Tuesday, March 31. 2009
When I was first introduced to Soundgardens music, the subpop Screaming Life EP in 1987, I wasn't very impressed and dismissed them at first as trying to be Zep clones. I kept listening though and as they matured, their releases got better, and they started to find their way. It wasn't until 1991's Badmotorfinger that the wheels all clicked at once, they found their sound, and they really hit their stride. In fact that is still one of my favorite discs of all time, one of the few that I always seem to find room for.
I never got the chance to see Soundgarden live, our schedules never quite seemed to mesh. I had heard good and bad things about their live performance from friends and the track record of frontmen who go solo has been less than spectacular so I was ambivalent about what kind of show I might see. I loved Cornell with Soundgarden, hated him in Audioslave, and hadn't really heard enough of his solo releases to draw a conclusion.
It was definitely an older crowd that showed up for his sold out set, and they too were a Soundgarden crowd, looking to once again wrap themselves in that Seattle grunge metal blanket. I heard no calls for songs like "Cochise" or "Like A Stone", they were all shouting for "Black Hole Sun" and "Rusty Cage".
Click here to check out the rest of the pics.
photos by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer
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What the crowd got was a healthy, respectable mix of all of the above (click here to see the set list) with Zeppelin's Immigrant Song as one of the treats during the encore. Cornell was incredibly clean in his vocals, and he was very interactive roaming the stage, climbing the amps, while his band soldiered on behind him, slogging through his hits one after another. I don't think either Soundgarden or Audioslave fans left unsated.
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Sunday, March 29. 2009
by Harrison Davis - club kingsnake staff
Despite getting only 4 hours of sleep the night before, I set out to start Day 2 of SXSW 2009 earlier than the day before in hopes of scoring a parking spot. After securing a spot and passing the absolutely ridiculous line outside of Emo’s for a full day of generic hardcore scene bands, I walked to the show I had been waiting for weeks for at Radio Room. The line was fairly long for and before the doors opened, but I was expecting that. I quickly found that pretty much everyone was there for the same reason I was, to see legendary local singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston.
The first band I saw was electro-pop duo New Villager. The songs weren’t bad but the band was a little sloppy. That was understandable though since they proclaimed proudly that it was only their second live show. I think they may be good in the future, but work needs to be done on their live set.
The next band was a last minute replacement for The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and because of that The Wheel gave a very detached performance. Having just finished a set on the inside stage moments before they were told to play another show, you could see that they were just reliving the last ten minutes and were not having fun at all. However, I did really enjoy a couple of their songs enough to make me want to listen to some recorded material.
Bishop Allen was the nest band to perform. They were actually one of my favorite bands of the day. They had a great indie rock sound and a great energy on stage. My friend who attended the show with me said they were the best band he had seen all week. I disagree but I could easily see where he was coming from.
Finally the time had come. Any bit of exhaustion I was feeling was immediately replaced with sheer excitement. One of favorite songwriters of all time was about to take the stage. The crowd was first warmed up by the group was to be Daniel’s backing band for a few of his songs, The Hymns. They played some really great garage rock, but that stop me from fast-forwarding through their two song set. After the longest five minute set I’ve ever heard was over, Daniel Johnston finally took the stage. He clearly still has problems, which are well documented in the excellent film The Devil and Daniel Johnston, but since everyone knew this going in, it was never a problem.
There were essentially three parts to the performance. Daniel backed by the Hymns, Daniel on stage alone with a guitar, and Daniel singing while his guitar tech played for him. The Hymns were clearly excited to be backing such a legend which I really appreciated, but I wanted to see Daniel alone. After a few songs the Hymns left Daniel all alone on stage. The music wasn’t at its strongest at this point but it was a powerful image to see a man trembling with a guitar in his hands singing in an extremely unpolished voice some of the most beautiful lyrics ever written. When Daniel’s tech came out to back Daniel, it became one of the finest performances I’ve ever witnessed. Daniel Johnston standing ten feet away from me while singing “Life In Vain” will be something I don’t think I will ever forget for the rest of my life. Neither will any other member of the audience who silently sang along to his lyrics so as to not cover up a single noise coming from the stage.
