CD Review: "Exit Anthem"

CD: Exit Anthem
ARTIST: Attack Flamingo

Let’s be honest; a large portion of what are known as mainstream Christian rock bands do not in fact actually rock. The phrase “Christian rock” has seemed like an oxymoron for a long time. And while, yeah we don’t want to generalize an entire genre from what we’ve heard on 93 K-Love, the bands? God awful.

And while their Christian faith is the driving force behind the music, Attack Flamingo really does rock.

On their self-produced sophomore CD Exit Anthem, the Huntington-based electro-rockers, after the epic intergalactic search for God on their debut No Star Could Be As Large, return to earth and is lied to, religiously (and politically?) persecuted by some sort of total tyranny, and prepares to leave all over again.

But not before they make their own anti-authoritarian manifesto.

You can judge this CD by its killer Stalinesque cover art; there are five jets for five dudes and apparently they’re escaping some sort of Orwellian prison state, with dreams of infinite skies. Maybe that’s what it means.

While their Christian faith inspires them to make music, the lyrics don’t at all come across as proselytizing or preachy; listening to the debut, you didn’t even really pull together the overarching religious theme until the end. While the lyrics on Exit Anthem have more up front religious undertones, it’s nothing that turns you off about the band, and maybe we notice it more because we know it’s there this time.

We should preface this review by saying No Star was probably the surprise hit of 2008 for us. Not really having heard too much about the band, synth guy Joseph Spurgeon hooked us up with the CD through the mail, and we got on that elevator to space. The CD is still in the regular rotation in the WVRockscene home stereo -- the computer.

After the space rock and interstellar theme of No Star, musically, Exit Anthem keeps Attack Flamingo’s searing version of electronica, simultaneously incorporating more earthy tones -- more acoustic guitar, and mandolins, violins, and even a banjo. Nice touch.

On the whole the band (Sean Knisely: guitar/vocals; Marty Brown: guitar; Spurgeon: synth; Patrick Stanley: bass; Sam Hodge: drums/electronics) sounds like Muse, with Billy Corgan singing.

“As The Dog Returns To Its Vomit,” “Counterfeit” and “Nothing” highlight the band’s acoustic-driven yet still synth-soaked sound, “A Mask For Make Believe” sounds entirely electronic, and the rest is hard rockin’ electronica with lush, spacy atmospherics and awesome solos.

“Thomas,” appropriately enough fits into the latter category, kicks off the CD, wasting no time jumping right into the same kind of space rock that No Star left off with, tying the two releases together in sound.

A nice kind of Dark Side of the Moon sounding slow jam breaks the song in half, and abruptly jumps back into fat-synth, high-energy rock.

Like on No Star, one thing that jumps out at you listening to the songs; while AF is a band with heavy synth flavor, the catchy, guitar-driven songs are arranged so soundly that they would rock without the synth.

“Y/our Kingdom/Cosmos,” if we had to pick a few, is one of the standout rock songs on Exit Anthem. Knisely opens with a cool lo-fi effect on the vocals: “We hold the hope of the future/while we burn it down/we’re all temporary now…Down with our pride and our lies, now bring our empire down.”

He sings on the chorus:

“Now it resounds/and to save our life we’ve got to lay it down/‘cause there is no other way to save it now/‘cause the ground and the kingdoms and the cosmos pass away/but you will stay the same”

And shouts “down with our pride and down with our empire,” over and over, with nice, panned, schizophrenic backing vocals. The schizo backing vocals seemingly tying in with the mind-body, spiritual duality conflict thing Knisely finds himself in.

Nice, spacy moog sounding synth and blips permeate, and a nice, fat, bouncy bassline help drive the song, more killer solos. The band nails the loud-quiet-loud dynamic, as the song builds and descends throughout. They’ve got the rock thing down.

The acoustic opening, with sample drums panned side to side on the comparatively mellow yet still catchy “As The Dog Returns To Its Vomit” evokes Radiohead, with Knisely singing in softer, stripped down fashion. With the mandolin, this song helps show the band’s developing range, or at least promising directions they’ll take.

“Counterfeit” opens with delicate, dreamy acoustic and soft singing from Knisely about lies of a kind of spiritual substitute, as the song picks up the driving synth sound and distorted electronic drum hits.

The song cuts into space hum underneath a George H.W. Bush sample, of him famously name-dropping the New World Order in speeches, and promptly builds into a cacophony of LFO-like noise and other inaudible samples (something about a “Federal Bank”) overtop the horns, marching drums and crashing cymbals of a now ominous sounding “Star-Spangled Banner,” this is what AF needs to develop; a wild, sample-based side, and now we see where they’re going with the whole persecution thing, not just spiritual, but maybe political. There’s definitely a vision here.

A marching, machine-gun snare opens “The Militaristic Materialist” before giving way to a swinging, trippy, almost reggae-sounding slow jam, building into hard rocking chorus.

“Everyone sold out to build up a name/Tryin’ to be so great/You wanna be so great…All materials fall apart just the same/No they cannot stay/All the people, they break your heart, it’s a game/Is there a better way?”

