IT'S ALIVE!

Thanks Baltimore, this crow is delicious.  Saturday February 11, I witnessed a lively and robust metal scene at Overlea Station.  Mike Dee did not dissapoint with his annual Drinkin With Lincoln Fest.  Things started off with a really cool up and coming grind band called Universal Remonster.  These guys have been hitting it pretty hard paying their dues opening up shows for awhile now.  This was probably the best I'd seen them play.  Really fun band, and cool guys to hang out with too.  Next up was a band I've been really impressed by.  I first saw Drunk Monk this past Halloween at The Baltimore Free Farm.  These guys are doing something really interesting and I've found them to be the most enjoyable local band I've discovered over the past year or so.  They play an instrumental doomish surf/psychobilly style that is truly hard to explain without doing them an injustice.  You really need to get out there and check out Drunk Monk if you have not yet done so.  The always impressive tech/prog metal awesomeness of Balor's Eye was to follow.  These guys are another band I get pretty excited about seeing.  If you haven't seen them, you're missing out.  My band, Shakeface, played next.  I don't feel comfortable critiquing from the opposite side of the stage, but I'd love to hear what anyone in attendance had to say about our set.  Now, at this point I have to address the food at Overlea Station.  During a long show like this I had to take a second to sit down at the bar and enjoy a meal.  I've been raving about the cheeseburger at this place for a long time now, and true to form that's what I got.  My girlfriend got a crabcake sandwich, which was god damn amazing.  If you go to a show at Overlea, make sure you take a break for some food.  I didn't really see Lifetime Shitlist play, but they sounded good and they must have done something right.  When I returned, an already good show had really come alive and become something I hadn't seen in years.  It was perfect timing that Fuck U All was just coming on.  You should already know who these guys are if you follow metal in Baltimore at all.  They fuckin' killed it!  It was a blast, people were into this shit like it was 1998 or something.  Top honors of the night have to go to the awesome crowd that showed up and participated in this.  Weed is Weed came up after FUA, I was loading my equipment out by this point as it was getting pretty late but if you dig some slow stoned out jams, give them a listen.  Closing the show out was Mike Dee's band Monger.  I didn't see much of this but I heard Mike was wrecked, so it had to be fun, as it always is when Mike takes the stage.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  I really needed to witness a night of carefree metal partying.


It's been awhile since my last post.  I've kinda been thinking about the blog and how I'd like to revamp the format.  Covering shows is awesome but it makes the show a little less fun for me when I am worrying about how I will have to account for every second of the show.  It makes shows feel more like work than a good time.  In the future I will still be covering shows, but only the noteworthy sets.  I'd also like to keep a running list of upcoming shows that are worth going to, so if you have a show you think people need to know about please feel free to email me here.  I'd also like to open up topics of discussion and get a little more positive feedback and involvement from anyone who reads this and has an opinion to share.  Interviews with local musicians will be another thing I'd be open to doing, so again just send an email if you'd like to be featured.  I can't always get pictures and videos from shows so it'd be much appreciated if anyone who does get them could send them to my email.  I'll also be mentioning an album or two you should check out.  This time, I'd like to recommend Throwdown's 1999 release "Beyond Repair".  It pretty much got me started in wanting to play music.  I hope you'll find some inspiration in there as well.

The discussion topic for this edition is something brought to my attention by the bass player in Shakeface, Ed Vaughan.  It's the rampant misuse of Facebook as a promotional tool.  There is a lot of good that can come from Facebook and social networking in general, but as we saw with Myspace, if you overdo it and become annoying and trite... it will bring a collapse to the entire system.  I'm not sure what compels bands to take the cheap route of like-whoring on facebook but it's fucking lame.  If you are on facebook begging people to click some stupid button just so a worthless number you obsess over will increase you are cheating yourself.  Get off your computer and go hand out some sampler CD's or fliers for your next show.  You do have shows and recordings to promote right? Or is it just a brand you're pushing?  People go to shows to hear music.  They will be far more receptive to your spam when it's directed at the right audience and done in person.  People get on facebook to do a lot of different things, but most of the time checking out your band is not high on the list.  If your friends like your band, they will hit that like button on their own.  They'll share it because they want to.  They'll be at shows where they can be reached by other similar bands.  Stop being lazy and expecting everyone to promote you, take advantage of the new faces at shows you play and have a conversation.  Make some friends even.  Superficial "likes" will get you nowhere.  Even worse, you don't even have an accurate read on whether or not what you are doing is working because you haven't let that number climb naturally.  Like-whoring is a lot like taking steroids, you might appear to be bigger and better.  But you know in your heart you cheated, took the easy road and ended up with tiny balls.  Make real life connections, they are far more valuable than you could ever imagine. 

