Gutters and Strikes

It is with great sadness that we must announce the probable demise of Philly pop punkers the Mad Splatter. Lead singer/guitarist Scott Slomeana is leaving the band at the end of the summer to pursue other interests, both musical and otherwise. The rest of the band is considering soldiering on with a new frontman, or with one of themselves taking over, but even they admit that it is unlikely that the band will survive. This leaves a big gap in pop punk here in the city of brotherly love and it is doubtful that anyone will take up the reins of writing love songs about zombies, gore and other horror movie inspired topics. They played the Blockley Pourhouse last night and have another Philly show scheduled in June for the Clark Park Festival. They are trying to book a super special final show (I would assume here in Philly, though they were not specific) with their favorite bands, but no details yet. Go see them while you still got the chance.

As we bid a fond farewell to our friends in the Splatter, we turn and welcome with open arms the return of the Gaslight Anthem. They have a new album, American Slang, due out June 15th and the Jersey boys are poised for some big changes. Unchanged is their label; they opted to stay put and put out Slang on SideOneDummy--a wise move as many bands in their position have jumped ship to a major only to find themselves overhyped and eventually overlooked. Gaslight were sensible enough to do one last album on a relative indie and continue to build their fan base. What is changing is the venues for their live act. Last time they came through Philly, on the final leg of the '59 Sound tour, they sold out one night at the Troc and almost sold out a second night. This summer, when the hit us up with new material, they are playing Penn's Landing. That's quite a jump for a band who, three years ago, were opening for the Loved Ones in the Church basement. Good for them. They have worked hard and are deserving of their success. While most any band is enhanced by an intimate show, Gaslight's songs have always been big and open enough to fill larger spaces. The Philly date on their summer tour is Thursday, July 29th. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, but the only place I found any info was on Gaslight's MySpace (not their official website, nor Penn's Landing's website), so that is where we will link you at the bottom.

Finally, Boston's perhaps-not-legendary-but-still-none-the-less-noteworthy '80's hardcore punks Gang Green are gracing Philly with their presence. I saw these guys a couple of years ago and they look like your dad in a Hawaiian shirt, but they still booze it up on stage, spit beer on the crowd, jump around (as best they can without breaking a hip) and generally party hardy. Worth a glimpse if you want to see where NOFX was looking for inspiration when they first started out. Have fun. Tell them that their set was wicked awesome and that you are wicked excited they are playing in Philly; they will love you. This one is at the M Room, Friday May 7th.

the Mad Splatter
the Gaslight Anthem MySpace
the M Room

Three Cheers for made up Last Names

Pop punk fans from all over the world gathered Friday night to witness Screeching Weasel destroy the Troc. They don't have a new album out, they're down to one founding member and Ben Weasel is sporting a pretty decent dad gut, but that didn't stop a couple of people from flying from Russia to see the legendary Chicago band tear through an hour's worth of 90's nostalgia. It was basically the Ben Weasel show, but Danny Vapid substituted for John Jughead on guitar and backing vocals, so there was at least one other recognizable face on stage.
With little fanfare, Screeching Weasel took the stage in Philadelphia for the first time in 17 years and immediately blasted into "Cindy's on Methadone," "Guest List," and "Dingbat" with nary a word to the audience. Ben and his merry gang took only a few brief pauses to catch their breath and to thank the crowd and give Philly some props. Weasel was accommodating to most of their catalog, playing both Brady Bunch songs ("Peter Brady" and "Murder in the Brady House"), "99," "My Right," "My Brain Hurts," and "First Day of Summer." "Joanie loves Johnny" probably got the best audience response, with a pit that encompassed most of the floor and it was great to hear the whole crowd shouting "We don't give a shit about tomorrow!" during "Hey Suburbia." (Complete with the Shut Up ending.) They closed (no encore) with the classic trio "Science of Myth," "Cool Kids," and "What We Hate." Ben obviously tried hard to appease fans who admire all of Screeching Weasel's different eras and succeeded in putting together at set list that made the almost two decade wait well worth it.