After that incredible experience, I decided that I was finished with Radio Room for the day and I headed towards Red 7 in hopes that the place wasn’t already full of the many diehard Hold Steady fans that I had heard about. I walked in just as LA’s Fool’s Gold was finishing their sound check. I'd never heard of them before and didn’t even know that they were playing but I was really impressed by their combination of latin, funk, and pop music. The 8-piece band used a variety of instrument to create a very rich sound that many in the crowd found to be quite danceable. I picked up one of the 6’ singles the band handed out from the stage and upon listening, I found their studio work to be just as good as their live work, albeit slightly less energetic. It was really fun stuff.
While Fool’s Gold played to a relatively empty room, I had wondered where everyone in the huge line outside had gone. I figured it out the second I walked out the outdoor stage. The place was jam packed. The Hold Steady was setting up their gear when I walked out, which was good timing because less than 5 minutes later the doors to the outdoor were closed. I had been heard a lot about the Hold Steady recently, especially their live performance, and wanted to see what the big deal was. I had heard a couple of tracks off their recent album Stay Positive and enjoyed them but still didn’t get all the hype. The moment they walked on stage, I understood. The band came out with an incredible energy that I was not expecting at all. Even better was the crowd’s energy. The hold Steady does have some serious fans that were out in full force at Red 7, most of which sang along to every song. Despite the fact that this was one of a handful of shows the band was playing during the week, they didn’t hold back at all. The band was solid and having a great time through the whole set but things went to another level when they played 2008’s “Sequestered in Memphis” which had not just the fans singing along, but everyone in the building, which inevitably led to the song being stuck in my head for the rest of the week.
Even though I was really enjoying it, I decided to leave the Hold Steady early so I could catch the noise rock duo No Age on the inside stage. No Age played a very quick and very loud set. There was an extreme amount of energy coming the drummer who was fun to watch as he hit the drums as hard as possibly could during long segments of feedback from the guitarists. The songs were indistinguishable from one another and it was over in about 20 minutes but I still had a really good time.
After a quick break to let the day show crowds clear out a little bit, I walked to the Central Presbyterian Church to see a few baroque pop bands and to enjoy sitting in an air conditioned room. After waiting in a long line full of Grizzly Bear fans, I was able to catch the second half of the set from San Francisco’s Girls. My first impressions from the show wasn’t even caused by the band, I immediately noticed how great the church was for a concert like this. Every note echoed beautifully with the high ceilings and washed over the crowd. Girls was a trio that played really textured music that sounded great in the church setting. While the music sounded fantastic, the band itself was content just standing and playing their instruments which became boring after a little while. I would listen to some of their recorded material, but with their name they’re just too hard to google.
The next band was difficult to pronounce, but great to listen to, Rural Alberta Advantage. An indie folk trio led by singer-songwriter Paul Banwatt who sang songs that were, as you might expect, about living and growing up in Alberta, Canada the band was average on their own, but sounded great when behind the great songs. I loved the way the soft melodies came out and bounced around the room. I thought that the band was great, but the rest of the crowd thought even better, giving the band a standing ovation at the end of the set.
Finally the baroque pop troop from Brooklyn called Grizzly Bear took the stage. Once again, the venue provided the perfect set for such a band. The vocal harmonies sounded fantastic floating around the room. The band itself was extremely tight and the crowd treated the show as a kind of hushed spectacle with complete silence during the songs, and very enthusiastic applause at the end of them. I thought that the show was quite beautiful, but I needed something a little more harsh so I left about halfway through Grizzly Bear, I do want to see them again, but not on a night where there are plenty of other shows for me to be at.
I left the church and walked back to Emo’s once again. I was surprised to see no line whatsoever and entered quick enough to see yet another indie band, Wild Light. Wild Light had a very energetic set but they music was very forgettable and unremarkable in a day so full of bands. They had a sound reminiscent of other indie bands with a bit of a punk influence, like a sped up Tokyo Police Club. It was decent, but nothing great.
