Singles meeting singles

Shepherdstown is as far from Huntington as you can get without entering Maryland; about 260 miles. Area bands and fans may be forgiven for not exactly being in the know when it comes to both towns. It took Teays Valley's Caustic Eye Productions to tie the two together with a few cool rock bands.

This Friday The Demon Beat will welcome Bud Carroll and the Southern Souls to Skull City for a homecoming of sorts and, to release the split single the two bands teamed up on.


Demon Beat bassist Tucker Riggleman said the idea for the limited release effort came from Caustic Eye’s Rod Lanham.

“Rod approached us about putting out a split featuring ourselves and Bud Carroll & the Southern Souls. He noticed that we had a few shows coming up together, so he thought it’d be a good idea to do a limited run to be sold strictly at those shows.”

“I knew they were having a couple of shows together, and figured a good way to promote both shows was by having something new from both of them available exclusively there,” Lanham said when reached for comment at an undisclosed location, deep underground.

“Bud has his own studio, and The Demon Beat were headed into the studio soon, so why not get new material? The big Indies do splits all the time.”

“We were all about it because we’d been following Bud for a while and were really excited about getting some shows together,” Riggleman added.


The Demon Beat has been to Huntington a few times in recent months for shows at the V Club and Shamrock’s. But it was a trip to Morgantown for a show at 123 Pleasant Street that was necessary to make the release possible, Riggleman said.

“We took the opportunity to record with good friend (and amazing engineer) Brian Spragg, guitarist/vocalist for It’s Birds. We took this opportunity to release some songs that are slightly different than what we have been doing,” he admitted. “So we put on a punk song and a country-ish song. Brian did a tremendous job, and we are really excited to get this split out to fans at the coming shows.”

The split single will be available at Friday’s show at Stonewall’s Pub (the Beat's first show in their hometown since they released their EP in November) and March 14th at Shamrock’s, when The Demon Beat will make the short drive to Huntington to play with Carroll and the Souls for what will by then be the third time. Sandwiched between the two dates is a March 7th gig in the notoriously raucous college town of Athens Ohio, home of the Bobcats.

Riggleman said the home-and-home split release series works good for both bands. “I’m really glad that we are doing these shows on each other’s turfs. I hope people respond and come out in good numbers.”

He closed by thanking Spragg and Lanham for making the release possible.

“We want to really thank Rod for taking on this project for no other reason than he really digs what both bands are doing. This is the kind of support that is helping the West Virginia music scene make somewhat of a comeback, and really get people excited about going to shows again.”

An Interview With a Gentleman

(L-R: Dennis, Brian and Bobby of Thee Drunken Gentlemen)

Thee Drunken Gentlemen, one of Charleston’s newest (and reputedly best dressed) bands, it would come as no surprise, formed “over a couple of mixed drinks,” drummer Brian Holstine admitted over email. Now, after getting a few shows under their belt, the Gentlemen have seemed to have hit their stride.

“The shows are getting better each time,” Holstine said of the handful of shows the band's played so far.

After playing their first show at the Empty Glass’ Halloween Hootenanny, the band played the Parrot late last month and recently traveled out to Shamrock’s in Huntington for a show with The Big Bad, with whom the “Gentlemen” will rock the Blue Parrot Friday night.

Thee Drunken Gentlemen are no strangers to either the local scene (having played in, among other bands, The Pistol Whippers, Rose City, and The Black Knots) or Capitol Street. Holstine admitted that the band practices at an undisclosed location maybe not too far from the Parrot.

“We can be heard, but not seen,” he said.

Compared to most bands these days, the Gentlemen have it backwards; the band has played more shows than they have songs on MySpace. But Holstine said the band plans to record with Greg Hunt “very soon” and that, if you’re looking to compare the Gentlemen with any of the other bands they‘ve been in:

“The best analogy I can give is this: Being a Drunken Gentlemen is like a MANICORN: half man, half Unicorn. A mythical beast that can’t be seen because it doesn’t exist, except to those people who choose to BELIEVE.”

--- photo: Jim the local music emperor

Meet the new band, same as the old band?

Heart Holds True (L-R: Bobby Midkiff, Brooke White, Nick McCormick, Dana White, Jake Wegman) plays their first show at the Brickhouse in St. Albans February 21st.

Dana White is open and honest talking about his old band, Holden Caulfield, and his new band, Heart Holds True. That the latter would be somehow inextricably linked to the former isn’t a surprise.

From comprising former members of Holden Caulfield and current members and friends in The Fontaine, to being named after a Holden Caulfield song, White and friends didn’t want to see the rock and roll ride end.

“Deciding to stop doing Holden Caulfield after eight years honestly sucked,” White said over email. “I hated deciding to end it, but it was time.”

Now, it’s time for his new Huntington-based five-piece hardcore act to play their first show at the Brickhouse in St. Albans February 21st. Planning on a short, sweet five-song set, White said that, with the newly added McCormick on guitar, Heart Holds True is “…kind of like Holden Caulfield if we had been listening to a lot of Mastodon.”

White described the genesis of the new band, forming in the ashes of the old one. “Bobby and I have been good friends for a while. We wanted to keep playing in a band together as an excuse to hang out.”