Some of Friday's show was recorded for a still in production documentary about Screeching Weasel. We have heard through the grapevine (internet whispers and rumors) that this project is being headed by one of Ben's cohorts from Panic Button! Records, so methinks that Ben will ultimately have final say on what goes into the move and what ends up on the killing floor. None the less, this is probably going to be the only movie on this particular subject, assuming that they finish the thing and get it released. There is a website, but it is just a link to an email addy. They were passing out a flyer at the show looking for anything Weasel, pics, fanzines, tattoos, stories. If you got something to contribute and want to be included, give 'em a shout.

Weasel Movie

Electro in a Half Shell (Techno Power!)

Our friends at Sixunder7 music have given us the drop on Valerna's new remix package that is going to be available for free soon. Valerna is hooking us all up with some free tunes because they are just so goddamn happy to announce their signing to Miles Dyson's German electro/techo/house label Plasmapool. Dyson is somewhat of of a wunderkind of dance music. He started out DJing at age 13 and quickly rose through the ranks of Europe's reining clubland rulers. These days, in addition to the original music he creates and the other artist's music he is remixing, Dyson also runs more than a dozen labels, each catering to a different interpretation of electronic music. Dyson is world renowned for his open embrace of all styles of dance music and has invited Valerna into his fold.
Their first release for Plasmapool, the Teenage Muntant Ninja Techno ep, builds on their already knock a motherfucker out sound. We were given an little inside listen and it is some wild shit. If Valerna know anything, they know glitches, those great little moments that catch you off guard and keep the beat from getting repetitive. "Up the Punx!" and "Burn it Down!" (both of which sound like they should be should be A Global Threat or the Unseen song titles) drip hydrochloric acid on the beat at precise points to isolate certain sounds, only to have the full rhythm back a second later. "Action! Disco!" takes a weirder turn and is a study in bending the tone, reminiscent of manually slowing a record with your fingers. Valerna is definitely skilled in building the tension of the song and then releasing it, and that is front and center on all three tracks. Look for it sometime around June.

Valerna
Sixunder7

This Fragile Planet

Wishing you all a magnificent Earth Day! Please do something today that benefits our Mother, she has been so kind and forgiving to us in the past. It is a shame that in the 200000 years or so that there have been humans that we have gotten worse, not better, at conserving natural resources and protecting our island home. We can make i-pods the size of a fucking fingernail, but yet can't manage to make our cars any more fuel efficient or implement protections for endangered species or quit burning the rain forests to the ground. As a species, we suck at maintaining our environment, even in as much as making sure that it is not toxic and detrimental to our survival. Man o man, how the hell are we the epitome of evolution? Fish do a better job at finding a balance with their ecosystem and they have five second memories. For the last forty years, hippies across the country have made it their noble effort to have general society recognize how important it is to respect the Earth. So please what you can this Earth Day--recycle your dead batteries, install ecofriendly lightbulbs in the lamps in your home, take the bus or train to work. Anything, from the smallest effort to the largest movement, counts a little bit in our war against ourselves.

National Treasures that don't Include Nick Cage

Get out and get some fresh air! It's National Park Week and admission is free to all 392 national parks across the land. This even includes the big ones: Grand Canyon in Arizona, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, Niagara Falls in New York, Muir Woods in California, Denali in Alaska. Anyone looking to check off one of those "always wanted to see that" places on your bucket list, this is your week. For those of you in the Philly area, we highly recommend the Edgar Allen Poe house on 7th and Spring Garden. Besides the rare letters and manuscripts they have on display, there is also the Raven statue and you can listen to some of Poe's work read by Christopher Walken. Valley Forge and Independence Hall are all part of the National Park system as well and are, of course, free this week too. You can also get your history on by visiting Gettysburg, a family favorite growing up in the Squeamish household, where you will not only learn about the turning point in the Civil War, but you can get some exercise by climbing both Little and Big Roundtops and seeing if you can sprint Pickett's Charge, then relax in the cool of Devil's Den. For more recent history, visit the Flight 93 sight where the courageous passengers of that flight brought down what would have been a third attack on 9/11. If you're just looking for some good old fashioned nature, check out the Delaware Water Gap for both hiking and water activities, if you are hardcore enough to handle kayaking (and the potential for falling out of said kayak) this early in the year. As always, the Appalachian Trail offers a challenge to hikers from around the world; bite off as much as you can chew, whether you are just doing a day hike or trying to backpack the whole damn thing. Have fun, be safe and enjoy some thrifty activities for the whole family.