New Zealand’s Cut Off Your Hands was the next band. They had a similar effect as Wild Light in that while I enjoyed it at the time; I now find them quite forgettable. I did like the music which sounded like a more straightforward Bloc Party. I’ve been told that they’re fantastic on record so I may give that a try, but I found them a little generic, although that could easily have been exhaustion and the fact that they were the 11th band I had seen that day.
Boston’s Passion Pit was next. They came in extremely hyped and were the first to play to a full house at Emo’s. Passion Pit is a dance pop band that featured three keyboard players, a bass player, and a drummer. I didn’t really see what the big deal was with the band, but everyone else in the crowd went completely nuts for them. I didn’t really enjoy the music at all, which to me sounded like something you hear on the radio every ten minutes, the only difference being that this was a band and not some solo artist. When the singer started going I felt like I was listening to Geddy Lee being produced by T-Pain. It was really unsatisfying for me, but once again, it could have been exhaustion. I was so exhausted at that point that I left without seeing Peter, Bjorn, and John, a decision that I regretted later on, although my body would have punished me severely had I stayed.
Friday, March 27. 2009
Blind Pilot at SXSW 2009 - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer |
by Harrison Davis - club kingsnake staff
I had always heard how exhausting SXSW is and all of my past experiences being limited to the day shows, I always just assumed that those people were just whining. They were not. It is rough, but it’s also an incredible experience.
My day started with Portland based indie folk band Blind Pilot. I caught them completely by accident and they really impressed me. They were a primarily acoustic band with one keyboard. I really enjoyed the use of a vibraphone to create atmosphere. The keyboard played also brought out his trumpet several times, and every time he did it really reminded me of Neutral Milk Hotel.
We Were Promised Jetpacks at SXSW 2009 - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer |
The next band I saw was We Were Promised Jetpacks from Glasgow, Scotland. They were a fantastic indie band that I think was the best I saw in the day. Their catchy hooks and high energy had the crowd going just about immediately. I’m hoping I catch them again later this week.
After those two bands in the Emo’s tent, I walked over to the outdoor stage to see one of my favorite local bands, The Strange Boys. I walked in about midway through their set and found that they had really tightened up as a band. Their punk blues sound was clearly impressing out-of-towners who had never heard of The Strange Boys. It was my third time seeing them, and I still want more.
Deer Tick at SXSW 2009 - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer |
After Strange Boys, I went right back to the tent that I started at to catch the second half of the Providence, Rhode Island band Deer Tick. I had heard a considerable amount of hype for the band before the festival so I was really looking forward to seeing them. I felt that they were a little sloppy live, but I suspect that they’re fantastic on record. They had an interesting sound that combined several genres of music including rock, folk, country, and blues. I hope to see them again after they’ve had some time to tighten up a bit.
The last band I saw during the day shows was New York’s Easy Star All-Stars. They are dub bands who specialize in covering rock songs. It was amusing to hear Pink Floyd and Radiohead as dub songs, and I wish there had been more, but this set focused on covering The Beatles. The reggae Lovely Rita was cool, but the complete lack of original material was disappointing. They are a very talented band; they just need to branch out a little.
Gallows at SXSW 2009 - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer |
After taking a short break, I was ready to start the night shows. The first band was London punk band, Gallows. It was absolutely the best show of the day, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up being the best show I see all week. The singer barely made it through the first chord before he jumped off-stage and sang and jumped right in the middle of the crowd. He desperately tried to get a pit going but it never really worked out. He expressed his disappointment in the crowd several times, making fun of ‘industry’ people for not being able to let loose. His disappointment in the crowd was certainly not returned to the band. The crowd may not have moshed, but they loved every second of the show.
The next band was HR Band. They are the solo project Paul Hudson, best known as the front man for legendary punk band Bad Brains. The crowd got into him very quickly just based off of who he was. He gave a very mellow, reggae based. HR didn’t move around much, but he sounded great. The crowd didn’t move around much either, until HR closed with the Bad Brains classic “Pay to Cum”. The moment the song started, the crowd erupted into a massive pit. It was pretty awesome to see, and even better to be a part of.
