was making rough, passionate love to it, all the while performing on stage with a vehement energy that surpassed a modern rocker's classic performance.  Its been a while since I saw faces emulating what was being expressed on stage. 

Song mention: "Slow".  My favorite song of the night.  Check them out if you haven't already been to a show.  Latency, cheers!  I look forward to your next show and keep the rock rolling!

Okay, admittedly I spent a lot of the set trying to interpret the stylings of the one individual on the floor who was moving to his own model of the music.  This boy loved his band, and it showed! 

I've heard covers of old SOAD songs, but Latency pulled out a version with its own flavor of a carnal voice mixed with a super heavy set of guitar and bass that SOAD is known for.  I really enjoy SOAD, and hate when songs get butchered.  I was excited to hear a good version played slightly to the differential but good at that as well!

The last band I saw Saturday night,and one that pulled my weekend to a super musically maelstrom of awesome full circle?  Oh God no.  They were uber heavy and super fun!  Oh God No had a huge commanding voice in such a small package as well as a well rounded supporting band.

I like seeing fans of bands that show especially high levels of love for their band.  Oh God no has one of those.  One fan was overly exhuberant in her support of the band and was not afraid to show it.

One of their songs has a story.  "Call the Cops."  A great punk song musically and in spirit, its about a practice they had where the cops were called on them to shut them up.  Long story short, the cop accepted a demo CD, popped it into the CD player in his car, and left blasting oh God no.  In this case, you can't exclaim fuck the police, but have to admit 5-0 has good taste in the electrified side of art.

Not only is this kid vocally talented but he plays an amazing guitar.  Predominantly punk, oh God no performs a variety of songs beautifly.  Diversely talented kids. 

Then they played a Pennywise cover!!  Taking me back to high school.  Love when that happens.  Their crowd showed love for them that made me happy in my soul.  Bringing music to the people, that's what local music is all about.

What a fantabulous show!!  Oh God no killed it, Latency lived up to its reputation, and 2 in the Chest rose up and proved zombies can play fucking music!  The metal Friday night started my weekend revelry with painful pleasuracity that apparently was an omen for a supurbluous end. 

God, I really love music.  I know you do to, Pheonix!  Support your local bands and fucking get to a show! 

Ta ta for now, see you soon at a venue! 

Band: Switchblade 77 ~ Horrorpunk/psychobilly

This summer I was adventurous enough to venture to Cali a few times for one reason or another.  One reason was to check out local Cali music.  The last trip I made out to California was bittersweet. The second day I was there I hit Hollywood to see Switchblade 77 at the Roxy. Though I am not a huge fan of psychobilly or horrorpunk, I had heard good things about them and their music online sounded like it promised a good show. They took the stage with confidence and energy. The lead guitar was a zealous flame of talent and flying fingers, providing a continuous complimentary wave of strings for the ball of energy that was the lead vocals. The Roxy itself was a dive bar setting with a VIP section, but what I really liked about it was the stage. Big and roomy, it allowed the members of the band not sitting behind the skins to move. And boy did they. Running around with more energy than the crowd SB77 gave a performance that was enjoyable and allowed me to experience this genre outside of Pheonix. 
Yes, my friends, they are not local.  But post worthy nonetheless! 
They do tour, and should be here in the valley again early 2013.

I was able to reach out to them and ask them a few questions.  Their answers beg the desire to travel once again to see another amazing show.  Virsatile, with a wide variety of background in music, both as a band and as individual members, SB77 outlines how they've come to be the band they are today. 

Introduce yourselves!!

Hello We Are Switchblade77!

(DANNY)  My Name Is Danny And i Play Bass And Do Vocals For The Band.

(ANDY) My Name Is AndyMunster77 and I Do Lead Vocals and Rhythm Guitar,

(MARCO) My Name is Marco and im The Drummer

(FREDDY) Im Freddie Gein and I Play Lead Guitar and Back Up Vocals

How did SB77 come to be: What is your history?

(ANDY) I Started The Band In Summer Of 2003 WIth Some Of My High School Buddies. The Original Line Up Consisted Of Myself On Guitar And Back Up Vocals,,, Jackie77 On Lead Vocals, Raul On Bass, and Missile on Drums. Yeah Thats Right i Wasn't The Original Singer We Had a Chick Singer at First I took Over On Vocals around January of 2005 After She Decided to Leave The Band. We Had Many Line Up Changes. 6 Different Bass Players and 3 Drummers. Danny Join The Band as a Drummer around 2005 and Recorded an E.P with us. Around 2006 He Left Due to his Hectic 2 Jobs. He Re-Joined As our Bass Player in 2010 After We Got Back From Our First American Tour. Marco Joined The Band In The Summer Of 2006 and Has Been Our Drummer since.. Freddie Gein Joined The Band As Lead guitar In The Summer of 2008. I Think This Is The Best Line Up We Ever Had. We Work Together to write music and We listen to each others critics.