Practice Responsible Consumerism

It's the fourth birthday of Record Store Day, so you need to celebrate by going out to your favorite independent music distributor and getting yourself a little present. By doing this, you are also giving a present to music shops everywhere by showing your support retailers that cater to the record collector (guilty!), the indie snobs (guilty!) the vinyl junkies (2 out of three, oh well!). If you do transport yourself to your local record store, the effort will be rewarded by a shit ton of exclusive releases that you aren't going to find at FYE, Target or HMV. These aren't just a couple of indie bands that are releasing records--there are those too--the Bouncing Souls, Flogging Molly, Gogol Bordello, Beach House and the Magnetic Fields all have exclusive contributions to Record Store Day 2010. But there are plenty of major artists of all different ilks that are releasing vinyl today. The White Stripes, Neil Young, the Flaming Lips (a front to back cover of Dark Side of the Moon complete with an appearance by Henry Rollins), Dave Matthews, Soundgarden and Devo are just a few of the artists participating. So go get yourself some new music, support independent business and pump a few bucks into the economy.
Win Win Win.

Record Store Day

And Justice for All

Important stuff coming up. Since Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens managed to outlast President Bush's final term, President Obama gets a chance to put another person on the high court. No matter who he manages to get appointed, it will almost surely be a loss for progressive politics on the Supreme Court. Justice Stevens has the unique ability to gently guide and walk the line on controversial decisions and his legal theories and judgments are held in wide regard. Stevens is like the wise grandfather figure. Who wouldn't at least listen to what the old bastard has to say? Who could not at least give his advice and wisdom a chance? He was appointed by Gerald Fucking Ford, for Christ's sakes! That means that Stevens already had had a distinguished legal career behind him before I was even born. No wonder at almost 90 years old he is ready for a little rest.

I give Justice Stevens a check-plus for refusing to give up his post while W. was still in office. I think that it is awesome that Stevens was 87 years old and still giving the finger and saying "Fuck you!" to the President. That is awesome. Especially when you consider that he was appointed by a Republican in the first place. That should tell you something about the eight years we were under Carl Rove and Dick Cheney's conservative stranglehold. I could only hope that at that age we all would still feel that sense of rebellion, that burning fire that comes from sticking to one's guns.

The pressure is now on President Obama to find someone that a deeply divided Congress and nation can find acceptable. For sure, the President is going to name someone left leaning. Most of the names mentioned so far certainly are sympathetic to the Democrat's tendencies. But President Obama, and all Presidents, would be well off to find Supreme Court candidates that are truly independent thinkers and that are really looking out for the welfare of the people. The purpose of the Court is to review and cast judgment on that politicized nonsense that are the laws created by Congress. Recently, there has been lots of bellyaching about "activist judges," but in reality, we wouldn't want anyone but an activist judge on the high court. That is the whole point. But what we need is an activist for the truth, not for the political ramblings and bullet points of one party or another.

So if one candidate or another tickles your fancy, write to your favorite congressperson and voice your opinion. They are there to serve you; you pay their salary, make them work towards the things in which you believe. And if you dislike one or more of the candidates, write about that too. Dissent is a quickly evaporating skill that is employed far too little. It is your duty to make your voice heard above the din of the masses. Sing loud, sing proud!

