Typing For Miles

The Tokyo Police Club!!!!

tokyopoliceclub.com 

This indie rock, synthesizer and tamborine-laden band is good fun and they’ve recently announced a tour and a new album entitled Elephant Shell set for release in April.  They’ve already released: two ful lengths; A Lesson in Crime and Live from SoHo; and recently and EP, Smith.

I saw TPC for the first time last summer and I got totally stoked on them.  TPC band kept their high-energy performance going strong and kids actually danced and clapped their hands during the show.  We could all feel the energy.  Today I’m excited to hear that they have new material and they’re coming around again to provide dance parties for any indie fans who’re not afraid to get their groove on.

They’re a ton of fun.

Check it. 

Richmond, VA seems to be the nucleus of new music that falls under any subgenre of punk rock these days.  If you live there you’re sure to get caught up in the double helixes  and start a band or go to a thousand shows a week.

Recently I discovered a couple good Richmond bands at a show in VA Beach - Resonance and Permanent.

Resonance is a melodic punk band with members from Richmond and VA Beach.  I saw them perform last Saturday at The Jewish Mother in VA Beach and they were a lot of fun. Their devoted hometown fans pissed off the managers of the place by stage diving a whole lot (why did you agree to have a hardcore show if you didn’t expect stage dives and/or slam dancing? . . . but that’s another story, I guess).
Not realizing who the band was when they started to play, I could hear in them a cross between Jawbreaker, Lifetime, and Hot Water Music. Interestingly enough hey list those three bands as influences on their myspace page in addition to Embrace and Turning Point.
The vocals are somewhere between singing and screaming and remind me of screamo bands like A Static Lullaby or Thursday, but the music defiantly takes the sound in a better direction. They aren’t really on the pile-on or two-steping side of hardcore, so tough guys might not find much appeal in this band.  However, they are talented and make some really good tunes.  Just check it out:  myspace.com/resonanceva

(myspace) 

Permanent.  This is further up the tough guy alley, but still toned down enough for those who get sick of juggajugs and metal riffs.  There isn’t as much melody, and there are a couple metal riffs.  The vocals are all screams.  In general, it’s faster and angrier.  There are some beautiful breakdowns that’ll get you swaying back and forth wishing you could two-step.
Their sound reminds me a lot of Ruiner, but they are not as fast, which I think I enjoy more.  They’re a lot of fun and I was surprised this band played first on the Dragonsaur bill last Saturday in VA Beach.  These guys should be huge by now.  Get into it!!!

myspace.com/permanent 

Architecture in Helsinki recently released their third full length, Places Like This.

I’ve got to say, this new album is 150% more amazing than the last, In Case We Die.  The songs have, on average, shortened by a minute as they have gotten faster and poppier.  They have six members to play their large assortment of instruments including steel drums, xylophone, drum kits, and a tuba.  Although their indie fans will do the “standin’ still” at shows, they know how to make fun, danceable music. Most members get a chance to sing on all of their tracks; the contrast between the male and female vocals add to the eclectic sound.  They’ve thrown in a little more fun gibberish in addition to the lyrical content that’s never made sense to me anyway.  Gibberish includes “waa waa waa”s, “boom da la la la la”s, and “hey ya ya”s.
This is probably the “feel-good” album of the year.

LOVE THIS BAND! 

The Steal = four cute UK boys who have no trouble making me rock my shoulders back and forth, pretending I am two-stepping.  The Steal is the UK’s Kid Dynamite, but I might like thm even more than Kid Dynamite.  Their tunes are all pretty poppy and fast.

These guys have recently released a debut album in addition to their split with Set Your Goals.  They’re probably popular in the states because of working with Set Your Goals, but don’t expect Set Your Goals part II, The Steal is much less New Found Gory-esque.

I can’t help but smile when I hear this band and I’ve already got their song on my myspace page!

You can hear their ENTIRE ALBUM at this link:

CHECK THEM OUT!! 

