Announcements, etc

Hello everyone.

I thought it might be time for a bit of an update since the Bird Rights feature was my 40th post and, no, that's not a huge number, but it's a little bit of a milestone (kinda). Espect somethin' cool for the 50th ya'll. Just sayin.

I just want to thank all of my readers for coming to the site; those of you who send encouraging words, feedback, etc are very much appreciated. Those of you will less-nice things to say are appreciated as well. It's true what they say: a handful of "haters" and critics (or even just one) makes you stronger and teaches you more than a million fans, even if it hurts at first. (As Nick Flora says, "Everyone's a critic with a sharp tongue/ I, for, one have been stung/ One too many times/ It's hard to fake a smile.") But you just have to keep on truckin'! Controversies in the greater Kzoo music scene, often in the form of blog-bashing, have been going around... whether you're a musician or a writer, just keep it up-- art is art, and criticism is at the heart of being any type of artist. My hope for all artists who are part of Kalamazoo media/ culture continue to love, support, and constructively criticize one another in the hope that we will all find our voices and create some amazing legacies to leave behind, in whatever medium we so choose.

Without further ado, a couple exciting news tidbits:

[NOISE! Convention]
When I first launched TVJ, I had an idea to have a big show with some of my favorite local bands to promote the site. That never occurred, since I have no idea how to go about booking a show... alas, the intervention of Fate brought two lovely young men into my life with their lovely new site, Kalamazoo NOISE!. As a contributing writer for KN, I'm pleased to announce that we will be hosting a HUGE bash, coined "NOISE! Convention." I believe I've briefly mentioned it previously, but I wanted to reiterate: this is a HUGE-ASS SHOW (16 bands will be playing) to which you and ALL of your friends are more than invited!! (Check out the Facebook invite here.... go ahead, RSVP, you know you wanna.) This is, no doubt, better than anything I could've cooked up. I am SO excited for this and I hope all of you guys will be there. It's going to be amazing. Here are the deets:

What? Quite possibly the most incredible show of all time. Ever.

Who? The Hex Bombs, Ghosts of the Great Lakes, Ender, Hello Victor, Please Promise, Branden Mann and the Reprimand, Elm Street Riot, Brena, Trixy Disco, The Sedgwyck Agent, Sara Never Loved Me, Dead Scene Radio, The Post Addition, Crash City Saints, Dunktank, and Kathryn Tapper. And me of course (and the other KN! boys and gal). And most importantly, YOU!

When? April 29th... the last day of exams for all you WMU folks!!! What a killer way to unwind!

Where? Both stages of The Strutt at the corner of Stadium and Academy.

To date, we've got exactly 400 confirmed guests on Facebook... just sayin', all the cool kids will be there. No pressure or anything. Come on out! Bring your friends! This will be a night none of us will forget! Please be sure to introduce yourself... I can't wait to see your beautiful faces!


[Upcoming Publications]
RECOIL: Check out the April '10 issue for an article by "yours truly" (I hate when people say that) which will hit newsstands (not so much newsstands as countertops in various music-peopley places like Fourth Coast, Guitar Center, and many other places in the greater Kalamazoo/ Grand Rapids area) April 1st... no foolin'!

REVUE: I've got a pending article for this which may or may not run. Long story...

KALAMAZOO NOISE!: As always, keep checkin'.

[Cool Upcoming Stuff]
April 7th at The Strutt: Koji, Ender, and Kevin Devine. AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING. Also be on the lookout for my coverage of this show via KN!

If you're not excited right now, check your pulse homey. For reallz.

XOXO
--Meg Alexander (thevolumejunkie)

PS: Don't forget to add me on Facebook and MySpace for any and all blog updates and other related matters. Big hugs to all of you who have already :) Later days!

