Monday, July 1, 2013
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Sex Magician - If You Overdose On Vitamin C, Your Doctor Will Be A Cactus live in Mt. Pleasant, MI 08-22-09
6th song from set in Mt. Pleasant
Sex Magician - 2 Antenaes Got Married.../Johnny and Susie.../I'm Not Alone In Thinking You Make Ghandi Look Like A Child Pornographer Live In Mt. Pleasant, MI 08-22-09
This is songs 3, 4, & 5 all pretty much rammed together, from out set at this house show
Sex Magician - Hey Kevin, What's My Sex Life Gonna Be Like? Live in Mt. Pleasant, MI 08-22-09
Awesome Bands You Should Know... JAYKE ORVIS & THE BROKEN BAND
Growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jayke Orvis always had eclectic music tastes, even at a young age. Introduced to classic Country and Bluegrass early on by his father, he soon took a liking to Punk and Metal as well, and eventually began cutting his teeth on stage in Punk bands. However, his early introduction to Country and Bluegrass stayed with him, after a time he picked up playing Mandolin and soon found himself involved in the Underground Country/Roots music scene. In 2004, Orvis along with Joseph Huber on Banjo, Derek Dunn on Guitar, and Rick Ness on Stand up Bass formed The .357 String Band.
Over the next several years, The .357 String Band honed their talents, playing countless shows at seemingly ever dive bar in America. The group were setting a new precedent within the Country Underground, yes, you could call them "Punks turned Pickers" but they were these guys were not your average Punk Rock kids, playing 3 chords, then picking up Banjos and Mandolins. All 4 of them were extremely talented musicians who took the technical ability and skill involved in playing Traditional Bluegrass very seriously, but they molded Bluegrass and its many traditions with their Punk/Metal backgrounds, incorporating much of the attitude of Punk and Metal, as well as some of its themes, and in doing so created their own unique style that they dubbed "Streetgrass." In 2006, .357 released their debut album, "Ghost Town", and continued to grow their fanbase. The album featured a number of great songs that embodied the idea of "Streetgrass", combining blazing Bluegrass that could appeal to Bill Monroe fans, but coupled with lyrics about drinking, drugging, depressing, misery, and Hell. They were forging their own path, while simultaneously courting a growing legion of fans and influencing many a young band. The band continued on as tireless road dogs, playing shows, further their abilities and writing new jams. After 2 years of touring behind their debut, 2008 would see .357 release their sophmore album, and crowning achievement, "Fire and Hail".
It is a masterpiece that finds the band at the pinnacle of their abilities as a group. The chemistry and songwriting is topnotch as well, and the record truly stands as a high water mark for Underground Country and Roots music. "Fire & Hail" also sees Jayke Orvis begin coming into his own as a writer and a performer. Songs like "Blackship" and his amazing duet with Rachel Brooke, "Hold Me Tight", illustrated just how good Orvis had gotten on his own. Sadly, this record would be the final .357 String Band album featuring Jayke and the original line up. In June of 2009, Jayke was ousted in a suprising move to many, including him, from the .357 String Band. He was replaced by Billy Cook, and .357 would go on to release one more album, 2010's "Lightning From The North", before calling it quits in November 2011. Despite his suprising removal from the band he helped start, Jayke quickly rebounded and ultimately came out ahead. Only a month after finding himself without a band, he joined one of the best, most interesting groups around today, The Goddamn Gallows. Orvis's 2nd "post .357" move was another big one. Only 1 year after his departure for .357, Jayke Orvis would release his debut album as a solo artist, "It's All Been Said".
If that wasn't a big enough deal as is, Farmageddon Records would be founded around the album's release, making it the debut release for the label. Farmageddon would go on to become a force in Underground Country and Roots music, releasing albums from a large roster of great artists new and old, including The Goddamn Gallows, James Hunnicutt, Black Eyed Vermillion, Stevie Tombstone, Owen Mays, Rachel Brooke, J.B, Beverly and many more. To Jayke's credit, "Its All Been Said" is a excellent debut and as deserving an album, to start a label behind, as any.