Next time I'll have a fresh list of shows for you to get out there and go to, my experience this past Friday night at Baltimore Free Farm's Zombie Prom, an Interview with Bryan and Paul from both Butcher's Hill and FUA, my thoughts on the pros and cons of Maryland Death Fest and what album I've been listening to while I write.  Thanks for reading, hope you check back for the next one.

My Ears Are Burning.

Today I checked out an article written in "Shockwave Magazine" by RQ.  Everyone should be following this publication, they have a productive attitude towards change and that is all I could ask for from anyone.  Check out the article HERE.  I can't help but to feel that this is at least in some small way a response to my "Baby Steps" posting on this blog.  I know that sounds kinda self centered at first, but someone from the magazine commented on my link to this blog, so I know someone from that magazine read what I had to say.  I liked the Shockwave article, I think we are both after the same goal but I feel like I've been misunderstood by a lot of people. I need to clear the air.  This blog was never intended to be about me, so it kinda sucks that I even have to go through this explanation.  I wrote that blog based partly on my experiences, heavily on the gripes I hear from other musicians and with a HUGE dose of sarcasm.  I've been around, I know how things work.  I played in a rock/metal act doing the ticket sale/promoter/club circuit for a few years.  For the past 3 years I've been in a band that has never taken a show selling tickets, we play basements, DIY venues, art spaces, etc.  We've built a great network of bands we have become friends with by talking to anyone and everyone at every show.  This blog would not even be possible if I weren't going to shows as well. I do get it.  Thing is, it's not about me.  It's not about my success.  It's about our success.  Prosperity to me comes from cultivating your surroundings and rising to a new level because you've brought everything and everyone around you up to a new level.  I am in no way looking for any animosity with the guys from Shockwave, I just really can't handle people seeing me as a do nothing complainer.  We're after the same thing, trying to inspire more people to take part in their own communal destiny.  I'm an ally, let's work together to build a stronger metal community. 

Go "Like" Shockwave Magazine on Facebook to stay informed on all the good stuff they have going on.


That being said, I went to the Abigail Williams show this past Saturday.  Unfortunately my camera guy got a paying gig so I have no pictures for you.  I showed up late and missed the first 2 bands.  I hate that I did that but shit happens.  You should still take a little time to go check them both out, they were Illuminations and And Then They Bled.  The first band I actually got to see was New Jersey's Fall Of Man.  If you like seeing a big fat guy take his clothes off and caress the shit out of himself while singing metal, this is your shit.  Musically they weren't bad, not my thing but I have nothing bad to say about them.  They also seemed to bring a decent number of people out, which is very cool for a traveling band.  Next up was probably the best set of the night as far as the crowd is concerned.  The drummer of Bury The Memories was celebrating his birthday complete with a cake shaped like a drum set.  These guys were cool, standard deathcore but done well.  Seemed to be the best audience response of the night.  Next up was Torture Therapy from Cumberland, Maryland.  I liked these guys a lot.  Good ol' death metal complete with the second coming of Corpsegrinder doing vocals.  Unfortunately this is when the show kinda went south.  It was getting a little late, we were now 5 bands into the show and people started to leave.  I have major respect for the guys in Torture Therapy for very obviously cutting their set short to move things along.  Not many people saw it, but they were good.  Following them was Baltimore based metal quartet Butcher's Hill.  These guys always bring the heavy and Paul is one of the most intense guitar players you'll see.  I'm friends with thee dudes so I won't spend a lot of time kissing their asses but they a legitimately worth checking out.  They were the only band of the night to mention any kind of CD and it's free so hit them up for a copy.  People reappeared for this set, which was good to see.  The last act of the night was of course Abigail Williams.  By this time the show was over.  It sucks but there were only a few people left, I hadn't eaten dinner yet and I just wasn't going to enjoy the set either way.  I've seen them before, if for some strange reason you don't know who they are you should check them out if you dig black metal.  I apologize for this being a half assed show recap and a half assed show attendence.  I put what time and money I had into going to this show and for me, the effort was enough.  I did what I could to support my community.  I thank those of you who put the effort out there just as well and those of you who do not I hope to see you doing so very soon.  The next show I will be attending will be Feb 11 at Overlea Station so that's where you can find me if you wanna tell me what a whiny bitch I am or punch me in the face or something.  As long a it gets you out to a show.  It's also a place where you can get cheap boh, good food and hear a lineup of really good metal bands.  Check out the info HERE