“At Holden Caulfield’s last show, Bobby saw Nick when he was on his way out the door and asked if he wanted to play guitar in our new band. I mentioned that Brooke could play bass and he was into it…that was that.”

One member of Heart Holds True that you may recognize from being around White is HHT’s bassist, Dana’s wife Brooke, whom he met when she’d joined Holden Caulfield as bassist. No domestic disturbance worries in the band, though, White said.

“We never argue or fight about anything. I guess we’re both just insanely relaxed and genuinely get along with each other, so it’s not weird or a problem at all for us to be in a band together.”

One hitch with Heart Holds True is finding a permanent solution on drums. “We’ve had a hard time finding a permanent drummer and we’re still looking,” White said. “We’ve played with three different people but no one permanent yet. Oddly enough, all of those dudes were in my first band at one point.”

White said the nascent band is planning on recording a self-produced four song demo for fans and potential labels, and thinks that Heart Holds True could potentially approach what Holden Caulfield meant to everyone.

“I definitely think it could...it’s a little different from Holden Caulfield, but not so much that I don’t think people that were into that band wouldn’t like this band. I’m touching on a couple of different things lyrically than I have before, but there will definitely be familiar topics as well. I’m even thinking of revisiting an old story from then from a different point of view.”

While Holden Caulfield played a lot of all-ages shows, White said his straight edge lifestyle doesn't determine where his bands play.

“When it comes to letting people know that I’m straight edge, meaning that I don’t drink, smoke, do drugs or have promiscuous sex, it’s not really a huge deal to me. I do it for myself and the people that care for me. As far as the band goes, it’s not really fun to go into a show worrying that someone is drunk or high. No one in this band does drugs and maybe one person drinks. Everyone knows that we’ll play better if we’re focused and have our heads 100% into the show, so that’s what we will always do. I don’t mind being around people that are drinking, and neither does anyone in the band. We would just rather play sober so we can play better and play harder.”

“I’m the only person in the band that actually claims straight edge, even though no one in the band is a party person in the traditional sense. We would rather play all-ages shows simply because that audience tends to be at shows just for music and hanging out, whereas bar shows are a mixed audience of people that want to see live music and people that just happen to be there to drink while you’re playing. It’s an entirely different audience, both of which can be a blast. It just depends on what bar and what bands you’re playing with. The more friends that are there, the better.”

White said that friends and fans can expect everything the new band has at Heart Holds True’s first show. “Since we decided to make it a short set, we’re going to try and make it even more intense that it would’ve been had it been longer. We’re tightening everything up as much as possible and it’s sounding pretty solid.”

And, White, ever the fortune cookie fan, admitted that there may even be a fortune cookie out there for the new band.

“You will learn drums and play for Heart Holds True.”

--- Heart Holds True will play the Brickhouse in St. Albans 2/21 with Most Ill, Beyond All Hope, Smoke and Mirrors, and Where It Ends. Show starts around 6 p.m., and cover is $7

Pawnshop puts HQ together DIY

Despite the tanking economy, Brian Carr says business at Pawnshop Skateboards in Chesapeake is good these days. Carr, who owns and operates Pawnmax and its in-house skateboard operation, explained why over email.

“Oddly in this economic time business is really good! From the actual pawn shop store business is good when the economy is good and bad so it’s definitely a win/win situation.”

Carr, a skater himself, is old enough to remember when skate parks and shops were lacking in the area. “Parks here were non-existent in the 80’s. They did have a really good vibe in Huntington with Iguana Skatepark and shop back then, but the Charleston area? Nada, Zilch!”

Over the past few months Pawnshop has been making inroads into helping invigorate the local skate community. From selling all sorts of cool boards and gear (like their own line of decks and the Steve Caballero re-issue we bought last summer) and having their own team to helping promote local music, the shop opened their 16,000 square-foot skate park headquarters across the street from the store last Saturday, and will hold a lock-in this Friday the 13th.

“…insert the Jason Voorhees chant here,” Carr said.

But seriously, folks, the Pawnshop skate park opened with a resounding success, with about 50 people showing up during the course of the day, for what Carr called “a fun experience.”

The lock-in, with Carr keeping up the Friday the 13th horror theme, “…will be secured for the time of the lock-in (10 p.m. - 8 a.m.) and anyone under 18 cannot “escape” unless their parents come to get them. The lock-in is limited to 30-40 people and once that amount pre-pays or comes in, the doors will close. So pre-register early!”

We thought we used a lot of exclamation points, but we’ll let Carr drop ‘em because he’s rightly excited about what he’s done with the shop, and now the park. Fittingly enough for a pawnshop, Carr said he put the thing together for a good (read: low, low) price.

“I was on a skateboarding blog a couple of weeks ago and posted a response to a skate park thread. People were asking how much does it take to open one up. When I told them I have spent less than 7k my email box filled up. I was told by several that a building my size would easily command 75k+ to build a park. I am very savvy when it comes to figuring out ways to make things happen on a shoestring budget and this park was definitely one. Saving money by doing most of the work ourselves with the help of friends and the community really keeps the cost down. Bartering helps as well; getting free angle iron in exchange for posting company banners in the building was another example. It really came together nice and somewhat cheap.”