Bird Rights: a Phoenix Rising (artist feature)

     Warning: checking out this new Grand Rapids-area band may cause a mild case of déjà vu. If seeing the basketball-jersey-clad Boyea brothers onstage, crafting a unique brand of indie rock based on love, life, and wonder induces that woozy-wonderful headrush, don’t worry; it’s not you, or your memory-- Bird Rights is the reincarnation of the brothers’ former band, the Flowbs-- or, it could just be a side effect of their dreamy, melodic, indie-meets-shoegazer tunes (think an indie-er Snow Patrol, or a chilled-out Bloc Party).
     The Boyeas, rounding themselves out to a trio with drummer Spencer Engler, have traded the more hyper façade associated with the Flowbs-- with their tendencies towards uptempo rock, at times leaning toward ska and pop-punk-- for stripped-down balladry, characterized by a delicious subtlety and a haunting ambience, underscored by flawless melodies and thought-provoking lyrics. Their lyrics, based on introverted reflections on life-- particularly transition (look out for their first single as Bird Rights, “Nightmare”) and reinvention, a very real theme for the band at this point-- tend to be at once brave and vulnerable; juxtaposed against lightly-distorted guitars and shimmery, gentle percussion, the combination is haunting, undeniably radio-ready and likely destined for solo sing-a-longs on lonely drives home and sober mornings-after.
     Like the proverbial phoenix, Bird Rights confidently rise from their former rocker selves into the mature, thoughtful crew we see today: amazingly unpretentious and humbly self-assured. The evolution is duly reflected in their newly-released material; for example, on the aforementioned single “Nightmare,” singer/ principle songwriter Luke Boyea proclaims “I’m gonna climb these castle walls/ I don’t care if I fall/ I’m not gonna die here,” and continues throughout the band’s new material to evoke feelings of determination, frustration, and, ultimately, confidence; there is certainly a palpable sense that these guys have found their stride. And it seems rightfully so: according to the band, singer Luke Boyea has “developed the swag and appropriate ego of a great front man,” and, alongside his brother Eric’s “imaginative guitar playing” and Engler’s “groove-based beats” the trio seems poised for greatness; Bird Rights have settled softly into their newfound niche as not just musicians, but craftsmen: gloriously reviving the lost art of the ballad, most effective on the lovelorn gem “Owl Man,” whose twinkley guitar parts alongside the depth of a striking piano melody makes for a listening experience you won’t soon forget.
     With their feet squarely in the door of Grand Rapids’ music scene, Bird Rights have had no trouble setting up shop as the new band on the block, and will begin playing shows as early as April 9th (at Brewstirs) and May 7th (at the Intersection).

[Editor's Note: look for this review in the April '10 issue of Grand Rapids' Recoil Magazine!]

Addendum: this is my 40th post!! Now go crack a frosty Oberon. 

Their Teeth Will Be of Lions "True Stories Are Harder To Make Up" review

     Kalamazoo indie rock seven-piece their Teeth Will Be of Lions is back and better than ever, taking their already larger-than-life sound to even greater heights than expected.
     True Stories Are Harder To Make Up-- specifically designed to be listened to on vinyl-- “forc[es] us to use our time wisely,” proclaims the album’s liner notes. And time is, indeed, a very conspicuous force on this album: with genre-spanning tempo changes from song to song (and, often, within the songs themselves), Teeth’s sonic repertoire ranges from melodic vocal parts, decorated by piano, acoustic guitar, and even Sufjan Stevens-esque banjo, into Aeolian bursts of sound, at times channeling the arena-rock intensity of Muse, Coheed and Cambria, and the Foo Fighters.
     With a risk-taking exploration of new themes and ideas alongside a wider range of tempos, genres and sounds than we ever thought possible-- and, of course, the unforgettable theatricality for which Their Teeth Will Be of Lions has become known-- True Stories are Harder to Make Up smashes expectations and firmly re-establishes their place in the local (and statewide) scene. The A-Side flows from an instrumental hard-rock intro, to the frustrated yawp at capitalist culture that is “Nickels and Dimes,” and through the epic “I Went To Minnesota Not To Be Alone (I Lost My Way Home),” pushing through every conceivable tempo and song structure, and creating a mosaic of concept-driven art rock (think an indie-rock "Bohemian Rhapsody"). The B- Side, in turn, does not disappoint: at first appearing to shift gears from the A-Side completely, the dance-floor-ready “Everyone Made It Out Alive” (an apparent homage to their 2007 debut album Everyone Made It Out Alive… Almost!) kicks it up several notches with 21st century-style disco, moving unexpectedly into the bounding rock of “Brown Sugar Body Bags” and, eventually, into the haunting last track, on which half-spoken vocals decorate a melancholy piano melody, creating a pleasingly suspenseful feel, leaving listeners simultaneously satisfied and wanting more.    
     In short, True Stories contains every ounce of energy found on Everyone Made It Out Alive... Almost!, but with none of the silliness, and the depth they exhibited on The Death... The Reincarnation...And The Unfamiliar Tales Of:, but with more urgency, showing off their ever-growing confidence and the chops they’ve earned as indie veterans of the Kalamazoo scene. Teeth takes their sound to new heights, proving themselves in the face of new expectations, and leaving listeners with only one question: where will Their Teeth Will Be of Lions go next? There’s simply no telling… and it seems that‘s exactly the point.