I discovered an awesome indie band from New York City, The National.  These guys sounds so amazing.  Of course I wouldn’t go to their shows because no one would dance, but this music is definitely great for chilling, driving, and probably making out.  If you’re sad, it will probably make you sadder.  But if you’re chill, it’ll probably make you bob your head.

Here,  just check it out . . .

http://www.myspace.com/thenational

Ships are sinking and burning. Ship mishaps have inspired a couple band names, and these bands know how to rock.

Bands Sinking Ships This Ship Will Burn are all making badass hardcore/ punk.

Sinking Ships is hardcore from Seattle.

(myspace.com/sinkingships.  Todd Pollack) 

They’ve got fun, two-step-able, breakdowns and some good melody.  It’s a little bit poppy but still angry, somehow.  It’s magic!
They’ve got a full length out on Revelaion Records, Disconnecting.  Although I don’t own a copy yet myself, I highly recommend picking one up.
They remind me of Ambitions and Gorilla Biscuits

This Ship Will Burn   labels themselves as simply “rock”, but they definately have hardcore aspects such as fast guitar, fast bass, fast drums, and fast screaming vocals.  Lyrics such as “This is what it’s like to loose your mind” are pretty depressing and badass. They do have an element of southern rock sometimes, when the guitar wails.  Other than those riffs, these guys are just awesome, fast hardcore.

(myspace.com/thisshipwillburn.)
I have that T-shirt!

They are from Sudbury, Ontario.  They sound similar to Cancer Bats.

P.S.

Shipwreck a.d. is another ship mishap band name, but I wouldn’t waste my time if I were you unless you’re into tough guy BS.  I often confuse them with Sinking Ships, and it’s not a fun mistake.  I know now that I don’t want to listen to Shipwreck a.d.

Who is your favorite artist? Keep them in mind.

What do they sing about? Relationship problems, family, friends, politics, self-motivation, depression, changes within their life? These subjects all make for great lyrics. However, if that artist sings about the same thing over and over again, it could get pretty boring (unless they are the God of lyrics. coughBlakeSchwarzenbachcough)

Imagine if your favorite artist sang about the same three things over and over again simply to enhance their image and keep their gimmick running strong.

Tim Barry is a good ol’ country boy and he keeps his audience very aware though his good ol’ country lyrics. His subject matter consitintly includes: his dog, his dirty bare feet on his porch, and smoking or drinking “Smoking till my lungs burn” - the same three things you will find in all of his promo photos, hmmmm.

I imagine his photo session going something like this:
Photographer: Let’s try to get you conveying that good ol’ country bumpkin feeling. How can we do this best?
Tim: I know what I’m doing. Just let me take off my shoes and socks here . . . Gotta make them understand I can’t even afford shoes.
Photographer: Maybe we should head down to that shack by the river to get a better sense of how country you are. “Country” is an adjective, you know.
Tim: Of course, let me grab Rover and my pack of beer.
Photographer: Sure. Oh, here, don’t forget to have a cigarette. I’ve got two packs, so we should be good for the whole session. Just try to have one in your mouth the entire time.

Every song on his solo album, Rivanna Junction, is a story about getting drunk with a friend and complaining about life, loosing a girl and complaining about life, sitting on his porch with his dog and complaining about life. Tim Barry, cheer the hell up. You have chosen to live this life - you could’ve sold out with Avail long ago and been making tons of money by now. You told your audience in D.C. last summer that you were moving into a shack by the river just for the hell of it, you mean just so you can complain some more about it? Every song is slow as hell and depressing.Tim Barry grew up in Reston, Virginia, a safe and expensive suburb of Washington, D.C. He no doubt had a fine childhood, after all his brother and sister are both classically trained musicians. They both appear on Rivanna Junction. They probably don’t wear shoes either, but they were once able to afford classical music lessons.

As an adult he moved to Richmond, Virginia where he started working with hardcore/punk band Avail.