So not only is Carr keeping skateboarding alive and well in West Virginia, he’s bringing back the barter system; just in time for the collapse of our economy. Oh, and he also gave us a bit of a scoop about one more cool thing.

“We have created the biggest contest this state has ever seen and will be hosting it around April. It was going to be a secret until March but I will let the cat out of the bag. It will be called King Of The Hills. The only requirement is that you have to be a West Virginia resident. This is to put West Virginia on the skateboarding map. It will be featured in skateboarding magazines, it will have celebrity guest judges and a huge cash and prize purse for the winners.”

And all humor aside, for people in our age bracket, it’s great to see Carr and Pawnshop doing what they’re doing.

“Oh man that’s what this is all about. Giving these young kids what we didn’t have. Times are different now; we’re on the scene and have firm control of the wheel. 2009 should be a wild ride.”

--- For lock-in or contact info for Pawnshop, see above flyer

Shamrock's shells out local CDs

When Ian Thornton started booking bands at Marley’s Doghouse last year, he brought something with him that some booking dudes at venues don’t; the experience of being in a band. The 25-year old Huntington resident (and former Love Coats bassist) has helped smooth the transition from Marley’s to what is now Shamrock’s Irish Pub by simply treating bands with respect.

“As a working musician I can look at the scene from two points of view. I’ve been the guy calling and emailing trying to get bars to work with you, and honestly it can be quite difficult,” Thornton said over email. “You learn that a lot of club owners aren’t very willing to work with the bands; they’re just looking for entertainment that will make them as much cash as possible. I try to take a much different approach when I book shows.”

In addition to booking bands and scheduling cool weekly events like open mic/acoustic and honky tonk nights, Thornton has come up with an idea that has to this point escaped area venues for whatever reason; selling local CDs straight out of the bar.

To this point Thornton has approached bands and artists like Genuine Junk Band, Bud Carroll & the Southern Souls, Jeff Ellis, The Demon Beat, Sarasota, The Family Conspiracy, Attack Flamingo, The Greens, Billy Matheny, The Red Velvet, The Salty Sirens, Jordan Andrew Jefferson, Kevin Arbogast, and Jess Graham about having Shamrock’s operate as a sort of local music clearinghouse to help get the word out about the bands in the area.

“This is actually an endeavor that I have taken on personally with my own money, and using Shamrock’s as the outlet,” he said. “Bands have all been great and more than helpful with me in terms of acquiring CDs. My approach was to pick out about 15 bands and purchase five copies of their CD at a somewhat discounted price. This way they get their money right away as opposed to dealing with consignment. I have told them all that no CD will be sold for more than $8, figuring if we keep the music cheap people will be more inclined to venture out and look for something new.”

So he avoids the can o’ worms that can come with spec-type deals, and is using his own money for this. Let that sink in.

“The bands have been great to work with so far. By purchasing them outright they see their end instantly, so hopefully we cancel out any sort of chance for animosity or misunderstanding between parties. They have all commented that they really like the idea and are willing to lend a helping hand however. Plus, it’s a win win, for them; they’re selling numerous copies of their CDs and getting their music exposed at a new place.”

Thornton added that neither he nor Shamrock’s profit off the sales of said CDs, but will use the money to buy more CDs and, hopefully, just make his startup money back. It’s the kind of idea that seems so crazy, it just may work, kind of like having honky tonk Wednesdays, hosted by Paul Weaver of Dig-Its fame.

“Paul is a friend of mine and when he approached me with this I thought it was a cool idea, but I was a bit skeptical,” Thornton admitted. “I mean Honky Tonk vinyls all night at an Irish Pub? lol. But honestly they’ve been going great. Paul has a great selection of stuff, and who doesn’t love “GOOD” country music? He always keeps it different as well. You’ll never hear a bunch of the same stuff from week to week. Our regulars all have a good time, and the crowds keep on picking up.”

Thornton, who’s in a new Huntington-area band called Whirling Dervish, said that while in The Love Coats, Marley’s was their favorite place to play because of the laid back rock and roll atmosphere, and that was something he and the management wanted to bring to Shamrock’s.

“I really loved Marley’s. We definitely wanted to keep the feel of “realness” if that makes sense -- not a plush place where you’re afraid to spill your beer; a place to get up close and personal with the acts on the stage. We just wanted to clean up the joint and create a great venue in Huntington where people could have a good time and see good music.”

Thornton says it’s worked so far.

“We’ve heard a lot of positive feedback about the new place. I don’t believe that we’ve had one problem with bands, which is kind of amazing. It just goes to show what can happen when there is mutual respect and not some sort of hierarchy or roles. I believe people are really happy with the way we (my brother Shane, his wife Sara and I) run Shamrock’s.”

For Thornton and the Shamrock’s crew, it’s kind of a labor of love, working with bands.

“I feel that I’m here to serve the scene,” he said. “Granted, I want Shamrock’s to be as profitable as possible so that we can keep putting on shows, but not at the expense of bands. I do my best to treat all the bands as well as possible. We’ve got a great scene here in this state and we need to fight for it to show that to people. There’s a great buzz going on in this town and I see many good things to come.”