True Stories Are Harder To Make Up is to be released at The Strutt in Kalamazoo on April 17th, 2010.

[***Editor's note: press copy of "True Stories Are Harder to Make Up" courtesy of Glen of TTWBOL; who now has a solo project you can find here***] 

Bomb Diggity (Hex Bombs set 3/13)

So if you read my post a few weeks ago, you might have known how excited I was about the Mustard Plug show on 3/13 (although I incorrectly dated it in that post... my bad). And, seeing as you already know that I am a fan (and, of course, that I left halfway through their set for a late-night jam session; that's a different story for a different day) it would be redundant to review their set and perhaps a bit annoying and what some Kalamazoo NOISE! anonymous commenters might find fellatious. Instead, I'm going to focus on a Kzoo band who played alongside them, one we know and love: the Hex Bombs.

 [Hex Bombs set, Papa Pete's 3/13/10)

     The first thing I notice is that-- 20 or 30 minutes late-- I am still awkwardly, embarrassingly early and there are awkwardly, embarrassingly few people. The crew I had agreed to meet at doors (9 pm) is conspicuously absent.... and now is the perfect time to observe (and, as always, eavesdrop). I'm in the middle of several groups, and am more or less camouflaged; with everyone assuming I'm part of at least one of these conversations, I am, effectively, not here at all, and simultaneously, a part of every single conversation. We they discuss details of their bands' recording progress, and collectively harsh Guitar Center, hipsters, and rockabilly kids while old-school Mitten Ska scene kids loiter and mingle over well-whiskey mixers. What sounds to me like Flashlight Brown is blasting from the speakers, which wait patiently beside the completely empty stage, before the mostly-empty room, like a well-meaning teacher trying to amp up an unenthusiastic class of mostly-present students. Building suspense? Winning them over? We'll see in... well, whenever Hex Bombs are ready. Because "[THEY] ARE ROCK'N'ROLL!!!!" dammit!
     The half-silence that fills the room makes my identity increasingly conspicuous-- an awkward girl with a cup of pop and a notebook-- I am, indeed, a writer. The Enemy. I shed my hoodie-- the other (5 or so) girls aren't wearing hoodies much at all-- and try to relax a little... quando a Roma.
     Beneath the hovering green lights above the pool tables, shaggy-haired misfits in Bush-era slogan t-shirts ("Not My President".. you're goddamn right he's not; get a new t-shirt) lean low over the tables and dreadlocked girls in too-tight pants look on.
     I impatiently tap my toes to Hex Bombs' soundcheck and wonder what happened to the ska scene as a boy nonchalantly and inexplicably moons the stage.
     They finish soundchecking; Social Distortion throbs through the speakers and I can sense that the time is near.
          I immediately realize it's going to be a great show as the Hex Bombs tear into their set with the anthemic "This is My Life," and the house comes to life with the Bombs' unique brand of proletariat punk. With a classic punk-revival attitude, Hex Bombs play with a Rancid/ NOFX-rendered swagger that is part passion, part defiance, part... pirate (?) and a whole lot of fun. And for all of you who miss the aforementioned skate-punkers-- as well as Mad Caddies, Dropkick Murphys, the Misfits and the rest of the crew-- rest assured: punk rock is alive and well. Their old-schoolishness is quite what I like about the Hex Bombs: half throwback, and half novelty; either way, props for stickin' with it. They have a legitimacy that you can't fake, even if you try: these guys truly fucking believe in what they do... bonus props for being real in a decreasingly-authentic world and a decreasingly-authentic scene.  
     Not to mention, I would like the Hex Bombs anyway if only for the fact that I can't get enough pirate in my life, being a landlocked Midwesterner and all. But, somehow, they pull it off. The mix between their inexplicable seadoggishness and their uniquely Michiganian brand of punk rock strikes a comfortably familiar and, at once, bravely novel, chord in all of us ex-teen-punkers out here.