He’s been fronting Avail since 1991, screaming without a twangy accent and wearing shoes on stage. His lyrics with Avail seem to have a little more variety and be less specific. They are general lyrics about where he is in his life, where he wants to go in life, optimisitc views about his hometown (”It’s a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful day. With the sun still shining shining shining shining over the James”). Maybe after years of fronting Avail and being mostly optimistic, he got depressed?

He took off his shoes and started his depressing solo career last year. You would never know that the upbeat, fast singer/screamer in Avail is the same guy whining about everything and making slow twangy songs today. Good thing Avail is still together and touring with upbeat bands, otherwise I’d guess Tim Barry is in a deep depression. Those optimistic Avail views seem to be long gone and he’s not afraid to let all of his fans know.

(myspace.com/timbarryrva)
Get it? He’s an angry country bumpkin.

Enough with the gimmick, Tim Barry. We know you’re a happy guy and you can afford shoes. Stop faking your poor, country bumpkin image.

(myspace.com/timbarryrva)

I get it. You are so depressed that you can’t afford shoes so you’re trying to drown your sorrows and smoke until your lungs burn. I get it, already!

I hate you, Tim Barry.

update (6/10/08):

I’ve gotten more comments on this than any of my other posts.  Since they have pretty much all been negative, some including mild personal attacks on me, I’m just going to attempt to defend myself and minimize the amount of negative feedback.
1.  I have seen Tim Barry live twice at this point.
2.  I have listened to Tim Barry’s recordings.
3.  So I didn’t just pull all of this randomly out of my ass.
4.  I was just slightly annoyed by his behavior when I saw him live in D.C. last summer.  I was slightly annoyed when he told his mom to cover her ears before he said “fuck”.  I was really only slightly annoyed with this man.
5.  I mentioned to my friends that I thought maybe he was trying to convey a certain behavior to keep up a SLIGHT gimmick.  They all strongly disagreed, and I was once again slightly annoyed because no one seemed to see where I was coming from.
6.  I figured I would just get all of my radical thoughts out through a blog so I could express how I was feeling and feel some relief after fully expressing my thoughts.  Sometimes that’s what blogging is all about, eh?

7.  I wrote an EXAGGERATED blog in an attempt at humor while also expressing how I felt.  I thought it was funny.  I don’t mean any real harm.
8.  Tim Barry isn’t a bad guy.  I don’t wish any ill on him.  When I saw him open for Bouncing Souls, he made me laugh out loud.  When I bought Smoke or Fire merch from him last February or March, he was very polite.

As for me taking time out of my busy day (by the way I just graduated and I am currently unemployed so blogging is probably one of the better ways I can spend my day) to write something negative, didn’t you just take time to stoop to my level and write something negative by leaving an angry comment?
Either way, it’s still just a joke.

Thanks for reading, and maybe take a couple minutes to leave a nice comment on one of the other posts that are positive?

What a surprise.

Someone at Shoutmouth wrote a piece on the top 25 Most Influential Punk Bands. I happen to appreciate or really love most of these bands. She included many hardcore and pop-punk bands.  She also touches on many other bands that she decided to leave out of the top 25.

I thought it was well done, but holy crap The Ramones are overrated. Honestly, there were plenty of other bands springing up in New York City at the time of The Ramones. I think punk rock would still be alright if they had never existed. She failed to mention The Velvet Underground.

Check out the list. There are Youtube videos of just about every band to give you an idea of their sound and/or live performance.

http://www.shoutmouth.com/index.php/news/23379

Fiya is a poppy punk band from Gainsville, Fl.  They’ve been around since 2002, but I hadn’t heard anything from them until Wednesday night when they played with Fucked Up and Government Warning in D.C., two bands that sound nothing like Fiya.

Their sound reminds me of Against Me!, The Draft, and every other Gainsville punk act.

Their myspace page describes their music as punk/comedy/thrash.  I’d call it fun, energetic, and honest pop punk.