WBG releases "For Glory Or For Flames"

West By God is set to release their new CD "For Glory Or For Flames" February 7th at 123 Pleasant St. in Magic Town. To help things along, WBG has enlisted their friends in Morgantown's killer (Alex Jones sampling) instru-metal three-piece Hovel, and fellow Magic Town acoustic Celt rockers The Staggering Cardoons. Irish + rock is always good.

We'd very much look forward to hearing the new WBG CD, if you're up that way, check 'em out, or if you're nowhere near Morgantown like us, check the band out online.

CD Review: One Hundred Hurricanes "60 Years Under The Stars"

CD: "60 Years Under The Stars"
ARTIST: One Hundred Hurricanes

The simplest jumping off point is to say that, if you like The Strokes, you'll like or maybe even fall head over heels in love with One Hundred Hurricanes.

Formerly known as The Getaway, this Morgantown-based four-piece compiles 15 super catchy Brit-pop influenced rock songs on their debut effort "60 Years Under The Stars," a CD we'd initially describe in the good-to-great category. We'll admit; the jpeg of the CD cover we uploaded above pretty much sucks, but the CD, well, pretty much rocks.

The band (Michael Withrow: guitar/vocals; Denny Dingus: lead guitar; Kyle Williams: bass, vocals; Nick Kirk: drums) kicks the CD off with the high-energy rump shaker "Duke Hat" -- a heavy nod to The Strokes. There's another Mike Withrow? Apparently, and he's been drinking the water up there. Withrow's faux English accent is of course one of the first things that jump out at you, with lyrics about typical young rocker lifestyles; being on the outs when it comes to life, love, and being in a band.

"Lookout" is bouncy Brit-rock that has Withrow lamenting he "...didn't know exactly how to stand out in a place that just wants trends." Like most of the songs, it's catchy, with a cool solo thrown in for good measure. "Back On Your Own" is one of the real gems on the CD; a mellow, downbeat number that would serve nicely as the last song on what, in an earlier day, could've been the last song on the front side of the record and/or tape. You can surely remember those days.

"Snake" is a slower changeup with very cool solos and shredding, with Withrow asking rehtorically "Is it radio friendly?" Yes, your band is getting airplay on WVU's radio station and WCLG, man!

The CD closes with Withrow on piano on the mellow, near-power ballad "When The Pictures Fade," a song that dutifully changes things up at the end. Withrow sings introspectively "You'll see everything, when you're old and gray. You'll see everything as the pictures fade." A nice way to end things.

Recorded aptly (as most are up there, it seems) at Mark Poole's Zone 8 Studios in Granville, the CD would easily make it into our "top 10" of 2009, if that means anything, or if we make it that far.

From the songwriting to the recording to the sleek, artful, neato packaging (done DIY-style by Williams), this is a CD that you wouldn't be surprised to find on the shelves at some mega-chain, or hear on some cool radio station, like U92, maybe (AHEM!). Lyrics would've been nice, just because it seems like Withrow comes up with some good ones. ("Do you think that god is really one of us? You know she'd like to say so, and I think she does." he sings on "Back On Your Own")

Overall, "60 Years Under The Stars" is a nice reminder of what we've already known about Magic Town; great bands up that way. A very cool CD and a great way to kick off 2009.


--- One Hundred Hurricanes releases "60 Years Under The Stars" Friday @ 123 Pleasant St. with Pittsburgh's Omega Love and Morgantown's own Daniel Conway.

Clutch comes to Huntington

Although Clutch is based in Maryland, they're no strangers to local fans and venues. The band is slated to play the V Club in Huntintgon February 11th, kicking off a near show-per-day mini-tour that runs through February.

The band recently set up their own label, Weathermaker Music, and released their live DVD/CD "Full Fathom Five" in the fall of '08. That was just late last year, but it seems like a long time ago.

Even though this is a rare Wednesday night show, and tickets are $25 in advance, Clutch has too wide of a following for this show to not make the local fire marshal worry; it will be packed. Clutch will bring their side project, The Bakerton Group (which will release "El Rojo" 2.17), Alabama's Willem Maker and Portland, Oregon's Red Fang.

We wouldn't be surprised to see them in some newspaper, in an article about the band coming to town. If you're interested in pre-ordering tickets for the show, click here, or just show up on the 11th.

H-D Tri-State Music Scene showcase show comes to V Club

The Demon Beat (above) is one of the many rockin' bands that will play the Huntington Herald-Dispatch Tri-State Music Scene local music showcase show at the V Club next Saturday.

There are shows where you may be able to catch two or three cool area rock bands; not uncommon. Saturday, January 24th, at the V Club in Huntington, more than a dozen local and regional bands will play the Huntington Herald-Dispatch Tri-State Music Scene's local music showcase show. Starting around five in the afternoon and running into the wee hours, the show features some of our personal Huntington faves.

The H-D TSMS blog, up for a few months, is the brainchild of 22-year old Moorefield native and someone no stranger to covering local bands -- writer, photographer, (videographer?) and now blogger Taylor Kuykendall. Pulling his various talents together at the Dispatch, Kuykendall now has a platform to cover what he sees as the best area bands; some more established, and some you may not have heard of.