Why the name switchblade 77?

(ANDYMUNSTER77) Why Not! LOL ha ha.... I always Been A Big Social Distortion, Misfits, And Elvis Presley Fan. The "Switchblade" Came Out Of A Social Distortion Song Called "Sick boy" the part That Says "He Carried a Switchblade Knife". and the "77" Came Out of The Year The Misfits Started which was also The Year That The Horror Punk genre Was born. It Was Also the Year Elvis Presley Died.

Have you always been horror punk? What is your musical background?

(ANDY)  We Were More of A Street Punk Band But We Been Maturing Over The Years. We All Grew up Mostly On Punk Rock. I also Listen To Horror Rock, Death Rock, Industrial, Rockabilly, Doo Woop and Country. Freddy Is Also A Big Heavy Metal Fan.

You guys describe yourself as having a mixture of psychobilly,  horrorpunk and death rock in your music. I think it simply falls into  place as being you. Do you have songs you play that are specifically  one genre over another?

(ANDY) I think The New Psychobilly Is alot Similar to Horror Punk Because of the Horror Theme and lyrics. We were always booked With Many Psychobilly Bands And It catches on after Many Shows. Even though we don't have an upright Bass Many People Always Compare us to or labeled us as Partial Psychobilly. I Think It Also Has To Do With My QuiffHawk. Too Bad, Because Im Cutting it off Soon ha ha LOL... We write Mostly Horror Punk/Horror Rock and Some Death Rock Tunes. I believe We Do have Some Songs That Are Specifically One Genre Over The Other. Example: "Your Blood" "Frankenstein Monster"and "Lets Go To The Graveyard" are Straight out Horror Punk. "House On The Lonely Hill" Is A bit More Psychobilly and "Demons' Is More Death Rock and Horror Rock. The New Songs are more on The Horror Rock Side.

YouTube video

Do you have bands you’ve heard in the past you look up to and idolized?

We All Do... Some of us Different than others.

(FREDDY GEIN) My Biggest Influences Are Ramones, Motorhead, Randy Rhodes, Chuck Berry, And Lil Richard.

(ANDYMUNSTER77) My Idols Are The Misfits (Glenn Danzig and Michale Graves), Motley Crue, Elvis Presley, Social Distortion, AFI, Wednesday13, The Cramps, The Damned....

(DANNY) My Influences are The Smiths/Morrissey, Misfits, Social Distortion, Depeche Mode, And AFI......

(MARCO) Rancid, Misfits, A Global threat, The Casualties, The Virus and Lower Class Brats...

What is your favorite club to play?

(FREDDIE) We Have Played Many Clubs Over The Years And Had My Share Of Good and Bad Experiences. So To Have an Absolute Favorite Is Hard To Say. I Have Always Enjoyed Playing At Character's In Pomona Because We played There Many Times and Its in My Hometown.I have always liked Playing Rip's When We Play In Arizona.

(MARCO) The Showcase Theatre in Corona.....

(ANDY) Too Many Good Places to Choose From But I Would Say The Roxy and The Whisky In Hollywood, The Showcase In Corona was One Of My Favorite Place To Play As Well. It Sucked When They Closed it Down Because i Seen Some Of My Favorite Bands there.. I Used To Like Playing At Angelos in Pomona as Well... Oh And Cant Forget About Zombie's in San Antonio Texas.....

(DANNY)The Roxy And The Juke Joint Are Probably My Top Two.

Do you have specific bands you look forward to playing with?

(MARCO) Fucking RANCID!

(FREDDIE) We HadA Show On September 23rd With Naked Aggression, Im Looking Forward to that Show. I Always Been A Naked Aggression Fan So Im Pretty Excited About That Show.

(DANNY)  We Played With Wednesday 13 Last Month. It was A Pretty Fun Show. I Would Definitely Do It Again IF Possible

(ANDY) I agree With Them 3. I Been A Big Rancid Fan All My Life So It Would Be Pretty Sweet To Share The Stage With Them. I Remember Seeing Naked Aggression When I Was 13 About 12 Years Ago, So that will Be Interesting. I Love Playing With Wednesday 13 so Far we shared the Stage With Them About 3 Times and We Always Make New Fans. I Would Sell My Right Nut Just To Play With Some Of My Idols Like Social D, Motley Crue Or The Damned :) Ha Ha We Actually Been Doing Pretty Good This Year Got To Play With 45 Grave, Calabrese, Wednesday 13, Frantic Flinstones to name a few.