“Superego” is straight ahead, catchy guitar rock, and at 2:30 min is probably the shortest song on the CD, yet probably most rockin’.

The band picks up its electronica feel on the break-out chorus, with Knisely singing “I can’t climb, I can’t fly to you/But I can bow and be found by you” as he fights his super-sized pride.

The band shows its entirely electronic feel on “A Mask For Make Believe,” with its dance/house-type sound. With Hodge (aka DJ Sir-Boy) Attack Flamingo can remix its own songs, or tweak certain parts of its sound. Together for the first time with the band as they recorded this time, Hodge shows his input and value to the band on this seven-minute long track, as Knisely sings of hiding hearts, love, and escape.

“I see you falling down…You’re running away but you still feel the same/Open your eyes to the infinite skies”

“Nothing” is a song that we’d heard a rough mix for back in August; acoustic guitar-driven with washy keys, and dreamy NIN-sounding synth it picks up about half way through, then strips everything back into the acoustic outro. A great song, with more visions of infinite skies.

“Remind These Wings of Infinite Skies” is a great song; reminds you of the end of No Star; awesome solos, soaring to shredding, seemingly the crescendo of the entire CD, sonically and lyrically.

Knisely sings on the chorus:

“I can feel it from miles away/Coming over the face of yesterday
My savior can fly me away/Redeeming me the dream you placed in me”

The title track closes the CD in outer space rock opera fashion, AF’s members shouting “Goodbye” over top whispers of “Climb.”

Exit Anthem is an obvious step up for these guys in all aspects. With the awesome cover art and interweaving message of strength through faith, the CD isn’t just a great record, it’s one of those rare instances where a band’s message actually ties in with and reinforces the lofty or ambitious imagery and/or art.

When we first heard about the propaganda theme we were aroused, but skeptical they could back this up with what was in their music; they did big time on a whole new concept CD.

Kudos to Knisely for recording the whole thing in-house quite literally, in his bedroom. The production befits the band’s huge sound and layered atmospherics. Some bands just can’t pull off an electronic rock hybrid sound, these guys do seamlessly. Listen to their music with headphones to get the full effect of their sound.

If we know anything, Attack Flamingo is a great example of a “Christian band” that could be a crossover hit; gain mainstream appeal, maybe -- they’ve gained a lot of local fans who wouldn’t necessarily be called hardcore fans of Christian rock. Like us here.

Attack Flamingo, with Exit Anthem and No Star, really make the jerks who run this site question themselves for judging an entire genre on one radio station. We didn’t hate those Christian bands because we’re intolerant bigots; we hated them because they sucked!

Attack Flamingo rocks so hard, it doesn’t matter what they believe, by the time you find yourself asking ‘This is a Christian band?’ you’re a fan. Now, wave goodbye to them.

--- Attack Flamingo releases Exit Anthem Friday 4.30 at Shamrock's Irish Pub in Huntington with opening act Universes.

Related: H-D article on Attack Flamingo

mp3: “Y/our Kingdom/Cosmos” by Attack Flamingo


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Straight Outta Roanoke, It's Joey Fuckup

You loved him on Whiskey & Waterbeds, got burned on his Hayride to Hell, and laughed and puked at the same time hearing his Trailer Park Free Clinic Power Hour.

Now, Joey Camp wants to talk to you about a serious subject, his new Cheap Beer & BBQ Radio podcast.

If you go around telling people you're "Waaaay more Country" than they are, or, just wanna hear more "50's rockabilly, classic country, 60's garage, a dash of surf, and a smack of vintage bluegrass," as Joey says on the site, you'll wanna swing by.

In episode number one, Joey finds out just how much fun he can have sober, and the answer is, apparently, not that much. But even if he's not drinking, or grilling up who knows what, he still has the passion for playing killer tunes, and hopefully that's something he never has to go into rehab for.

But, don't take Tucker McElroy's word for it, swing by and check out the pilot episode, or add Cheap Beer & BBQ on MySpace.

Rising stars: Retro rock trio to make stop at Huntington's V Club

The Shepherdstown, W.Va.-based band The Demon Beat will perform at 10 p.m. Saturday, April 24 at the V Club in Huntington.

Reposted from The Huntington Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON -- No two towns in West Virginia seem farther apart than Shepherdstown and Huntington. For The Demon Beat, Baltimore and D.C. are just a stone’s throw away from their hometown.

Evoking The Who, with its loud, distorted, catchy, retro-garage rock style, front man Adam Meisterhans’ soulful, guttural, lovelorn wailing, and a handful of CDs released to critical acclaim near and far, no band in West Virginia has seen its star rise as fast as this trio has over the past two or three years.

And, hey, they love playing Huntington, and return for a show at the V Club on April 24, with their friend Bud Carroll. And compared to where they’ve been recently, the drive to Huntington isn’t so bad.

The band (Adam Meisterhans: guitar, vocals; Tucker Riggleman: bass; Jordan Hudkins: drums) recently went to Austin, Texas for shows at the uber-fest South by Southwest.