The songs are all great from the amazing Bluegrass instrumental "Yankee Taste", the dark, somber "Feelings Like This", to the quiet, singer/songwriter folk of "Beatin' My Head" and "Broken Bottles on an Empty Shelf". Then there's faster, fun songs like "Thunderbolts and Lighning and their take on the Traditional Bluegrass jam "Shady Grove Gypsy", a murder ballad in "Gone Forever More", or catchy, fan favorite "Streets" with its singalong chorus and guest spot from J.B. Beverly, and what you might call the album's "single", the vigilante justice jam of "Dreadful Sinner", for which a great music video was made. There's also a hidden track that features James Hunnicut, which is sampled in the album's audio collage, intro "A Recipe For Tea". All in all, it was a phenomenal debut album, and one which ultimately helped garner Jayke the 2010 Artist of the Year award from Saving Country Music. On the album, Jayke's songs were brought to life with help from a great cast of musicians that included James Hunnicut, "Banjer" Dan Mazer, Old Timey Avery, Johnny Lawless, Geo Balentine, & J.B. Beverly. Orvis soon hit the road in support of the record with his backing group, The Broken Band, which aside from James Hunnicutt on lead guitar and backing vocals, was largely a revolving door of musicians, early on. 2010 also saw the release "Swappin' Spit", via Farmageddon Records, which marked Jayke's first appearance as a member of The Goddamn Gallows. "Swappin' Spit" was a split album, of sorts, between The Goddamn Gallows and Black Eyed Vermillion, and was released only on Vinyl.
Side A of the record features The Goddamn Gallows covering 4 Black Eyed Vermillion songs, "20/20", "Jesus In The Waiting Room", "Helping Hand, and "Bones To Pick". Side B has Gary Lindsey & Black Eyed Vermillion covering 4 Goddamn Gallows tunes, that include, "Born To Lie", "Pass The Bottle", "Wanders", & "Don't Feed Me". The album, and Side B, closes with a collective jam featuring members of both The Goddamn Gallows and Black Eyed Vermillion, plus James Hunnicutt, who all come together to record a mind blowing Countryfied/Roots cover of Venom's "In League With Satan". The entire album is great, and its really cool to hear the 2 different groups reinterpret each other's material, not to mention the group effort. Jayke's presence on the Gallow's songs is immediately heard, as his mandolin playing helps flesh out the songs and continued The Goddanm Gallows' evolution from Psychobilly Punk to a Roots act with some Punk influences. This continued growth is even more prevalent on The Goddamn Gallows next full length album, and 1st to feature Orvis as a full time member, 2011's "7 Devils".
Orvis continued touring with the Gallows as well as touring on his own material as Jayke Orvis and The Broken Band often touing together so as to allow Jayke to do both the Goddamn Gallows and his own stuff. Fast forward a couple years and in the spring of 2013 Orvis and his Broken Band partners would get around to recording the follow up full length to their debut, "It's All Been Said". Jayke along with a solidified Broken band rounded out by James Hunnicutt, Liz Sloan, and Jared McGovern, as well as a few others including Joe Perreze wrote and recorded the sophmore LP, "Bless This Mess" and saw it released in late April again through Farmageddon Records.
"Bless This Mess" is an amazing album that may will for sure be on many year end Best Of lists and may prove to be the best Roots Music album of 2013. From the killer Bluegrass instrumentals like "Murder of Crows" or "Clankertown" to more singer/songwriter type jams like amazing "West Wind" or the swinging "Crooked Smile". The record is full of stand out tracks that both show the great musicianship and songwriting ability of everyone involved. The originals are all exceptional but so are the few covers like Hank Williams' "Kaw Liga", Ralph Stanley's "Bound To Ride", or The Weary Boys' "Pick Up The Steam". The album also closes with a sort of cover song "Blackship" which was written by Orvis but did previously appear on a .357 String Band record, similar to the way Orvis' "Raise The Moon" was also first featured on a .357 album but later appeared on The Goddamn Gallows' "7 Devils". With a track record like Jayke has being a founding member of The .357 String Band, a sometime member of The Goddamn Gallows, 2 amaing "solo" albums, and a solidified Broken Band backing him up, the Country/Roots Underground would not be the same without his contributions. The future is Orvis' to dominate if he continues to make great records on his own or as part of a group effort. I cant recommend seeing Jayke Orvis and The Broken Band enough, as you would be hard pressed to find a better band live or on record in 2013.