     After Hex Bombs' whirlwhind of a set was the Cin-city ska band called The Pinstripes... if you're into soulful, reggae-influenced ska, these dudes are magically delicious... check 'em out here!

     Oh yeah, and Mustard Plug was good too...

Later days.
--thejunkie

Pop Is Not a Four-Letter Word: Dead Scene Radio: 3/3/10 Interview

     Only seconds into meeting Dead Scene Radio, I do something I never set out to do: blatantly embarrass the band.
     In an honest effort for accuracy, I ask that they wear nametags (which are actually mailing labels-- all together now, “amateur”); I’m not too worried about it until our self-proclaimed “80’s hair metal freak” waitress (more on that later) calls out Aaron.
     “Can I just say that I love that you’re wearing a nametag?” she says in blatant, but clearly flirtatious mockery.
     Before I can jump in and explain, Aaron (bass) proudly pats it even more firmly into place, and offers an interesting factoid, launching us into the first of an unknown number of side-tracks: apparently, the upper right-hand side of one’s shirt is the “correct” place to wear a nametag, because it’s easier to see when you extend your right hand in a handshake. Unaffected by the helpful networking tip, the waitress bounces off to retrieve our first of several pitchers of Rolling Rock.
     All the while, three fourths of Dead Scene Radio (Aaron, bass; Matt, guitars; and drummer Jeff]; second guitar player Jake is yet to show up) are cracking jokes, quoting everything from Zoolander ("How do you spell eu-google-y?") to Coffee and Cigarettes to The Office; each, in turn, interjects random references and sends the other two into a fit of laughter; they are the conversational equivalent of an Asian sibling acrobatic team in Cirque du Soleil, reading each other in a near-telepathic manner, appearing as appendages of one entity.

     Jake shows up in time; we revert, almost immediately, to the past. The boys met in high school, and apparently, principle songwriters Matt and Jake didn't get along; the reasons for which, like so many great human mysteries, have been lost to time. Matt smiles and shrugs off discussion of the rivalry, but Jake, ever his counterpoint, offers an explanation: "You [hadn't] grown into your glasses yet, and your hair was short as shit!"
     Almost immediately, it becomes apparent that though they are tight-- almost frighteningly so-- the guys really couldn't be more different. A juxtaposition of musical influences from MXPX, Our Lady Peace, and the Supertones, to the Beatles and Elvis Costello, to 1930's blues and Motown, makes for a unique final product: everything we love about rock and roll with a healthy dose of all the fun, catchiness, and charm of pop: think Weezer and latter-day They Might Be Giants, proudly clinging to the "four-letter word" that "pop" has become in a world of groups selling out of the pop styles that have nurtured generations of music geeks into sleeker, more (superficially) cerebral "indie."
     But make no mistake: these guys aren't just fucking around. In fact, their level of seriousness and commitment both surprises and impresses me; these are good (and rare) qualities in a local band. With a full-length in the works, the guys are calling on their years of music training and experience-- which stems from their days in high school choir, but has since been elevated to the point that, at one point, Jeff identifies the note of a glass-clink-- to produce a what will likely be a very memorable debut album.

     The album began to take shape over a year ago; the EP they have since released was, according to Matt, "what didn't fit" in with the album. In fact, Matt says, "The difference [between the EP and the album] is astronomical. You won't hear another song like 'White Flag,'" he promises, alluding to the band's more punk-rock tendencies, and although the EP was "more fun," Matt states, "To me, the album is more meaningful."
     "It's a lot sexier!" Jake blurts.
     "I feel sexier when I play it!" Aaron interjects, without missing a beat.
      Among other things, we can also expect their full-length to contain a wider variety of sounds than their EP, which featured a more straightforward pop sound, like the novel, Beatle-rendered "Fuck The Times" (whose adorable chorus refrain is "fuck the times/ let's dance the world away").