We then went from one punk legend to another. The Circle Jerks had the crowd from the very beginning as they stormed through their many hardcore punk classics. The pit that Gallows had tried to get was in full force for The Circle Jerks. The band tore through an incredibly high energy with such force that you would never be able to guess that they’ve been doing it for years. The set list included several hardcore punk classics like “Wild in the Streets” and “Behind the Door”. The crowds energy was at its highest point of the night through the whole set. It was fantastic.
The Circle Jerks marked the end of the punk part of the night. The next band was LA’s Juliette and the New Romantiques. Fronted by actress/musician Juliette Lewis, they were easily the band that I was least excited for that night. The band was nothing special but I didn’t hate it. I felt that it was generic, forgettable rock. From what I heard in the crowd, most were just as disinterested as me.
Then the night’s headliners took the stage, seminal ‘80’s post-punk band Echo & The Bunnymen. The band was extremely well received from the second they took the stage opening with the classic 1980 track “Going up”. The band continued to drift through their vast catalogue in an extremely tight fashion. The band sounded fantastic through the whole set, the highlight of which was “Killing Moon”, one of my favorite ‘80’s songs. By the time the band went back on stage for their encore, I was completely exhausted so I left a song or two short of the finish of the set, hoping to grab a couple hours of sleep before another full day of music the next day.
Echo And The Bunnymen at SXSW 2009 - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer
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Sunday, March 22. 2009
I seemed like the Indigo Girls were everywhere at SXSW this year, even popping up to perfrom at the Perez Hilton party. I caught their set later over at Stubb's and thought they were great. They sounded just like their records. It was just them on a bare stage. Click here to check out the rest of the Indigo Girls pics.
photos by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer
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Saturday, March 21. 2009
Electro-Punk Pioneers DEVO headlined the BMI Showcase at the Austin Music Hall during this years SXSW and they brought their whole stage setup. Even the plastic flowerpot hats. Being at this show you felt like you were immersed in one of those 80's videos, part of some way cool 3D mashup. Click here to check out the rest of the Devo pics.
photos by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer
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Monday, March 16. 2009
| Canadian Music Week is a music festival, conference, and exhibition with thousands of music industry participants from around the world. 350 bands in 35 clubs over three nights, March 11 through the 14th, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Club kingsnake was there this year and we put together this photo gallery with some of the highlights. Click on an artist to see more! - photos by Michael Hurcomb - Staff Photographer |
Sunday, March 15. 2009
It was with much more subdued expectations of the great American road trip than that portrayed by gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson in his tome "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas" that I stepped off the plane in Fresno. I did not have a head full of acid, nor was I accompanied by my long suffering Samoan attorney, nor was I attacked by imaginary bats on my epic journey, but I was about to cross the great desert southwest in a legendary American built convertible, sample the rise & fall of American excess in California, and along the way have an epic journey of my own.
It all started with my online search for one of the icons of the American auto industry, Chevrolet's classic Corvette. I had had my mind on getting one since I was 10, was finally in the market for a new used car, and so began scouring the online sites. It took a month, and 9 separate deals, before I located my car on EBay, 1700 miles away in Fresno, California. After arranging to meet the buyer at the airport, we went back to his house to look at the car, do the paperwork, and hand over the keys. The car, a screaming yellow beast that defined the best of the American automotive design in its day, is considered a symbol of gross excess in my home town but would garnish nary a look as we headed south to Los Angeles where Maybachs, Ferraris and Porsches flourish.
The pink and white blossoms of the almond trees began to thin and give way to great mountains as we closed on Los Angeles and my phone started ringing. Pulling over at the next rest area, nestling my car between a Porsche Carrera 4s and a Toyota Prius, I checked my messages. The first was from my sister in West Hollywood, the next was from Kerry King of Slayer.
Although ostensibly I was in California "on vacation" to pick up the car, I had become entranced by the whole Hollywood sub-culture, a victim of too much self-inflicted TMZ, and was excited by the prospect of hanging around in L.A. for a few days with no fixed plans. With my sister to run interference and act as a guide I hoped to sample a little Hollywood before heading East back to Texas. The first step was to pi up my sister and meet Kerry King for dinner.