Andy ~ Do you workout?

Yes I Do.. Whenever I Get The Chance... But Not only Me Danny Also Works Out. He's Been Doing Insanity.

Freddy and Marco ~ I understand you are both members of SB77 and another band. Is it difficult to balance both bands in your lives?  How do you balance the two bands and your personal lives?

(FREDDY) It Took Some Getting Used To With Playing More Shows and Preventing Schedule Conflicts, But It Has Been Going Smoothly Now & I am Having A Great Time With Both Bands as For Personal Life No..

(MARCO) Being In 2 Bands Is Difficult When It Comes To shows. We Have To Make Sure We Dont Double Book with both bands.Theres Times when We have to Turn shows down because We are booked with one or the other.My Personal Life is Difficult Due To My Job Hours. Being An Electrician Makes My Schedule Vary.

Danny ~ What drove you to play the bass versus guitar or drums?

(DANNY) I'm Actually A Guitarist, I Picked Up The Bass To Join Switchblade77, But Playing Bass is Fun, It Gives me The Freedom To Play Around With Songs In A Way That I Wouldnt be able to do on a guitar. I also Play Drums on Occasion.

How is your local scene?

(ANDY) Back in The Late 90's and Early 2000's It was At Its Best. I Think Economy Took its toll On The Scene as well... Back In the Day Freddy and I Would Hangout in Downtown Pomona with A Bunch Of Punk Rockers... It Slowed Down The Last 2 Years, But Its Picking Right up. There's More Promoters Having Shows In our Hometown More Often, Bringing More People To Our City. 

Where do you see yourselves in five years?

(ANDY) Been Doing This For Almost 10 Years and Not Looking Forward to stopping anytime soon.. We Will Be Doing More Tours Around The U.S and Out Of The Country As Well.

Are there any plans to come back to AZ?

(WHOLE BAND) Yes Definitely! We Love Playing In Arizona! We Will Most Likely Be There Early 2013. 

Is there anything else you would like to share with everyone here in  Phoenix?

We Will Be Back! On The Meantime Sit Back and Stay Sexy!

You heard them, Pheonicians!  Relax, they will be back soon!!  You can check them out on their facebook page.  Give them a listen, invest in their CDs or mp3s, and take random road trips out to Pomona to support them in their natural habitat. 

Cheers!

Chronicles of live shows ~ New Lease on Life

I love cooler weather!  Puts me in a great mood.  Saturday night was no exception.  And what do i do when im in a great mood?  Listen to music!  And what better way to listen than to get to a show?

Recently I've been all over the place with kids, work, waiting for emails, and reading text books so I have not been out to see much.  Gawd I miss the therapy that is live instruments all but randomly meshed together into this that we call a "band". 

And yes... yes, if you haven't already figured out, I'm a nerd.  Like to read.  Not just fiction but books on history, science, political skewety and religious stations and how they relate to current politics and societal taboo.  With the presidential election coming up, everyone's mind is on the latter two topics, mixing in the religious angle with a slight yet obvious slip into smear campaigns and mudslinging.  Tomorrow is the election.  We have the internet.  Before you vote, let me suggest a research session into your friends facebook posts or twitter comments.  Facts can be stated as facts online, however as my step mom pointed out some of those facts are blatant misfacts.  I don't care who you vote for, just make sure that is your candidate before casting said vote.  Tumultuous times ahead, think to yourself, is this the man I want running the country?  Does he support my own beliefs and if it came down to it, would my rights and more importantly "self" be safe in his hands?  Of course, lastly on the subject, make a vote! 

Alright my slowly cooling people of the valley, onto the more enjoyable and unrelated to the above rant... music!!

I'll admit, I started at one place but the music was simply not catching my fancy.  Talented and definately mention worthy, Matt Woods from Tennessee was a one man country act that shared his amazing voice and guitar with the valley at Rips.  Admittedly I don't know much about it or listen to country, however when an act gets on stage and you can watch the guy, listen to his music and say, wow, this is something I could listen to in my car, it opens my appreciation for the genre I almost despised growing up just that much more. 

We left Rips shortly after Matt Woods performed to seek out something more fast paced and hyper fall night worthy.  So, we ended up in Scottsdale.  You can probably guess where. 