Andrew Glen Sweitzer
Sex Magician - Dote Dote Dote, Da, Dote Dote Dote, Otay Doe Ahead 08-22-09
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Awesome Bands You Should Know...OTESANEK
OTESANEK was a band from Philadelphia that made some of the heaviest, most extreme music I have ever heard in my life by combining elements from a variety of Extreme Metal subgenre along with their own artistic sensibilities that border at times on the Avant Garde, while remaining visceral and raw. The band formed in 2001 and would feature Demian Fenton and Chad Pfeiffer on Guitars, Rudy Steinhauser on Drums, Ryan Riggs on Bass, & both Brad Dumville and Leslie Weitz on vocals. The 1st release from the band would be a Demo tape in 2002. This cassette tape would be self released by the band and feature 4 tracks. & a total length of about 32 1/2 minutes.
The initial release of this demo consisted of 100 hand numbered tapes, although the band would produce more of them, but after the 1st 100 they were no longer numbered. The recording was dubbed onto pre-existing Fundamentalist Christian tapes. The recordings were done in the Bassist Ryan Steinhauser's basement by Sean Dorn in November of 2002, and the tapes were released by the band shortly after. This Demo established OTESANEK and their basic sound as they fused together elements from some of the more extreme subgenres of Doom, including Drone, Death/Doom, Sludge, & Funeral Doom. However, not everything was super slow paced on these demo tracks, as there are a few moments of Blast Beats, and faster parts interspersed throughout all the slow, crushing jams. All these elements combined with the individual artistic streak of the band members themselves proved to be an interesting, and very extreme sound. Over the next couple of years the band would be working on new material and playing live, and then in 2004, OTESANEK would release their next album.
This self titled album would be released on CD through the label, Electric Human Project. The album was recorded in the spring of 2004 by Steve Roche, in his basement, and would be released a few months later, in July, in a limited pressing of 1000 CDs. There are 2 tracks on this record, the first is entitled "Oceans" and clocks in at about 10 1/2 minutes, while the second song is called "Dead in the Park", and has a hefty run time of 19 minutes & 30 seconds, giving the record a total run time of right about 30 minutes. Both jams are incredibly slow, devastating examples of just how extreme Doom can be. Dueling vocalists, both screaming their guts out, ungodly heavy guitars with just killer tone, minimalist but quite fitting percussion, and deep lowend. Its the sound of being dragged down a gravel road, naked at 10 miles an hour. Its going to fuck you up, slowly. The faster parts, and blasting that were heard on the Demo are now gone, in favor of extremely slow, torturous Death/Doom, Drone and Sludge combined to make some of the ugliest, most misery filled jams that humans have ever created. Obviously, if you were to attempt to trace the origins of the band's sound to their influences, I'd say a few of the bands that come to mind would be some kind of a mix between Corrupted, Khanate, & Thergothon, with maybe also a bit of Eyehategod, but I think the EHG influence was a bit more prevalent on the Demo, than on these tracks. Regardless, OTESANEK still very much had their own, unique sound, while there were elements of the bands I mentioned, they didnt attempt to sound like anyone but themselves. The next release from the band would come a a few years later in 2007.
The Split album betwen OTESANEK and Japan's COFFINS, would be released in March 2007, on CD and Vinyl by Parasitic Records. Both the CD and LP versions were limited editions, with only 1000 CDs and 666 Vinyl LPs pressed. The first 111 LPs came with a handscreened poster, handstamped in black ink, numbered, and stenciled in human blood. The cover art, as seen above, was created by Steve Mullay, who killed himself shortly after he created it, and was used in tribute to him. This album contains 4 tracks total, with COFFINS contributing 3 tracks (2 originals, and 1 GOATLORD cover), and OTESANEK performing 1 song, "Narcotic Hues", which would be the longest song OTESANEK would ever record, clocking in at almost 22 minutes. "Narcotic Hues" was recorded in February 2005, again by Steve Roche, in his basement. The song features a very long, ominous build up for the first chunk of the song before finally delivering the feral bludgeoning we expect, as it comes in wave after crashing wave of sonic filth and malice. This LP would later be reissued by Kreation Records on limited edition clear/splatter vinyl. There were 500 total pressed and available in clear vinyl with red, blue, and gray splatter. After the split with COFFINS, there wouldnt be as long of a wait this time, before the arrival of the next release.