     The Beatles' influence is a nearly palpable force on the band. This fun foursome of high-school mates plays material primarily composed by Jake (who has a propensity for all things "catchy") and Matt (whose musical style is a bit more serious, and a lot more complex). Does this dynamic sound familiar? And while most of the parallels to the boys from Liverpool might seem to be only skin-deep, their influence is undeniable: with favorite albums ranging from "Please Please Me" and "the early stuff" (Aaron) to "Revolver," and "Abbey Road (aka "which one has 'Oh! Darling' on it?")" (for Jake and Matt) to "Let It Be" (Jeff), Dead Scene Radio has it down. Catchy, but oh-so-carefully drawing a line in the sand against the wolfbane/ Kryptonite/ taboo "too catchy;" the dichotomy that separates "boys in a band" from "boy-band."
     But to be fair, there is a distinct boy band quality about Dead Scene Radio-- "quality" being the operative word. This was thrown into amazing relief when Jake sauntered in to the interview, a half an hour after we had begun (with a bevy of apologies met with resounding cries of "don't worry... we're having a blast!"), with a Kirk Cameron half-grin and a sheepish admission that "My hair usually looks more fly than this. Like Matt. Matt has the cuteness going on."

    By the end of the interview, the band and I have shared information-- musical, personal, and nearly everything in between-- laughs, and inside jokes. Hell, we even find out (I'm still not sure how) that our waitress has two Motle Crue tattoos and that Nikki Sixx is "her idol." How, you might ask, did you happen upon this information without a "real" conversation?
     Well, that's just the kind of guys they are.

     Oh yeah, and one more thing to look out for from Dead Scene: "The Pet Sounds EP." Pet Sounds... sound familiar? Yes, of course; but, oh wait. "Each of us is going to write a song about one of our pets," Jeff explains. Weird, but cute, and-- all at once-- stubbornly interesting, it sounds about right for Dead Scene Radio.

Dead Scene Radio is to release a full-length album, the date of which is TBA.

Wax Artistic: Ghosts of the Great Lakes: 3/2/10 Interview

     Traipsing into a smoke-filled dive, I'm flagged down by Ghosts of the Great Lakes' Benny West, who is accompanied by bandmates Jeff Goodman and Ben Bojanich (as well as Their Teeth Will Be Of Lions' Derek Feltner and his lady, in a serendipitous twist of fate); "Cupid's Shuffle" is blasting at a tacky volume; a squadron of rough-looking, first-week-of-the-month partiers "shuffle" accordingly.
     Over Magic Hat #9, Kamikazes, and awkwardly large plates of nachos, we rap for awhile about La Dispute, Dead Scene Radio's next album, the NOISE! Convention, and Teeth's upcoming album release show (Goodman: "We've been trying to get on a show with SpaceLift for years! Well, for a year...") while we beat around the bush at the real reason we're there: to discuss Ghosts of the Great Lakes' new lineup, new perspective, and most of all, their new release, "Erasing You."

     Having replaced their original bass player (Mike Snyder, currently of Guardian Devil) and drummer (Dane McClarren, currently of Aploid and various other experimental percussion-oriented music projects), Ghosts have been spending time laying low from the Kalamazoo scene, concentrating on finding their stride as a mostly-new band.
     The Ghosts seem to agree that the new rhythm section contributes to a very different overall sound for the band. Their drummer is a newcomer on the Kalamazoo scene, Jesse Blankenship, a studio drummer from Minnesota with a degree in percussion. "Jesse is a lot more 'rock' [than McClarren]" says Goodman, Ghosts' guitarist. "Dane had a lot more jam and hip-hop influences. Jesse is a great 'broad' drummer... he's solid."
     Goodman continued that new bassist Ben Bojanich is "more complex" than their original bass player, and that Snyder's playing was "more straightforward," allowing for the complexity of Bojanich's style to lend a noticeable freshness to Ghosts' formerly austere sound. "I'm really a guitar player," says Bojanich, who is heavily influenced by Joy Division, Modest Mouse's Johnny Mars, and, most of all The Cure. "The Cure is a big deal to me," he says. "They are the Bob Dylan of their genre."
     Though Bojanich is considerably younger than the rest of the crew ("He's the Young Buck to our 3 6 Mafia"), he's settled into the crew with no problems. Bojanich remembers an immediate click between himself and Blankenship musically: "Jesse and I locked in fast," he said. And while Goodman and West, who have been playing together since extremely-short-lived 2008 Kalamazoo band Designer Virus, seem to miss, in certain ways, their former bandmates and their contributions, they seem excited about the new direction the band has taken. "We're the strongest we've ever been," says West.