Some additional pictures from the 1.18.12 Jucifer show

Prove It.

"Metal is alive and well, trust in that."

Really?  If it were so alive and so well I would not have pictures like this...

I want to believe you, I just have this problem with believing things that are not based in reality.  The bands are alive.  Make no mistake there are some good bands in Baltimore, I saw some of them last Wednesday night.  The problem is, they are not doing well, and they deserve to be.  Want me to write about how great metal is doing right now?  Go out to a show and prove it to me. 

This article was brought to my attention by a friend, I think it gives a very thoughtful point of view on exactly what I was trying say in the last post.  It's short and it's well worth the read.  Read it here.

Wednesday January 18th I attended a show at The Talking Head.  I've never been a big fan of the venue, but this was a good show so I wasn't going to let that stop me.  I called off my own band practice early to ensure I could get there in time for the first band's set.  I walked in about 2 minutes before they got started, perfect timing!  Unfortunately, my camera guy Zeb was running a little late so I have no pictures from that set for you.  That first band was...

Harlequin Ichthyosis

I've seen these guys many times before.  We've done shows together in the past and I've come out to support them in the past.  Not that it's a bad thing at all, but to me, they basically sound just like Black Dahlia Murder.  Unfortunately, these dudes were doomed to the curse of The Talking Head.  The first band to play almost always gets screwed with terrible sound at that place and this was no different.  The vocals were the loudest thing on stage and there was absolutely no bass to speak of.  This wasn't all the soundguy's fault though.  They used to have 2 guitar players and I gotta say, I miss that second guitar in their sound quite a bit.  The set was played well but it wasn't the same band I was used to seeing.  It seemed as if they'd lost the fire a bit.  Everyone is entitled to an off night, I've seen these guys completely rip it on several occasions and it really isn't easy to get pumped to play first for a handful of people.  Check these guys out, they have a well recorded demo that (I believe) is free.

Fortress

Easily the band with the most similar sound to Jucifer.  I've seen these guys once before and it was pretty good then and even better now.  I dig the overdose on speakers they bring to the table.  The songs all had a slow and crushing sound to them, I found myself getting lost in my thoughts several times throughout this set.  I like when you can get lost in a song so I did enjoy this set quite a bit.  It felt a bit long but I attribute that to the droning style not being my favorite style of metal.  If you are a fan of the sludgey stuff these guys are a must see.  They also have a free demo available.

Radical Discharge

I'd heard of these guys awhile back, really liked the logo they had up on their FB page and finally got to see them at Skid Row Garage in York a month or two ago.  If you are ever in York, or don't mind traveling about an hour for a good show that place is solid.  So is this band.  I had the chorus from 2 of their songs running through my head at work all the next day.  That's some pretty catchy tunage if I remember it after seeing them play twice and never hearing the recorded stuff.  I love thrash, so it's only natural this was my favorite set of the night.  Aside from solid musicianship and catchy vocals these guys just have a really fun vibe on stage.  There were some technical difficulties throughout the set but they played it off in a light, fun way and just kept rolling.  If you have the chance to see this band, do it!  I am pretty sure they have an album for sale, pick it up at a show.

En'den....

JUCIFER!!