They’ve already released two CDs.  The latest, “Better Days”, through No Idea records.

Check them out. 

Dear Cancer Bats,

Tour the U.S. East Coast.

Love,

Steph

(Liam of Cancer Bats.  www.myspace.com/cancerbats)

Cancer Bats is touring again . . . in another country/ continent.

They’re doing a European tour with This is Hell and Comeback Kid. This would be a great show to see, and the past two times Cancer Bats have come around I couldn’t be there. The first, I already had tickets for Bouncing Souls the same night. The second, I was on a trip to New York City with my school’s newspaper ( . . . on which I stalked Blake Schwarzenbach and met him).

Anyway, I’ve never had the opportunity to see them live, and I’m getting anxious.

However, I did once interview Liam, the vocalist of Cancer Bats, and it was the best interview I’ve ever done. Check out the story:

“I can work really hard at this and this can become my life” said Liam Cormier of Cancer Bats. “Still our only goal is to go on tour and work hard. It’s what we love doing,” he said. Cancer Bats is made up of Scott Middleton - guitar, Mike Peters - drums, Andrew McCracken - bass, Liam Cormier - vocals. In the two years since they formed in 2004, Cancer Bats have been all over MTV Canada. “We never intended to be on MTV or shoot music videos. We’re just hardcore kids that wanted to have fun in a band,” said Liam. Now, don’t think that Cancer Bats are a bunch of dicks just because they’re on MTV. Liam promises they’re not. Liam feels the best method of promoting themselves is definitely touring, and incorporated in that is what goes on after the show - hanging out with the fans. “You know how a lot of times you’ll go and see a band, and you’ll meet them and they’re like, total dicks? I’ve had my heart broken growing up,” said Liam. “You’re so stoked on a band and they finally go on tour and you meet them, and they’re total assholes. If a kid wants to come up and talk to me, I have all the time in the world for them. I love talking to kids.” If you visit their website, www.cancertbats.com, you’ll notice that in their tour diary they’ve requested that fans hang out with the band and have fun after the show. “Also, if you have fireworks, firecrackers, anything that blows up bring it, we want to blow it up with you. Parking lot antics ya dig?” reads a recent entry in the tour diary. Liam supports the Straight Edge lifestyle, so he doesn’t drink or do any drugs, but he’s always looking to have a good time while on tour. “Every day is exciting,” said Liam. “‘Life was meant to be awesome’ - it’s kind of the motto we live by.” To really get the audience involved, “The biggest thing is we try and take it there. With our live show and everything. If there’re only 4 kids who get it and totally love it, then we’ve won. It’s been a success that night,” he said. “Obviously we’re getting better and playing to more kids, more kids are getting stoked on it, and we’re taking it there every night. We take it really seriously that way. We’re going to put on a good show every day. It doesn’t matter if there are 2 people there; I’m going to blow those two people’s minds. That’s my only plan of attack.” Liam explains that he’s in this for the live shows. “We’re not like ‘we just wanna sell records…’ If we sell records we can go on tour, so I’m like ‘Yeah! Let’s sell records!’”
As for the other bands currently on tour with them, Alexisonfire, Attack in Black, and until recently when they had to drop off to start another tour, Every Time I Die, “I love all the bands on our tour right now,” said Liam. He is impressed by the stamina they are able to keep up while on stage. “Every Time I Die are monsters. They kill it every night,” he said. “After we played, I’d load our stuff and hurry up and go stand on the side of the stage and watch them and sing every word.” Alexisonfire is headlining the tour, and they have been playing 90 minute sets every night. “Alexisonfire plays for an hour and a half, but they’re having so much fun with it, it doesn’t look forced or anything,” he said. “They’re playing for 4,000 people but they’re goofing around and the whole show is super fun.” Liam is a big fan of the bands he’s on tour with. “Alexisonfire is really rad. It’s really nerdy, leading up to touring with those guys, I was listening to their C.D. every day. Now that we’re on tour with them, I can’t, but I watch them perform every night,” he said.