     At this point we're screaming at one another to communicate over the horrific metal that the bar is blasting, at this reasonable hour of a week night. West has had enough. He flags down our waitress: "Dude..." he says. "I'm so young. But seriously. Turn this shit down." West, dripping with quintessential frontman charisma, does not seem the least bit surprised when she immediately complies, lowering the music to a more tolerable volume. Known for his "diva" antics, such as storming off a stage at Corner Bar after sound issues, West has gained notoriety throughout the local music community. For him, though, it's about high expectations: "I honestly only care about technicality, and the quality of our music," he says. "We're not competitive with other bands, we're competitive with ourselves."
     And though they maintain that their main drive is self satisfaction, and that they don't condone Battles of the Bands or other such band competitions for "novelty prizes and that kind of shit" that facilitate hostility between members of music communities, they do seem to be feeling the pressures of the competition within the Kalamazoo scene. "At every show we play, we try to be the best band there," says Goodman. Admirers of local bands-- Their Teeth Will Be of Lions, and especially of Immigrant Blue-- Ghosts do also have their share of scene rivals: "Other bands hate us," says West. "We are the most hated band in Kalamazoo. I feed off of it. I love it."

     This unique take on the brotherhood, if you will, that could/ should/ sometimes does exist between local bands takes a backseat to Ghosts of the Great Lakes' tendency to look at the proverbial Big Picture: themselves as part of a the current music industry in general. In the April 2009 issue of Revue, Ghosts' first album, "The Death of the Party" was featured, at which time it was hailed as a "resurrection of the album," and West speculated on an ever-growing controversy to post-Napster generation radioheads: the diminishing of the album, in favor of iTunes-ready singles padded by meaningless filler. West adamantly opposes this trend, opting instead for its counterpoint: the concept album (which both "The Death of the Party" and "Erasing You" are proclaimed to be); West waxes artistic on the subject at length during our interview, revealing that the track "Dear Billy" on the upcoming record is a call-out on one of West's idols, Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan, for selling out to single-culture.
     In discussion of what to expect on the next record, West yanks up the hood on his black sweatshirt, takes a swig from a bottle of Heineken, and, moments later, says it all: "Fashion, dude. It's fuckin' fashion." Fashion and graphic design have been at the heart of Ghosts' image since they first hit the scene late 2008. Referring to the designer duds, high-end gear, stylish promotional strategy and glitzy album artwork for which the band has become known, Goodman states "It's not just about the music, it's the whole vibe." Bojanich agrees immediately, adding that Ghosts' image-oriented presence is "about professionalism."
     With their propensity to leave no detail ignored, we might already know what to expect from Ghosts of the Great Lakes' new release. Still... what of the epic tale of city life, drug addiction, and doomed love that was told in "Death of the Party?" (which seemed to change slightly from interview to interview). What of the unnamed protagonist mentioned in the Revue feature? West assures that "'Erasing You' is an accompaniment to 'The Death of the Party.' It fills in the blanks in the album and takes it past its ending point [the instrumental 'London']."
     One thing we know for sure about "Erasing You:" its track list, posted prematurely on the band's MySpace blog. I mentioned this in my last post, and I couldn't help but bring it up in the interview: "I knew that was coming!" said West. He continued to explain that to "some people," it was important to know the next part of the self-proclaimed cliff-hanger that was "The Death of the Party;" furthermore, they weren't concerned about taking away suspense for the album release, maintaining that their fans appreciated the information: "Anyone who's ever called me in the middle of the night crying because they listened to 'Souls' appreciates that. It fuckin' matters to people."
     Whether or not you cried listening to "Souls," you can be sure that "Erasing You" will pick us up right where we left off: a glamorous big-city escapade: addiction, heartache and "fashion" galore. 

     Around eleven pm, the bar cranks back up the prison-core metal. "Is this Mindless Self Indulgence?" asks Goodman good-naturedly. "Whatever it is, it's fucking my face," counters West.
     On that note...

*     *     *     *     *

Ghosts of the Great Lakes will release their second full-length, "Erasing You" June 16th, 2010 at Papa Pete's.