I've heard them described as the heaviest bad on the planet and the loudest band on the planet but I think it just might be true that they are additionally the coolest band on the planet.  With a massive wall of speakers in tow Jucifer just has to roam.  They are living the dream, perpetually on tour and soaking up all the experiences life has to offer.  I am truly envious.  Then when you add in the fog machine and laser lights,  you really can't help but to be blown away by how awesome this is.  I think even non-metal fans would enjoy the spectacle that is Jucifer... for about 4 seconds before their heads exploded.  This shit was LOUD.  I lock myself in a tiny room with a drum kit and a decent wall of speakers by our own right, so I am a little deafer than the average bear and this level of volume was still able to penetrate through the sea of damage I've already done to my hearing.  Damage which was doubled in one night.  The performance on stage is not lacking in any way either, the drummer seems to be in an all out war with his drum set more than he is playing it.  He was practically standing as he wailed away throughout most of the set.  The guitars are loud and heavy, the vocals are spot on and the drumming is very enthusiastic and inspired.  I love this band and if you don't already, you will soon.

Hope you've enjoyed a more upbeat and positive edition of this blog.  If you're looking for a metal fix this weekend head to Sonar for Abigail Williams with local metallers And Then They Bled and Butcher's Hill! 

Baby Steps

Let's face it, metal is dead.  At least, it is in Baltimore.  If you play in a metal band you know this to be fact, you've played enough shows for other musicians to notice this.  Even if you are not quite willing to admit it yet.  Some might even see this blog as down right blasphemous, trust me, I am trying to do what little I can to help the situation.  I'd say the first step would be to give some thought to just what is wrong with metal in Baltimore. First and foremost, we are unwanted in most venues.  We're (mostly) a group of cheap scumbags, the majority of metalheads can barely afford the cover.  Forget about spending money at the bar, we show up wasted!  Then you have the few diamond in the rough tough guys who need to start a fight for it to be a good night.  Moshing is mostly dead these days and fighting was never cool so let's try and relax a little bit huh?  So we aren't commercially viable, big deal right?  Shit, we'll just set up in the living and invite our friends over.  RAGE!!!  Wrong.  The police in Baltimore don't tolerate that shit, even if the neighbors DON'T complain.  Guess we'll just have to promise this promoter we're gonna sell his tickets so we can have the "honor" of getting on his show with some sorta known regional "headliner".  This is where we develop the majority of our problems.  One approach is the idea that you'll just lie, and when the other suckers all sell the tickets then you get to play for a room of new people and find a new promoter to con.  Too bad all the other bands had that same idea already.  Now you're playing for the other bands, buying expensive drinks and wishing you never took the show.  Another approach is to sell the tickets, I mean it IS gonna be a good show!  So now you've busted your ass and sold the tickets, your friends are stoked for a good show and.... oh god these other bands suck balls.  They sold the tickets, but that's only because they make up for a lack of talent with a combination of mom's money, a handful of idiotic and annoying friends and a try-hard "we're gonna be famous!" attitude.  Ok so at least we can agree, ticket sale shows suck, for the most part.  Stop doing them!  So we have venues that don't want us, people who can't or won't pay 10 bucks at the door followed by a 6 dollar beer punching you in the dick.  The final nail in the coffin is the fact that the fucking bands don't even want to be at their own show!  Half the later bands show up... well, late.  Half the opening bands leave early.  Where is the fuckin' mutual support?!  If you notice that a band conducts themselves this way, stop doing shows with them!  Basically, we need a few baby steps to save metal in this town.  The most important is to develop a set of standards.  Have some pride.  Hold those around you to the same standards or don't work with them.  Not working is far better than selling your dignity.  Metal is like a cockroach, we'll find a small dirty, dark corner to survive in, so stop compromising.  I know it may seem like opportunities are few and far between but that is only because we've allowed a flood of infiltration.  The true metalheads are caught in a vice grip between shitty try-hard bands and the promoters who wish to exploit them.  I say we remove ourselves entirely, go back underground and let the dollar chasers do this bullshit without us.  The 6 people that actually come to the show are there for us, not them.  We're headed down the wrong path and we need to change course.  Let's face it... Metal. Is. Dead.  What will you do to save it?