The Something Special

Bouncing Souls frontman, Greg Attonito, has announced that he and his wife will be playing a round of acoustic shows together. Along for the ride is Kevin Seconds (of 7 Seconds), also playing solo and acoustic and Kepi Ghoulie (of the Groovie Ghoulies), also playing solo and acoustic. I guess this is what the older punk guys do. They get married, the knees start to go, they find a kindred spirit in Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and other singer/songwriters and they do the folk punk thing. Greg has some songs up on his MySpace which are pretty cool blues/roots tunes and I would imagine that he will also do some Souls songs along with some covers. Who knows? This is a super intimate show at the Barbary Thursday, June 6th. Only $8.

For those of you with little Squeamishes running around, Greg and Shanti wrote and illustrated a children's book called I Went for a Walk. It was self published under Hollywood Jersey Press, but for the life of me, I can't figure out where you could order a copy of it. I guess you will just have to go to the show--they may very well have them for sale there or they could at least tell you where to pick it up.

EDIT: I MUST BE AN IDIOT BECAUSE I WENT FOR A WALK HAS ITS OWN MYSPACE PAGE. YOU CAN PICK UP A COPY HERE: I Went for a Walk

Maybe in Another Life...

Despite their obvious awesomeness, LA hardcore punks the Bronx never really seem to fill an East Coast room when the tour by themselves. Playing the modest North Star Bar Saturday night, the space towards the back of the room was sparsely filled with on lookers who did not so much nod their heads in time with the music. As you moved closer to the stage, the crowd got a little more rowdy and the first few rows were a menagerie of sweaty, tattooed guys and tough as nails chicks rejecting contact with the gentlemen's beer guts. As always, Matt Caughthran and his boys gave it their all; as a front man with no guitar to weigh him down, Caughthran is free to interact with the crowd as much as he pleases. And he pleases, working his petute off to give the audience a real rock and roll show.

Though the Bronx didn't take the stage until after midnight, their alter egos, Mariachi el Bronx provided the second support act of the night. Sporting authentic (and super sharp) mariachi getups, deep bellied guitars and a trumpet, el Bronx played 30 minutes of sun soaked, south of the border melodies.

About 90 minutes later, they were back in street clothes and up on stage bringing the rock. The Bronx tore through choices from all three of their punk full lengths. They focused on their strongest material--"Heart Attack American," "White Tar," "I Got Chills," "History's Stranglers," "Knifeman," "Six Days a Week." A slightly extended version of "Shitty Future" involved a switch of drummers midway through and they proclaimed Philly to the be the toughest city on the east coast. Older songs were played faster than the original versions, while the more contemporary selections sounded pretty much exactly like they do on record. They ignored the more mid-tempo material and concentrated on bringing the punk and bringing it hard. Despite North Star's "No Slam Dance" policy, I only saw one person ejected despite stage diving and pits of various sizes, all of which was encouraged and enjoyed by the band.

Why these guys can't attract a more devout following is beyond me. Formed in 2002, the band prompted a bidding war between a whole shitload of labels, both of the indie ilk and several majors, before they had anything other than a demo and a couple of shows under their belts. Following the release of their first album (all of the Bronx's albums are self titled), there were several tours as openers for High on Fire and Dillinger Escape Plan, amongst others. Their second album was released on Island/Def Jam and they did high profile support for Mastodon on the Blood Mountain tour. Everything seemed to be in place for them to take over the rock scene, however, they just do not seem to be able to translate this into a dedicated fan base and they seem destined to play most filled, smaller places rather than mostly filled, larger clubs. In fact, I think that more people might have been there to see the mariachi outfit earlier in the evening.

The mariachi endeavor may have been a mixed blessing for the Bronx. It has gained them some fans from corners of the rock world that might otherwise overlook them, but at the same time, it has almost set them up to be a novelty act. "Hey look! It's this punk band that also does mariachi music!" While nothing could be further from the truth, it makes them appear to be a gimmick, a joke. All of the press for this tour has concentrated on Mariachi el Bronx and while there is no such thing as bad publicity, they are dangerously close to overshadowing the fact that they are probably one of the best punk bands formed this side of the new millennium.