Cancer Bats’ first release, Birthing the Giant, was released last month and so far the response has been good. “Slowly but surely,” said Liam. “It’s our first record and I’m pumped!” They’d been touring on a four-song demo, but they’d been writing a lot of stuff since they formed in 2004. “The record was a long time coming itself” Liam said, hence the title, Birthing the Giant. The release date kept getting pushed back, but everyone is pleased with the final result. “We worked hard for so long and finally we produced a healthy baby!” he joked.

While in the studio, Liam helps to lay down the drumming, and the music comes first. “Then I sort of switch modes. I go from drummer brain to vocal brain,” he said. “Then I’m like, ‘It’s time to spit hot fire’.” Cancer Bats don’t seem to fit into a specific genre. Their sound has been compared to Every Time I Die, This is Hell, and Nerve Agents, but they remain unique. When writing, “To me, it’s like putting together parts that I’m stoked on,” said Liam, “I don’t know if you noticed, I’m kind of ADD, so I get stoked on certain parts.” He explained that he especially enjoys breakdowns while guitarist, Scott always wants to incorporate metal solos.

“We all have different tastes. In the end, all of those conflicting ideas come together to make the band really good. We keep everyone in check,” he said. Each member of Cancer Bats has a different taste in music. They’ve all been known to listen to contemporary hardcore, but they each had their own influences growing up. “Just a history of listening to hardcore, punk rock, and metal influenced us in what we’re doing. I could just talk bands all day. So many bands getting me stoked,” he said, excitedly. Get stoked on Cancer Bats and check them out at www.myspace.com/cancerbats.

I recently attended the first ever School of Rock Fest in Asbury Park, NJ, the Bouncing Souls’ homestate. The Bouncing Souls, Bad Brains, Loved Ones, and Lucero were a few of the great musicians to play.

During the Bouncing Souls’ set, I was inspired to commentate on some “show etiquette”. I don’t know how upsetting crowd surfing is to others, but I often find myself really pissed at shows when the same people keep falling on my head. I surprised myself at this show when I found myself flicking off a female crowd surfer I didn’t know and screaming “Fuck you!” twice while looking her square in the eyes. She’d surfed onto my head at least five times and I believe by the end of the set she had gone a total of seven times.

Crowd surfing can be fun although it’s rarely necessary. When one is injured or dehydrated and needs to get out of there, sure. But other than that . . .

I can understand the appeal. I mean, it is a cool feeling. People are lifting you up. You are special and people actually want to put their hands on you. In reality they just don’t want you to break their neck and they are compassionate enough to keep you from breaking yours. You could also make it closer to the stage, closer to the band members, and maybe onto the stage depending on what kind of show you’re attending. Other than these desires, I’m not sure why people feel the need to crowd surf over and over.

During the Bouncing Souls at the festival, there was a barracade and there was no way you were making it onto the stage. The only way you’d be able to interact with the band members would be if you were surfing while Greg had the mic in the crowd.

Why did certain people feel the need to surf seven times? More importantly, why did audience members agree to lift the same people up and keep them up?

I suggest only surfing at smaller clubs when you know there’s a chance of making it up onto the stage and singing along to one of your favorite songs. Pick the line in the song that you love, go up 30 seconds to 45 seconds before that line so you can make it onto the stage, sing along, and jump off. How accomplished would that make you feel? It’s a great feeling!

Where is the desire in surfing over and over again as you piss off every single person in the crowd? As much fun as it is for you, it’s not fun for anyone else. At all. Your sweaty ass crack is rubbing on the backs of unsuspecting victims’ heads. Don’t be surprised if we grab your shoe and throw it. As for what else could happen to you: we are grouping every possible body part, you could loose your wallet in addition to your shoes, we’re going to pull your hair, you might land on your neck, you might loose your clothes, you might not make it to the stage and just end up in a sweaty pit of people in an unknown location. All this for what?! I can understand enduring this if you really want to sing along on stage, but why else would you continue these antics? So you can run over to your best friend afterward and brag that you broke the world record for most surfing during one song?