“My reason for starting the blog was to keep my music skills sharpened, but also to improve the paper based on my skill sets,” Kuykendall said over e-mail.

“Blogging…is an amazing way to throw out new bands. My only real responsibility is to expose people to the band. I don’t have to do much convincing, because I can provide sound clips where the reader can hear the band. I don’t ask them to do much, so the case is pretty simple to make. My job in any case is to bring audiences to bands that deserve it.”

In addition to studying Journalism at Marshall and serving as an intern at the paper, helping cover the local crime beat (which would keep him busy enough in Huntington), he’s now pulled off the Herculean effort of booking a killer show, with a newspaper and a bar collaborating on said show.

“When I got a job at the Herald-Dispatch, I was afraid I would be committed to hard news and features. I was at first, but they let me have more responsibility as I proved I could handle it.” We'll say.

Kuykendall sounded almost as surprised as we are that the show, which, thanks to Route 60 Music will benefit charity, came together so smoothly.

“It was much easier than I ever imagined,” he admitted. “I went to Patrick Guthrie at the V Club first. He was ecstatic. That whole scene at the V is just bubbling with love for local music. Bill Galloway and Patrick were both really supportive and helpful of the whole situation.”

“The Herald-Dispatch was very supportive. Dave [Lavender] helped a lot with suggestions on what I needed to do to go about everything. Ed Dawson, our executive editor, loved the idea. He is a big supporter of arts in the area. I basically told him what I wanted to do and he took care of everything else. The only thing I had to do was schedule and select the bands.”

Kuykendall, who had previously covered local bands as a radio show host at WMUL and in Graffiti Magazine, said his involvement with the blog came about just as smoothly, with some help. “Dave Lavender, who I think is somewhat of a journalistic celebrity around here, really took me in and helped get me into the entertainment reporting side of things.”


The bands booked to play would arguably rival the best "Loud and Local" second stages. Jeff Ellis, The Red Velvet, Attack Flamingo and Bad Employees -- a few of Huntington’s best area bands, will be joined by The Demon Beat (Shepherdstown), Extragrump (formerly fistfightwithgretchen), a new band from Huntington called Alamo Royale (aka The Stops!) and some other, maybe not-always-heard solo artists, including Red Velvet frontman Jordan Andrew Jefferson, Charleston's Benji Taylor, and Huntington's own Paul Callicoat.

It’s being able to literally showcase these acts at the show and on the blog that appeals to Kuykendall.

“Cory Jackson is one of the guys that most people haven’t heard. He’s a friend of mine that I thinks deserves a little attention, but until now he has only played a few open mic nights. A lot of the acts are established in the area, and they are going to draw a crowd, others however, are smaller groups that I think deserve just as much attention.”

Kuykendall, who admitted to dabbling on guitar, said he appreciates the passion of the bands, what it takes to perform, and the excitement they showed about the show.

“Every band booked is genuine and honest with their songwriting. Some of the groups are pure artists, others are pure rockers and a few are a good blend of the two. There is a lot of real love, talent and passion in this group…Every single one of the artists jumped at the opportunity to help out. A few wanted gas money and a few requested some free pictures from the event, but most just wanted the chance to play in front of a crowd.”

“I have played guitar a little bit and I write songs to impress people every once in a while. I am always admiring people around me who can muster the determination to create something as complex and beautiful as a good song. I would have loved to be a rock star, but I am trying to live the closest thing to it by interviewing people more successful than me.”

Kuykendall rightfully expresses excitement about his H-D blog, and seems to place it in a nice context of the area.

“Well, the blog is definitely going to be gaining steam. I am adding more frequent posts and content…With the economy down, I think it’s important to escape life every once in a while. If I can do that for a few Tri-State citizens before I move on to something else, I have succeeded, even if I never become a rock star.”


--- The H-D Tri-State Music Scene showcase show starts at 5p.m. Saturday, January 24th at the V Club in Huntington. See above flier for band info, cover is $8 at the door and $5 in advance. Click here to see about pre-ordering tickets. Demon Beat pic by Melissa Rogers

Cool new Magic Town CDs

A few Morgantown area bands are set to release new CDs in the early parts of 2009, and we're lookin' forward to 'em. Roundup? WHOOPESSH!

One Hundred Hurricanes will release their 15-song debut effort “60 Years Under The Stars” Friday, January 30th at 123 Pleasant Street in Morgantown. You can hear some recently uploaded tracks off the new CD on their MySpace profile. The band, with catchy, quirky retro-rock numbers like the opener on the CD, "Duke Hat," may most immediately remind you of The Strokes, maybe. "Be That Way" may evoke At The Drive-In for some reason. The nicely packaged CD was recorded at Mark Poole's Zone 8 Studios, where a lot of bands from up that way seem to go, with impressive results. Check the band out.


West By God will release their new CD "For Glory or for Flames" February 7th at 123. The band recorded the CD at Zone 8 back in August '08, and is about to get 'em in the mail last we heard. We got hooked up with their first EP and would definitely look forward to hearing the sophomore effort from the Clutch-esque five-piece.