Now before I begin, I just wanna say that the shows I've seen recently prior to this one just didn't inspire note taking.  That's how I work, with my phone, noting names, descriptions, songs and sometimes ppl watching.  This night, for some cosmic reason of I know not what, I found my phone in my hand and realized I had started typing.  Emotional sobriety is a strange monster, my friends. 

We came in late and missed the first two bands.  Nonetheless, with the first band we caught, I felt a twinge in my foot.  It made its way up my leg then onto the rest of my body...  oh yea, first minute of music got me moving!  I love it when that happens. 

Their second song had interesting gypsy style riffs and a mixture of easy and purposeful vox.  If anyone can tell me the title, I'll give you a gold star!  They had a confidant natural air that exemplifies a casual, clear tone.  They also had strong strings and a  musical fortitude that simply flowed as if speaking to a friend, not onstage trying to impress anyone.  They are an alternative band with a classic and modern rock mixture.  The talent and originality was adequetly expressed with a clear execution. 

Lots of bands have their own renditions of "Land of the Rising Sun".  This band is no exception.  Calling themselves Jackson Difé, their rawr worthy version oozed a particular chill for me.  Other than the technical execution of the melody and lyrics, Jackson Difé brought another level to the song that I can't say rivaled the original but definately portrayed their subconsious ability to use a cover as an embodiment of their own musical precipitation. 

If you havent guessed the only dive in Scottsdale I've frquented, the answer is Rogue bar.  Rogue bar, despite my absence for a while, continues to impress me with a talented sound engineer and a sound system that rivals most local venues.  The music vibrates through the walls and floor with an atmosphere of a jovial crowd and cloud of music you can hear from every angle.  Your not just hearing the music, it seems to be all around you, like your in the track.  Perfectly balanced and loud the notes are pleasantly overpowering.  You are experiencing the music, inside the music.  As a true dive focused on local live music the Rogue fucking nailed it for me tonight. 

I had an insert of some people watching I did but I enjoyed the show so much I won't honor their douchbaggery with a specific mention.  Instead I'll just give Manny at the Rogue a smile and thank you for putting on some awesome shows and keeping the local scene as well as touring bands, primarily Indie and alternative, a home.

The second band we caught was O Henry.  They were high energy folk incorporating a fiddle and banjo in their whirlwind of foot stomping sincerity. Not at folk shows often, the music definately brings me a smile.  A different genre than I normally listen to, folk is upbeat and positive and brings me endorphins nonetheless.  The beat of the drums, twang of the strings and good 'ole boy vocals tend to associate my mind with the joyful portions of childhood. 

With an indirect connection with punk, rock and country, the O'Henry band caught my attention and brought a beat to my soul.  But what is music but a liason to every ounce of creativity and expression in ones being?  Regardless of genre, style or "fashion", a true talent and passion for that which vibrates thru the human condition is something to be appreciated and enjoyed.  Some say, "metal till I die" and exclude everyone else, "punk thru and thru" yet forget that roots of punk include country and Irish folk.  Some of these indivuals turn their noses up at other genres and the people who associate with them.  The basis of the punk mentality originates from creative self expression and simply being you, regardless of what others think or say.  So to belittle someone based on their musical preference is a self damaging attack on ones own beliefs.  I myself am an individual, I care not what others think of me.  It is to you, out there listening to rock, country, hip hop, rap, or even traditional heritage music such as middle eastern or Russian or native American, I say people will have their own opinions of you.  Listen to what makes you happy.  Don't be ashamed of your playlist.  If you listen to what your ancestors listened to for centuries, there is no need to hide, for without these, we would have no modern scene. 

Back to O'Henry.  Vocals are amazingly diverse and undertoned with a custom modern style.  Instrumentally they possess an array of a five piece creation that incorporates traditional folk pieces such as a banjo, as well as the afore mentioned modern vocals and bass guitar.  O'Henry... I tip my furred had to your mesh of original and twangy atmosphere of positive energy. 

Listening to their second to last song, with a heavy bass drum and a positive dramatic melody, O'Henry to me is more than just folk.Its one of those bands with a message of passionate adoration for what they do and for the diverse audience that came to the show.  They ended with a high tempo southern style gift of song that got everyone, be they typical pop appreciator or Hipster traditionalist, on the floor in front of the stage.  To O'Henry... keep it fantabulous!!

Yes I had a lot to say, but its been a while since I've shared anything so I hope you enjoy!  If anything, I hope this entertained you and encouraged you to check out these two bands!  Oh and occupy a fucking venue!  Cheers, my friends.  Until next time.