Why does this continue? Maybe the meatheads just want a good feel-up.

Maybe all crowd surfing should be banned by federal law. However, stage diving would be almost impossible, and stage dives make me feel more alive.

Maybe I will tackle stage diving etiquette at a later date.

For a quick review of my two favorite bands . . .

The headliners were, of course, our nation’s capital’s own Bad Brains. They closed the festival on Sunday night with a set of about 50 percent reggae and 50 percent legendary hardcore punk. After their classic “At the Movies,” crazed circle pit-addicts hollered, “One more song!” over and over again (probably hoping to hear “Big Takeover” cough Ilovethatsong cough). HR’s performance was a little lacking, seeing as how he didn’t move too much and sometimes sang in a monotone voice. However, I was greatful. He didn’t show up in a wild outfit wearing a helmet of some sort; he didn’t storm off stage; and the band only referred to the crowd as “a bunch of assholes” once. So for recent Bad Brains performances, I’m assuming this was one of the better. Not that I’m an expert.

The Bouncing Souls put on a great performance as always, despite the sound system acting up. They played a great variety of stuff, and that always excites me. They of course played a couple obligatory How I Spent My Summer Vacation favorites (”True Believers” and “Private Radio”). They threw in a couple newer ones from last summer’s The Gold Record and 2003’s Anchors Aweigh. The songs that really got the crowd pumped were the favorites from Hopeless Romantic, Maniacal Laughter, and even a super old favorite from The Good, The Bad, and The Argyle, “Joe Lies” (title based on a scene from Say Anything . . . The Bouncing Souls love my favorite 80’s movies). The band always has a god amount of energy, especially considering they’re all 30-something years old. Greg is awesome about getting up on the barricade and letting the crowd have the mic.

New Ruiner is good stuff.  The Baltimore hardcore band released their new album, Prepare to be Letdown, today.  It was also available at their record release show last Saturday at the 10 Car Pile Up in Towson.

(from their myspace page) 

I don’t quite like it as much as their previous EP, What Could Possibly Go Right?  This album doesn’t feature any major changes in sound or lyrics.  The lyrics as just as impressive and the music is just as hard.  I noticed that this album may me a little more melodic, but they still play mostly slow hardcore, similar to Modern Life is War’s style.

Check out a full review of the album:

 http://www.punknews.org/review/6419

In honor of completing their new album in Baltimore with producer J. Robbins, I am posting my Modern Life is War article that I completed last April for The Bottom Line.

Modern Life is War

(modernlifeiswar.net)

“I just try to work it every night. I try to keep in mind that each show has a place in the history of my life. The better I make each one, the happier I’ll be,” explained Jeff Eaton, vocalist of Modern Life is War, a hardcore punk band from Marshalltown, Iowa. Every Modern Life is War show has a ton of intensity, but Jeff and the guys handle it really well. Although a lot of other bands may get tired of it because they’re doing the same thing every night in a new place, “I love it. The more wild and intense and loud and crazy it is - the better. I totally thrive off of that,” said Jeff. He kind of uses shows as stress relief. “That’s just such a release for me that it allows me to be a little more centered and controlled in my everyday life. I feel like I‘d be a crazy person if I didn’t do this every night,” he explained. Modern Life is War just finished a short headlining tour of the Midwest on their way to Baltimore, where they’re recording their third album. Once recording is done, “We’ll be touring constantly for the next year,” said Jeff.

And because the boys spend so much time on the road, stuck in the van and playing intense shows, the transition from life on the road to just chilling at home is not an easy one. Jeff explained that you get used to playing a show every night, sleeping on a random floor, packing up and unloading equipment. “Your body doesn’t stop moving the whole time you’re out there. When you come home there’s just nothing. It’s like you’re going from 100 mph to just slamming on your brakes,” he said.