Fairmont/Morgantown area punk band DangerKat is set to release "Dangerkat Collection I: The Search for the Yeti," recorded, yes, at Zone 8 studios, very very soon from what it sounds like on their MySpace blog. Hey, we like punk rock!

And we also hear that our good friends in Thred will be releasing something called “Quadbanger” in the near term future. At least that’s what Thred's artistic genius Brian Pickens, who kindly (and freely) designed the WVRockscene page header you see above, told us.

Look for these CDs soon and look for us to maybe put something together on any combination of these bands and their recording efforts.

Mark Bates' new band Lonely Town

L-R: Frank Miller, Aaron Fisher, Jonathan Wood, Bill Dean and Mark Bates of Lonely Town

We just got word about a new Charleston-area five-piece band called Lonely Town. Fronted by the hugely talented Mark Bates (of Mark Bates and the Vacancies) and featuring, among others, Aaron Fisher of 101 Productions on drums, the band is set to play a gig at The Blue Parrot Saturday night.

Bates told us over e-mail that the band has just finished work on their debut CD in Athens, Georgia, and it will be set for release in the very near-term future. We got to catch Bates and his Vacancies at the Glass back in like February, and judging by their eponymous track "Lonely Town" on their MySpace profile, Lonely Town should be quite rockin' as well.

Take a second to listen to the tunes, and maybe catch 'em out somewhere around here if you can. It's great to write about a cool new band here in Charleston. Check 'em out.

New Larry Keel & Natural Bridge CD

The new Larry Keel & Natural Bridge CD “Backwoods” -- produced by Keller Williams, whom you may have already heard of in his own right, or, collaborating with Keel and crew on the “Keller & The Keels” CD “Grass” -- is now available. Seriously, we’d heard someone call pot “grass” recently and we literally almost died laughing.

“Grass” is worth picking up though; we got one a lifetime ago when Keel came to The Sound Factory; we actually met up with him and his band at the show, and he was quite a cool and accomodating customer. Remember shows at The Sound Factory? And if yer a fan of the flatpicking master, swing by his MySpace or larrykeel.com and check it out.

WVRockscene's top 10 songs of 2008

10 "Trainwreck" by The Demon Beat

9 "Rocketship" by Attack Flamingo

8 "Useless" by The Red Velvet

7 "Out Of Nowhere" by The Concept

6 "Not This Time" by The Emergency

5 "Kill Our Idols" by '85 Flood

4 "Stand Up And Be Counted" by Bud Carroll and The Southern Souls

3 "Everything Changes" by Sarasota

2 "Grandpa's Place" by Jeff Ellis

1 "Your Song" by The Dig-Its

Marinelli Does Morgantown

J Marinelli returns to Morgantown to help close out 2008 with holiday shows at 213 Green Street Saturday and a New Year's Eve show at 123 Pleasant Street. It's been only a few months since he and his angry one-man band left Magic Town for Lexington, Kentucky. Since then, he's returned for the 123 anniversary show and was honored by a whole slew of Morgantown musicians on the "Morgantown Does Marinelli" compilation.

Marinelli said over e-mail that he's settled in and Lexington is treating him well. "I'm teaching English at the University of Kentucky, and playing some good shows. Kind of like what I did in Morgantown, but with different scenery. Plus, one thing I noticed about Lexington (and most of Kentucky, for that matter) is that, like Canada, everyone is very, very kind."

For the most part, Marinelli said he and his one-man act have been well-received at Lexington-area shows. "It has varied, but for the most part people -- especially other musicians -- have been very kind and enthusiastic."

When asked about "the Lexington scene" and any cool bands and venues, Marinelli dropped more names than we could shorten, so we reposted it below:

Venues:
"The Dame (which is essentially Lexington's 123 Pleasant Street), Cultural Preservation Research (a DIY spot that has shows five or six nights out of the week), Lower 48 (a new basement club), Al's Bar (is kind of like a pub -- very good food as well -- which focuses more on roots music like alt-country, bluegrass, and rockabilly), and Brooklyn Pizza (a pizza joint upstairs from Lower 48 that has all-ages punk shows -- awesome). There are also house shows on a regular basis."

Bands:
"Apples In Stereo (who more or less live in Lexington now, which is awesome because they've been a Marinelli favorite for more than a decade now), Tight Leather, Very Emergency, Infected, The Loaded Nuns, Idaho, Alaska, The Teenagers Responsible, Attempt, Hair Police, All-American Werewolves, Cadaver In Drag, Big Fresh, Killer Meteor, and many many more... all awesome."

"There's also a VERY strong hip-hop scene: Cunninglinguists (you might want to check on the spelling of that), Devine Cerama, JustMe, etc."

"I should also mention WRFL (88.1 -- www.wrfl.fm), Radio Free Lexington -- a radio station that is on par with East Orange, New Jersey's legendary WFMU. And I'm not just saying that because they put "Keep It Fake" into rotation either."

"Lastly, there are some great record stores as well: the amazing CD Central (ask the guys in Fox Japan about that place), POPS Resale (used everything -- miles of vinyl), and The Album (all hip-hop, very underground)."