I am in an awkward position when it comes to Kerry. As a journalist I am not supposed to be friends with my subjects (something about maintaining objectivity) but Kerry and I knew each other long before I re-embarked on my music industry career. Though Kerry has given me the go ahead to write about my experiences with him I always feel funny writing about it, but never let that get in the way of a good Slayer story.
I hit L.A. at rush hour but as I was going into town, against the flow, and traffic was relatively light. I made the downtown area quickly and the names of streets made famous by the media scrolled by, Wilshire, Melrose, La Cienega, Sunset, and as I picked my way through the traffic it was hard not to glance at the sidewalks looking for
the rich and famous. After stopping at my sisters place to pick her up we made like 4 turns before I was handing the keys over to the valet at Brodericks, a reasonably priced Italian restaurant about equidistant from her house and Kerry's hotel. After hanging around in the bar just long enough to be castigated by my sister for using the word "celebrity" to the bartender, Kerry rounded the corner. In L.A. to record his next album, Kerry brought some of his management team along so that I could meet the people I had been emailing back and forth over the past couple years and together we headed back to our table.
Joining Kerry my sister and I were Rick Sales, Kristen Mulderig, and Andrew Stuart, all of whom had been working with Kerry at the studio. I hadn't met any of them before but Kristen and I had emailed each other a lot so I didn't feel as much like an idiot, but after the introductions we all felt like friends. It was interesting to hear about some of the business issues they go through day to day. We talked about the upcoming Slayer tour, the tour props, opening acts, and why you can't buy Slayer at WalMart and other interesting topics. I couldn't help but smile and think about the infamous scene in "Spinal Tap" where Nigel tries to describe the Stonehenge stage kit as Kerry and Andrew talked about the design Slayer's next stage backdrop. Kristen and I tussled verbally in a friendly way over Tool, their live show, and it's secretive frontman Maynard, while Kerry laughed at both of us in the corner. Rick and I got engrossed in a conversation about exotic cars that was really fun as he gets to play with a lot more Ferrari dealers than I do these days. My food was cold by the time we wrapped up the evening and it ended with Kerry inviting us to the studio the next day.
My sister, unfortunately, had to work and wasn't going to be able to make it to the studio. Luckily Kerry wasn't going to be there until 2pm so she invited me to her office so I could meet some people she worked with. I had no idea what she was doing for a living, other than she was in the entertainment industry, so I was a little surprised to find out that her company was located on the grounds of the former Warner Brothers Studios. Nestling my car in between a Bentley and a BMW I sat in awe of the machines parked around me. If Southern California is home to America's car culture, Hollywood certainly takes it to extremes. Aside from a handful of hybrids nothing parked in the lot cost less that $50k new and European luxo sedans and sports cars predominated.
After locating my sister's office in the writers building, and going through another round of introductions, she introduced me to music producer Russ Regan. Described as the "Man with the Golden Ear" Russ worked with many superstars in the 60's and 70's including Elton John, Barry White, and The Beach Boys as well as supervising the soundtrack to "Spinal Tap". He should probably be known as the "Man with a Thousand Stories" and he spent some time telling me one of them involving Manson and some demo tapes. Not Marilyn Manson mind you, Charlie.
It seems Brian Love of the Beach Boys had introduced the two and one day Charlie Manson shows up at Russ's office to lay down some demo tracks. Pulling up in a VW van with a rainbow painted on the side and with Squeaky Fromme and Susan Adkins in tow, it was a strange day indeed. I am hoping Russ will let me record an interview with him so he can tell you the rest of the story, stay tuned for details.
My phone rang, and I looked down. It was time to go. I said my goodbyes, and headed out into L.A.'s notorious rush hour traffic.