One of Jeff’s goals regarding playing shows: “I would like to get to the point where we could fill a small club every night. A small club to me is, say, 200 people. We played a show in NYC the other night that was 200 to 300 people, and that wasn’t even a club – it was a loft apartment. That night to me was perfect.” On April 1, Modern Life is War played the Charm City Art Space in Baltimore. The venue is a basement that has no stage, no barricade and can’t be larger than 25 feet by 25 feet. Venue size can definitely contribute to the intensity as all of the kids packed into the room lose control. “I would easily play a big club full of 1,000 people. I would get a kick out of that…but at the same time I like playing on the floor…having 150 kids packed into a room, going wild,” said Jeff.
For Jeff, it all started with a show on MTV called 120 Minutes. “That was back when they’d actually play videos from smaller bands…I saw a Rancid video,” he said, “that was really something I’d never seen before, something that was really exciting to me…it kind of hooked me.” Since then, he’s started listening to a ton of other punk and hardcore bands, and he explained that, “what Modern Life is War does is hardcore punk.”

When they started, Modern Life is War had been a long time coming. Jeff worked with drummer Tyler Oleson and guitarist John Eich in other local bands and by the time they formed Modern Life is War, “We’d had a lot of trial and error at that point,” Jeff explained. They already had a feel for what they were doing.

When it comes to lyrics, “The people that inspire me are the people that sing about regular people and the places they are from. A lot of times there’s a psychological aspect to it or a sociological aspect to it,” said Jeff. He’s learned a lot from The Clash and Bruce Springsteen. “The inspiration kind of comes from them, but at the same time, what I learn from them is that the inspiration comes from who you are and who your family is and who your friends are and your town and people that you see on an everyday basis.” Jeff said that he wants to explain his thoughts clearly and write about things he can really relate to personally and literally. “I think writers that talk about things they don’t know about will fail. I talk about basic stuff that’s going on in my life.”

“There’s always the urge to explain myself more clearly than the last time. I think we do that musically and lyrically from record to record,” he said. With each album, Modern Life is War strives to stand out from the crowd. “We don’t really just want to be a part of it. We want to stick our heads above that or just be completely on the outside of that. We want to be our own f—king band,” he explained.

The band is currently recording their new album with a new label, Equal Vision, and a new bassist, Spanish Bombs’ Tim Churchman. “We feel pretty free in a way we haven’t felt before with this new record…people don’t really know what to expect,” said Jeff. They have a month to record, and they went into the studio completely prepared with lyrics and music. “I’m so much more confident in what I’m doing now and I think we have a really unique record on our hands,” said Jeff.

At the start of Modern Life is War, after pressing 500 copies of their first E.P., “We just didn’t ever think we’d be able to sell 500 of those…our original goal was just to put that record out,” said Jeff. After accomplishing that, they wanted to do a tour. “We did a tour of the East Coast…just the fact that we did that, we already won the whole game to us. Even if nothing were to happen after that, we had already done what we set out to do and had a good f—king time,” he said. Of course, that was not the end, and Jeff believes, “We’re in it for the long-haul.”

I heard their new album the last time they played D.C. All I’m going to say is that it sounds a little bit different from the last two.

Melbourne, Australia’s Architecture in Helsinki played the U.S. Capitol’s 9:30 Club last Sunday.