Marinelli will definitely be staying busy over the holidays, as he is set for a steady string of important rock-related dates. Saturday is the show at Green St. with Slate Dump and Rifle Camp; Sunday, he travels to D.C. for a show at The Black Cat with Stewart Lupton and George Karos (Marinelli was recently favorably blurbed in the Washington Post); Monday, he'll head into Paul Cogle's Echoes recording studio in Falling Waters (listed at 9 a.m. sharp on his MySpace page) to re-record "Pre-Emptive Skankery," the follow-up to "Keep It Fake."

"I've recorded two different versions of that record and I'm satisfied with neither of them...We'll see if the third time truly is a charm." We'll also note real fast here that the "Stone Age Kicks, Volume I" is available now on cassette, and Marinelli said that Volume II will be out next year.

Later Monday night he'll rock The Blue Moon Cafe in Shepherdstown with The Bloody Nines, and will head back to Morgantown, take Tuesday off, most likely, and play the 123 NYE show Wednesday night with One Hundred Hurricanes and Lake and Ocean.

Marinelli said he was looking forward to seeing people at the shows and during the holidays, and admitted that he was flattered that everyone had came together on the "Morgantown Does Marinelli" compilation.

"Being presented with that collection truly was my "George Bailey Moment." If you don't know what I'm talking about then you should probably watch more TV around this time of year."


--- photo: Andy Pickens

WVRockscene's top 10 CDs of 2008

10 Bud Carroll and the Southern Souls (EP)

This super-solid seven-song debut effort is a nice introduction to one of the best guitar players around, and now that the band has added Jon Cavendish on piano/organ, the Black Crowes-esque sound you hear on songs like the reggae-flavored "Stand Up And Be Counted" will match up with what you see with the live act. "Hell Raisin' Kind," "Time Don't Wait Around," and "I Don't Believe You" are the more rockin' tracks; "It's Been A Minute" shows the softer side of the former American Minor member. Now, with his own band, Carroll looks to develop his own following, which he and the band have been doing quite nicely. Maybe it's the solos.

9 "Know It All" by The Dig-Its

We actually avoided visiting this band's MySpace profile when they started uploading the new tunes back in, like, March, before we got the CD. We're glad we waited, so as not to spoil the surprise to the follow-up to their eponymous "Green CD" that we picked up what seems like a lifetime ago. "Better Days" and "Goddamn Shame" hew close to The Dig-Its timeless version or punk and/or rock; "Summer Days" and "Wrong Way" are more recent-sounding incarnations of punk, "Mama Tried" approaches rockabilly, and "Your Song" -- well, it's one of our favorite songs of the year, honestly. We're still trying to get the opening riffs of it as a ringtone for the cellphone we haven't bought yet. The band may have a different singer these days, but they're still one of our faves.

8 "The Empire Penguin Strikes Back" by The Concept

Their first stab at a CD was, in their own words, not that great an idea. With this seven-song effort, our friends in The Concept prove that they can kick out the jams on CD just like they do live. Newer songs like "Ye To The 10th Degree" and "Out Of Nowhere" have Team THC branching out stylistically, maybe. You also get some songs you may have heard if you've been writing "The Concept" on your eyelids, batting your eyes at the band, like "That's The One," "Not The Only" and their growl-core version of Tom Petty's "Learning To Fly." The CD closes with the instrumental "Ben's Song," showing that they can do stuff besides write songs about guitar picks falling into some awesome tasting artificial fruit drink. Oh yeah.

As much as we love this band, they are at a bit of a disadvantage in the countdown here 'cuz we're so familiar with 'em; if we'd have got this CD in the mail, not having any clue about who these guys are, we'd have peed our pants.

7 The Emergency (EP)

The third installment in, as we call it, "The Trilogy" finds this Magic Town trio finally reaching the end of its run. This superbly produced nine-song effort, however, has all the catchy Brit-rock you've come to know and love, and is a solid follow-up to "Doo-Lang Doo-Lang" and their first CD, "How Can You Move?" Richly layered songs, with the dynamic duo of frontman Rob Wehrle and bassist Aaron Crothers setting the band apart. "Not This Time" nicely encapsulates the band's two-minute pop side, "Soaking Up The Scene" is the Brit-rock side, and the bittersweet "Bring On The Good Times" is an apt way to close up shop. Seriously, we've loved all the CDs from these guys.

6 "No Star Could Be As Large" by Attack Flamingo

So these guys e-mail us one day and are all like "Check out our CD and stuff!" -- we're paraphrasing, but we're glad we took Attack Flamingo's advice. Where the Blues Brothers were on a mission from god, Attack Flamingo is on a mission to god, with all their well-written, catchy, synth-based space rock.

"Rocketship" and "Burning" are two standout tracks; but although Attack Flamingo relies heavily on the synth, we hesitate to call them an electronic band, because the songs are well-written, catchy, and powerful. This CD takes the cake for surprise hit of 2008 for us. There is no award for "Surprise Hit of 2008" by the way, it's just something we made up cause it's true. This band has a sound and style that we thought the band below at #5 may have approached on their full-length debut.