It was only 4 miles from the office over to the studio where Slayer was deep into their next album, but it took an astonishing 45 minutes before I pulled up and parked in front. From the street it was a non-descript building on West Cuheunga and it wasn't until the door opened before I could hear Dave Lombardo thrashing away on his drum kit that I knew I was at the right place. Kerry's guitar tech Anton ushered me upstairs to what looked like for all intents and purposes the kitchenette and living room of a middle class house with a huge tinted window overlooking the studio. Offering me my choice from a well stocked snack table and refrigerator I chose a water from the fridge and settled down on a couch to wait for Kerry.
Picking up a copy of the local alternative newspaper off the coffee table I browsed the live music ads and grew green with envy over L.A.s live music scene. Austin may bill itself as the "Live Music Capital Of The World", the L.A. area could give it a run for the money. As I thumbed through the ads various people came and went, mostly staffers bringing in dinner, moving this, shuttling that. Finally I glanced up to see Jeff Hanneman standing at the sink. Kerry came up the stairs and they started discussing Lombardo's drum tracks while Dave pounded away in the studio below. Glancing my direction Kerry nodded and said hello, then headed back down the stairs leaving me and Hanneman standing in the kitchen. Feeling awkward I turned to Jeff and said "Your Jeff Hanneman, right?" He replied in the affirmative and I offered that he looked taller on stage. He laughed and said he got that a lot.
I told Jeff my story, that I was Kerry's friend, that he had invited me down, and that I had shot them on their last 2 U.S. tours.Somehow we got into talking about Kerry's snake collection, and about hobbies on the road. "Kerry tells me your quite the military historian."
"Yeah I am really into World War II history. I kind of specialize in tanks and armored vehicles." said Hanneman a little guardedly. An avid military historian myself (I have a 1500 book military history library I have been building since I was 12) I understood his aloofness. Soon we were engaged in a deep conversation about tanks, and tank museums, and TV shows. We talked about Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson cruising around in a Russian T-34 on The Military Channel's "Tank Workshop". He noted that no one had invited him to drive any tanks but he would be happy to oblige. I asked what his favorite museum to visit when he was on the road. Hands down it was the Imperial War Museum in London he said. "I could spend days there". We talked for what seemed like 30 minutes and found that we had a lot of common interests and experiences before Kerry crested the stairs again this time followed closely by Slayer frontman Tom Araya.
As Kerry introduced me to Tom I mentioned that I was from a small town in Texas too. Tom's eyes seemed to light up as he recognized me as a fellow Texan "Yeah, whereabouts?" . I went into the story about where Walburg was and explained that it sounded a lot like his town Buffalo, Texas. He laughed and explained that they had just got their first traffic light in Buffalo not too long ago but that the people were really pretty cool, and for the most part he and his family kept pretty much to themselves out on the ranch. I asked him if he preferred ending this years tour in San Antonio because it was so much closer to home and he agreed. "I love San Antonio" he said with a broad grin breaking out his face.
My phone rang, and it was time for me to go again. The band was wrapping for the weekend, Kerry was headed back out to his house and I had dinner plans. As he walked me out Kerry invited me out to his house the next day to check out his snakes and chill out before I started the long trip home. Since his place was literally only 10 minutes off my planned trek home, I readily accepted.
Showing up at the gated entrance to his neighborhood the next day I handed over my ID as the guard called Kerry's house to confirm my entry. The guard handed me my license back with a big access card to display on my dash. The gate swung open and I gunned the car through, up a hill and then pulled in and parked in front of Kerry's house. Meeting me at the door with his huge dog Kerry invited me in and no sooner than I was through the door and we were off on a whirlwind tour of the house. They had made much more progress than I had anticipated from my visit in the fall, and Kerry proudly showed off the results, with such accouterments as a a huge chandelier made of what looked like a gigantic ball of yarn that made his entryway appear to have textured walls. Other neat fitments included cool skeleton graphics on his kitchen appliances.
Eventually we ended up in his snake room and I found myself almost literally knee deep in pythons. After a successful breeding season last year and with cages full of swollen gravid females ready to lay this season eggs Kerry will have his hands full. After a careful review of his neater snakes of the season we heard his wife Ayesha come home. Getting my hello hug under the chandelier we quickly caught up and she filled in all the missing pieces on the other home improvements they had done and that Kerry hadn't covered. After showing her the car Kerry and I hopped in to run to the local Best Buy so I could buy some CD's for my trip home.