In 2008, Blake Judd's Battle Kommand Records would release this amazing 4 way split album,
"Four Burials". It features one track a piece from 4 of the best bands from the extreme end of the world wide Doom scene. Track 1 is OTESANEK's contribution, "Seven Are They", which runs at just over 8 1/2 minutes. It seems much shorter than its 8 plus minute run time, and its actually the shortest song on this 4 way split. It's not as drawn out as much of Otesanek's material, particularly compared to a piece like "Narcotic Hues", which builds up for quite some time before finally delivering the sludgy destruction. On "Seven Are They" we get OTESANEK at perhaps their most viscious and violent. Its 8 plus minutes of total nihilistic, misanthopy in audio form. Its taken from OTESANEK's final studio session in April of 2006 at Super 8 Studios, where they recorded with Mick Mullen. Track 2 on this split is the amazing Funeral Doom band LOSS, from Tennessee, with their song, "(To Pass Away) Death March Toward My Ruin", which is 14 plus minutes of suicidal despair. Next up is, Spanish, Drone band, ORTHODOX, who contribute the most sedate track on here and also the longest, in the form of "Heritage", which is 18 1/2 minutes long. Finally, the last track comes from Australian Funeral Doom monsters, MOURNFUL CONGREGATION, who deliver the 10 minute crusher, "Left Unspoken". The initial release of this album, came as I said, in 2008, through Battle Kommand, in the form of a limited edition pressing of 1000 CDs. It was re-released on on beautiful vinyl by The Flenser just a year or 2 ago, with new artwork, and I think possibly a different mastering job. One year later, following this 4 way split, we would get the final release from the now defunct OTESANEK.
In 2009, Nancy Jo and Reification of Misery Productions co-released this 12" Vinyl record, the final release from OTESANEK. It would features 2 songs, "Resonance of War" on Side A and "Sanguinary" on Side B. As with pretty much everything Otesanek every released, the release was a limited edition as only 500 LPs were pressed, and of those 500 records, 111 of them included an extra linocut insert that was stenciled in human blood. The album artwork was done by the amazing artist Pippi Zornoza, who has is an exceptional artist who's created killer art for many other bands and is also involved in a number of music projects herself, including THE ASSEMBLY OF LIGHT CHOIR, VVLTVRE, THRONE OF BLOOD, WOLD and more. The 2 tracks on here come from the same recording session as "Seven Are They", which was featured on the "Four Burials" 4 way split. The session took place April 2006 with Mick Mullen at Super 8 Studios. These final tracks are as good as anything the band every recorded and while they are definitely in line with OTESANEK's established sound, in some ways these songs take the band full circle, back to their demo days. After the Demo, the band pretty much only played extremely slow and never really played fast at all, ever, but on both these tracks there are some moments and parts where they pick up the pace and get a bit chaotic and fast again, which harkens back to the Demo tracks. Its interesting and definitely gives the songs some extra dynamics, These brief bursts of speed give the slow, crushing parts that much more impact. It would have been interesting to see where the band would have went next, whether they would have began incorporating more speed and chaos into the mix, or if they would have returned to Droning, drawn out pieces. Its hard to say, but regardless, its a mute point. What we are left with is a small, but amazing body of work that demonstrates just how far and how extreme music can be taken when a group of individuals come together who have the vision, the heart, and ability to take their collective influences and ideas and create something totally new. So if you like the more extreme ends of the Doom spectrum, like Funeral Doom, Death/Doom, Drone, Sludge, etc make sure you check out OTESANEK.
Andrew Glen Sweitzer
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