5 "Lights Won't Go Out" by The Red Velvet

This full-length debut effort by this Huntington-based four-piece is one of the more solid CDs we've got all year. Between releasing their first demo and this one, they've thrown in re-recorded versions of a few songs, incorporated some of what guitarist Russ Fox seemed to have in his Sinks Of Gandy outfit, and came up with a few great new songs like "Chasing The Sun," "Above The Clouds," the title track, and the more straight forward rock of songs like "Today" and "Useless." The Red Velvet's songs are beautiful, atmospheric, catchy, and with the triple threat vocal attack of frontman Jordan Andrew Jefferson, Fox, and their drummer, Jonathan Jefferson, you don't know what to expect next, which is good.

4 "They Will Surface" by Hyatari

Huntington's Hyatari is way more drone than you, and this recently released six-song, sixty minute effort proves it. From orchestrations like the 15-minute "Abyssal Plain" to the more pretty melodic changes of "Prolonged Exposure," Chris Tackett, Brett Fuller, and Mac Walker remind you that sometimes, words can get in the way. The low, slow, gut-pummeling low end and the atmospherics provided by guitar and synth give the entire effort a kind of elemental feel. Think of the best Nine Inch Nails instrumental stuff and you may not be too far off; put some headphones on and "drone" out if you're into this kind of sound.

3 Sarasota

This CD reminds us of our favorite all-time punk records. Ten songs, nine originals, and all punk rock, this coherent self-titled effort and Sarasota's version of punk rock evokes Face To Face, maybe. Standout songs are the hopeful "Everything Changes" and "Woe Say Canseco," with a chrous of just one big "WHOAH" on it.

Frontman Mike Schritter belts out powerful, emotive vocals with lyrics that read like they're straight out of his personal diary; while keeping his version of punk downright distressed, with all the despair and self-destruction, there's a maturity and hope underlying it all. From "All We Know" through "Boy You Never Learn," "By The Wayside" to "Cigarettes And Alcohol," "Kerosene" and the acoustic closer "Can't Remember To Forget," this CD is easily one of our favorites of 2008. Thanks to Dave of The Concept for hooking us up with it for free!

2 "Stone Age Kicks Vol. I & II" by J. Marinelli

Honestly no other CD spent more time in the WVRockscene stereo than this 16-song tribute by Marinelli to some of his favorite artists. Marinelli went back and added songs by artists ranging from Woody Guthrie and Billy Bragg to The Pixies, to what was Volume I, a cassette only release.

Upon downloading the CD and promptly burning it onto CD, we were duly blasted with Marinelli's one-man roots punk act on Beat Happening's "The 'This Many Boyfriends' Club" but, the surprising, great thing to hear was Marinelli's not-so-overdriven side; he drops his electric caveman guitar and picks up a banjo and harmonica on killer covers of "Head On" and "Wave of Mutilation" by The Pixies, the heartbreaking Neil Young song "Winterlong" and the bitter Rolling Stones track "Dead Flowers" has the now Lexington, Ky. resident belting out the lyrics, with no distortion or anything like that. "Ride A White Swan" has Marinelli covering T. Rex, leading his own old-timey tent revival, and he commandeth ye to shake it.

But, you still get the cantankerous, overdriven Marinelli style of rock you've come to know and love off "Pity The Party" and "Keep It Fake" -- his versions of Daniel Johnston's "Grievances," and "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" will definitely wake up the neighbors.

Dylan's "Positively 4th Street" and Woody Guthrie's "Pretty Boy Floyd" are two standout tracks, and we've come to like Marinelli's overdriven, understated cover of "Hey Whoopy Cat" by The Emergency more than when we first heard it, honestly. If you're known by the company you keep, in the lyrics of the cover songs he sings, Marinelli says a lot about himself. A great CD to get introduced to Marinelli's not-so-angry one-man band. You know you'll never get that cassette.

1 "Covering The Distance" by Jeff Ellis

Ellis follows up on last year's epic "A Front Seat For The End Of The World" with this solid 12-song effort. Where "AFSFTEOW" was harder in parts, "Distance" has more of a rockin' acoustic-based alt-country and bluegrass sound, but layered with a big sound, and with Bud Carroll on lead and his Southern Souls backing up Ellis among other guest musicians, Ellis proves why so many people have come to dig his music.

Songs like "I'm Not Leaving This Time," the title track, and "Goodnight Capital City" have the more well-rounded brand of Wilco rock; "West Virginia Hills," "The Men In Sago Mine" and the uber-catchy "Grandpa's Place" drop the bluegrass on ya, and our favorite, "Something Bad's Gonna Happen" portends bad things, the only real "downer" on the upbeat, mature CD.

Just like on "Front Seat" Ellis' songs feature Carroll's soaring solos, and Ellis' longtime friend and former Guinness Clarke's Wine bandmate Phil James on piano and organ give the songs depth and textures you don't hear in a lot of bands.

Between hearing Ellis play most of the songs at a solo acoustic show at Taylor Books back in May, hearing the advance copy, and now the final, mastered version, it's clear to us how talented he is, and this CD just helps reinforce it.

"Covering The Distance" -- Ellis' third solo release, is not only an outstanding followup, it cements the 27-year old Marshall student and Army reserve member as having the top two local CDs over the past two years, in our opinion, and that ain't bad.