It was amazing how many people wanted to help us when we got there, I think we had 3 associates following us around while we looked at CD's. I pointed out the new U2 disc and he threatened to punch me if I bought it. I couldn't find what I was looking for so settled on something I needed to replace, Blind Melon's debut disc. Knowing that Kerry was libel to punch me, I hid my purchase until we hit the checkout counter. Once there I bemoaned the fact that I didn't find what I wanted and had a long trip with little to listen to but the radio. "Didn't you find something here? " asked Kerry. I sheepishly held up the Blind Melon disc and Keryy gave me a disgusted look and rolled his eyes."Dude - I can loan you something better than that".
Back at the house Kerry and Ayesha had a surprise for me a HUGE coffee table snake book, filled with gorgeous pictures of my favorite reptiles. "Ayesha got one for me and I thought you'd like one too". Hugging Ayesha again I thanked her and thanked Kerry for the fist full of CD's for the trip home. It was dark outside and time for me to make that long, long drive back to Texas. As I slid in the car I had to laugh when I pulled the first CD out of the stack, the latest release from Megadeath, and as I left Kerry's neighborhood Dave Mustaine's raspy voice was quickly drowned out by the growl of the vette as I wound my way through the hills.
Saturday, March 14. 2009
John “J.D.” DeServio of Black Label Society more photos...
photo by brian rampacek - staff photographer | by Jeff Barringer - club kingsnake staff
Rock and roll road warrior John “J.D.” DeServio has a "new" old band he wants you to know about so bad that he didn't even stop his car to talk to us as he raced to the bands opening gig in New Jersey.
Choosing an old stomping ground like the Cherrywood Rock Club to debut his new band Cycle Of Pain, the Black Label Society bassist is hoping that his new band will meet with the approval of Black Label fans and bring in others as well as the new band crosses over into some tasty funkametallic chords, as well as exploring the more traditional crunchy ozzyesque sound.
I have heard some clips from their new CD and can't wait to put the whole thing into my disc player. With 13 tracks and guest appearances by Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy), Ray Luzier (Korn) Brian Tichy ( Billy Idol), Sen Dog (Cypress Hill), Russ-T Cobb, Hugo Ferreira (Tantric), Marcus Ratzenboeck (Tantric), Clip Payne (P-funk), Burton (Fear Factory) & Russell Allen (Symphony X) it rocks, it hops, it damned near does everything.
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Continue reading "Podcast: Interview with J.D. DeServio of Black Label Society and Cycle Of Pain"
Friday, March 13. 2009
Ok I slogged my way through the rain and cold to get my platinum badge and my 3 bags of swag. Back in the warm dry I went through them to see if there is anything interesting. With the platinum badge you get a bag for each part of the festival, film, interactive and music. This years bags are considerably lighter than last years. Most noticeably absent from the bags were the major music mags like Blender and Spin, and there is a distinct dearth of free music CD's. I counted only 2 in my bag, usually there are 10 or 12. One thing I found humorous is that apparently only the music bag rated a set of condoms this year, so interactive and film people your on your own! There is some neat stuff, including a nifty holster for my iPhone, but not nearly as much as years past.
Thursday, March 12. 2009
I have been so swamped lately I haven't been able to keep up with the will he/won't he rumors about James Hetfield & Metallica, or the many other rumors about Janes Addiction or even Motley Crue, but the newest rumor to cross my desk deserves comment. Yes I think it is possible and likely probable that SXSW will see a drive-by visit from some or all of U2. They are currently on a whirlwind press junket of the United States, and in fact appear to be playing some small unannounced club dates testing what appears to be a mini-style SXSW set (5 songs or so) and are popping up in very unexpected places. I have had a couple birds tell me it's in the works, but no hard confirmation yet. I have all my sensors out and let you know when something substantial trips one. Until then, see you next week at SXSW!
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