Every so often, a Facebook status update comes along that, deep down, you know sounds too good to be true.
This was exactly the case late last night when we noticed (via their ReverbNation page) that the Lexington, Kentucky-based prog rock band Dream The Electric Sleep was playing at TBA in Charleston tomorrow, Thursday, February 23rd!
It was weird because we knew they were scheduled to play the V Club that night for a This Ain't No Disco show with our friends in Sly Roosevelt.
We knew this because we'd saved Jimbo Valentine's most awesome flyer to our desktop to remind us of the show daily. Maybe there was some scheduling snafu, and DTES was coming to Charleston, making it entirely possible that we could make it to said TBA venue, see the band, and then maybe camp out at the Transit Mall or something.
You know what they about stuff that sounds too good to be true. Just as we expected, after confirming it with bassist Chris Tackett, something silly happened deep inside of ReverbNation, and it confused Charleston for Huntington.
But make no mistake dear readers, just as you've come to expect subpar coverage here, Charleston's loss is Huntington's gain Thursday night. Dream The Electric Sleep and Sly Roosevelt have each been working on new stuff, and we'll look forward to hearing that when it is ready. DTES singer-guitarist Matt Page has dutifully and descriptively been keeping fans abreast of the writing and demo process on their site, even after the band released Acoustics and B-Sides, but the blog is something very cool to see if you're a big fan of the band.
And even though, in our heart of hearts, we knew that DTES wasn't coming to Charleston, we know this show Thursday in Huntington should be killer.
Brett Fuller (DJ Franklin Fuckin Furnace) hosted Tower of the Elephant and Horseburner as part of the V Club's This Ain't No Disco series April 28th...
4/28/11 @ the V Club was an another classic in the ongoing This Ain't No Disco series Featuring DJ Franklin Fuckin furnace and local Huntington acts. I've been lucky enough to not only play a This Ain't No Disco with The Wizards of Ghetto Mountain but I also DJ'd a set as DJ Gilbert Grape's mom. lol.
On this installment of This Ain't No Disco, joining DJ Franklin Fuckin Furnace were local lords Tower of the Elephant and Parkersburg doom merchants Horseburner. DJ Franklin furnace opened the night with a great set of molten rock on the 1's and 2's. The great crowd soaked up it and the atmosphere was electric.
Tower of the Elephant's quick rise to doom supremacy has not surprised anybody in town. The band is rounded out by some of Huntington's rock vets such as Blair Yoke on vocals who has been in punk bands Beer For Blood and Killbot, Garrett Babb who was also in Beer for Blood, and was ax slinger with myself in Wizards of Ghetto Mountain, Josh Harshbarger on bass who was in Beer for Blood, and is in the great alt-rock ringleaders Universes, Jason King on drums who played guitar for the Black Knots, and Mike Schritter on guitar who played for Sarasota.
Tower of the Elephant just recorded an EP and it sounds amazing. You're seriously gonna want to get your hands on it. Great stuff. Also look for guest vocals from yours truly at the end of a track.
Now on to the show.
I've seen Tower sets a few times and each one keeps getting better and better. This set in particular was amazing. Real thick fuzzy doomy tone, loud thunderous drums, Harshbarger laying down the low end, and Blair Yoke's fantastic vocals that I've watched evolve and get stronger with each set they play. This set was extra mean.
Slower than usual which I loved. The songs are being churned out effortlessly by the guys and they are developing a doom swagger that comes with experience. This band is a powerhouse and if they last they will be going places. They had the crowd in the palm of their hand for the whole set and I got to do my vocal part in Journey of the Leonids. Killer set by Tower.
Franklin Fuckin Furnace took the stage once again and rocked out another set of killer tunes. Franklin Fuckin Furnace's vast musical knowledge showed with the great tracks he pumped out keeping the atmosphere electric between Tower of the Elephant and Horseburner sets.
Horseburner is a band that are simply stunning. Imagine Thin Lizzy, Sleep, Sabbath, mixed with some hardcore. Great band. I have had the pleasure of playing with them with The Wizards of Ghetto Mountain on several occasions.
They took the stage like heavyweight champs with nothing to prove. An amazing set of molten doom, twin guitar harmonies, and great gang vocals. Almost each member shares vocal duties and the vocals are hardcore style so it's a great blend of doom, 70's rock and hardcore. You might not think this would work but Horseburner pull it off flawlessly.
Horseburner are starting to get a following in Huntington and there's a reason why. They have chops. Talent out the ass. Great Tone. The crowd ate up every second of Horseburner's set and anybody that ever seen them before left believers. Another amazing set from Horseburner.
Franklin Fuckin Furnace closed the night with another great set of tracks that rocked the house. All this for $3 you just can't beat that. Another great show at the V Club.
The V Club is the best live venue in Huntington since 1318 4th Avenue is no longer a music venue. They have shows for every taste in music so check http://www.vclublive.com/ for all concert updates and say hey to Don Duncan at the door for me.
In advance of the LBA Records third anniversary show Friday at the V Club we approached Brett Fuller, who DJs as Charlie Brown Superstar and Franklin Fuckin Furnace, and who hosts the This Ain’t No Disco series at the V, for his thoughts on the label, as he was pretty much there when the whole thing got off the ground one night with LBA founder and Huntington native Neil Nessel at the V Club...
I was playing the V on a Saturday, with another DJ (I believe, because I was taking a break). Neil came in and it was a bit surprising as I hadn’t seen him for a while, and he lived in Florida. We sat down and started to catch up when he mentioned the thought of starting the label. Neil always has a great enthusiasm about his projects and I was right with him.
We talked about having an outlet for our own projects as well as for artists that were interesting and doing different sorts of things. As we continued to talk as if on cue [Bad Employees’] Andy [Rivas] walks in. I introduced the two and then mentioned that a good band to start with would be Bad Employees, I went back to the stage to play as they continued talking. When I got back it was a done deal.
I really liked the idea but wasn’t sure if it would really happen (you know how bar talk can be) but sure enough the following week I got update via email and a contract in the mail. It was a pretty exciting time.
It’s a really big help to have someone to take your music and already have outlets to present it (and sell). I wouldn’t know what to do with my tracks, I’d just throw up on a webpage somewhere where nobody would see it or just share it with my friends at some late night get together at my place.
Not to mention that Neil got me writing again, at the time I was kind of discouraged with music. I was always working as a DJ and playing with Hyatari, but hadn’t been doing my own stuff. Neil told me if we did this that he expected me to put out some music and really be a part of it.
I kinda gave him a ‘yeah yeah,’ type of response and he said he was serious, he had heard the stuff that I was working on before he left for Florida and had liked it. I had lost all of that from a hard drive crash (part of my frustration) and with his encouragement I got back on the horse and started writing again.
I like how Neil works with artists that he really appreciates and it's pretty cool to be part of a truly worldwide label. There are LBA artists all over the globe!
Every so often, a Facebook status update comes along that, deep down, you know sounds too good to be true.