At about 8:30 p.m., an hour after doors, Black Moth Super Rainbow, a really lame electro-pop band, took the stage. The small audience looked up at the screen featuring a Richard Simmons workout video, and their eyes remained glued to the screen throughout the band’s set. BMSR’s myspace page describes the band as “psychedelic/ folk/ pop.” I’d call it “sleepy time music” and I’d only put this crap on if I needed to lure myself to sleep. Then again, the random high pitched noises might get annoying. So, the band strolls onto the stage, doesn’t greet the crowd at all in any way, and jams to their psychedelic crap. By “jam” I mean the bass player sort of swayed back and forth while the two keyboardists did their thing. There was also a vocalist and he was sitting on the front of the stage with doggie ears on his head, resembling Barf from Spaceballs. His vocals are pretty unnecessary anyway, considering they were all synthesized and morphed into different sounds. Some of the audience probably thought about dancing, but I think their eyes remained glued on the giant screen above the stage. Amature-drawn cartoons played as well as old commercials and Richard Simmons videos. The cartoons featured disturbing images such as ice cream and hamburgers coming to life. Yeah, these guys must’ve just been too artistic and indie rock for me. It went over my head. Remind me to smoke up or try some LSD next time.

The next band was awesome. (Seriously, I have searched and searched to find the band’s name and I give up.  I will post as soon as I find it!)  They had much better stage presence and clap noises for the now-larger audience to clap along to. They had a reggae/ hip-hop vibe and the girls in their skirts got a chance to shake their rumps in my face. Way to go, indie rock skanks. The music was a lot of fun and I enjoyed clapping along and shaking my hips. The audience interaction was impressive. I believe the vocalist asked us how we were doing, at least. The keyboardist did the “keyboard dinosaur dance” where one holds their hands as a T. Rex would and pretends to poke keys on a keyboard, and that’s always amusing.

Architecture in Helsinki finally took the stage close to 10:00 p.m. The audience had now grown to “approaching sold-out size.” We had anticipated this the entire show as we noticed their excessive amounts of instruments on the stage. There were a couple keyboards, cowbells, a trombone, drums, and guitars (I was most excited for the cowbells). Architecture in Helsinki, with their awesome Australian accents, introduced themselves and constantly said amusing things throughout their set. They even threw out a free copy of “The Wickerman” featuring Nicholas Cage. Their drummer claimed, “I watched it today. It’s awful.”

The stage presence was amazing as they played favorites from their EPs and their full-length, In Case We Die.   I was within the first three or four rows and I was dancing it up.  I couldn’t help but pogo and shake my hips and completely flip out when I recognized my favorite tunes.  However, not many others felt the same.  Fuck indie kids and their “I’m going to pretend I’m not into this music right now” attitude.  Even  Kellie Sutherland, lone female member - keyboard and vocals, had to encourage movement, “It’s your last chance to dance!” she exclaimed before the encore.  I guess the lack of audience participation didn’t bother them too much, the place was almost full on a Sunday night.  That says something.

 (myspace.com/incommunicadomusic)

   Incommunicado is hands down the best punk outfit to come out of Pittsburgh, PA (That’s right.  F**k off, Anti-Flag!).

Yesterday, Incommunicado released Losing Daylight, a full-length album, through A-F Records.  It’s described as “12 songs, less than 30 minutes of erratic punk rock . . . this will be your new favorite band!“  Well, yeah.  I think they are my new favorite band!

The band formed in 2004 and this album is their first full-length.  The band is getting recognized for wild live shows and their ability to span every sub-genre of punk rock.  It’s easy to hear traces of hardcore, screamo, post-hardcore, and pop-punk.  They’ve also got a hint of funk, I’d say.  They’re tunes are really fast and danceable while still pop-punky.

In all of the tunes, the bass seems to be a prominent instrument with it’s impressive fast riffs.  Both guitars add to the speedy and erratic sound.  The vocals are amazing.  Chris, vocalist, has sort of a soothing voice even when he’s yelling.  It reminds me of Davy Havok’s voice, but I get the feeling that this guy doesn’t wear as much pink eyeshadow. There is just the right amount of hollering to make it fun and not obnoxious.  You can even make out the lyrics most of the time!  That’s always impressive.

Incommunicado really sounds like they are doing something different.  I am backing them 110%.  They deserve all the attention they can get.  I love supporting bands that are doing something new and spanning every possible genre.

They remind me of: (old) AFI, Bear vs. Shark, Strike Anywhere