“It was pretty cool,” Meisterhans said. “It gets a little annoying with all the self-important a--holes walking around, but I saw J. Mascis, which was awesome.”

For most up and coming bands, playing SXSW would be huge, and for them, it was, but, they’re taking it in stride.

“I think we’re all pretty level headed and modest about it,” Riggleman said. “It’s just like anything else: You have to work for it. We’ve put in the work and we’ve seen a little bit of a result. That’s all you can ask for.”

They’ve been making moves on their own, focusing on the music one show at a time, whether it’s Austin, New York City, or Lancaster, Pa. Meisterhans, when asked to pin down reasons for the band’s ascension and why people love their version of rock and roll, had a few ideas.

“I think there are a fair number of people interested in going back to some of the older artists and digging into where this comes from,” he said. “For some people it’s genuine and for others it just seems fashionable to wear a Zeppelin t-shirt. I think all that has a little to do with the type of people that get into what we do, but I think the touring has just as much to do with it. I think they both coincide with the attitude and work ethic we have towards music.”

Together for about five years, The Demon Beat embodies the do-it-yourself rock n’ roll work ethic; they record in Adam’s basement, Jordan handles CD artwork, and they release the music on Tucker’s label, Big Bullet Records.

They put the music first, and don’t worry about labels, for a few reasons.

“We can do whatever we want and don’t have to answer to anyone,” Meisterhans said bluntly.

“We don’t have to give anyone any money,” Riggleman added.

“At this point, the music industry is a sinking ship,” Meisterhans added. “So it seems more prudent to do your own thing and let the chips fall where they will.”

Meisterhans said that, whether or not they get a new CD out this year, where the praise comes from or where they play, making the music and writing the songs are what’s important for him.

“It’s cool when people like what you do, but I view it artistically and if you’re not loving what you do and trying to make it better in every way, then any acclaim is really just people talking,” he said. “I’m going to be in my room either way, playing along to Howlin’ Wolf records and trying to write as well as Pete Townshend, so people can either pay attention or not. It’s not going to make any difference to me.”

One person whose opinion does matter to Meisterhans is that of Huntington’s Bud Carroll, whom he called “a kindred spirit” in rock and “super generous” with all else.

“As far as guitar players go, I’ve yet to know or see anyone play who could match his intensity, tone, or ability to switch between styles, and lead a band,” he said. “Pretty unbelievable. He and I share nerd-dom about fuzz pedals, recording techniques and cool guitarists. I think he’s had a positive impact on my perspective about playing and recording.”

And as far as the drive to Huntington, Riggleman said that the response they get makes it all worth while.

“It continually blows my mind how well we are received in Huntington,” he said. “We have great relationships with both Shamrock’s and the V Club, and try to alternate our shows between the venues. Last time we played Shamrock’s the PA breaker blew so the vocals weren’t coming through and we couldn’t even tell because of folks singing along. Great town; people love to party there.”

If you go
Who: The Demon Beat, Bud Carroll Band and Lake and Ocean
Where: The V Club, 741 6th Ave., Huntington; 304-781-0680
When: 10 p.m. Saturday, April 24
Cost: $5 cover

Photo: Brian Scott

Strap-on, Full Boner Fun 4.23 @ The Sound Factory

We don't get any money for promoting shows at The Sound Factory, but in recent months they've been booking more and more rocking Magic Town bands, and we take it upon ourselves here to help plug the shows.

It's a heavy burden to bear.

If you haven't yet caught Lake and Ocean or Thick as Thieves, or, are just looking for a full boner (you missed Harrisonburg, Va. trio Elephant Child 2.12) you'll want to swing by the boulevard this Friday night.

There, as you can clearly see from the conveniently placed, fun, informative flyer above, you'll be able to do all of the above.

So, do what Eddie Speed says; arrive on time, get yer tiaras strapped on tight, maybe pick up a copy of Lake and Ocean's CD "Pull" if they have 'em, and get ready for a hot time in the old town.

CD Review: "The Dreadful Horoscope"

CD: The Dreadful Horoscope
ARTIST: The Dreadful Horoscope

We’ve got like a half dozen new CDs in the past month or so, and this eponymous 10-song debut from Morgantown’s Dreadful Horoscope, just kind of fell into our lap. We’d been on their MySpace page a few times to link ‘em to shows, but hadn’t paid too much attention to their overall sound. Released on Tucker Riggleman’s Big Bullet Records, we had a feeling it would be worth a listen, though, and are glad we gave it a spin.

Sounding like Frank Black and/or Shannon Hoon singing on old Beck CDs, Jacob Matz and crew display a nice alt-folk, sometimes nu-grass bent, sans drums, with an original, trippy ambience.

The songs on the CD are not always hard-charging or complex, (in contrast to Matz’ vocal delivery) but with the layering of multiple instruments (synth and mandolin), they are ambitious, but not pretentious. Matz, on most of the songs, simply strums along on an acoustic, allowing the rich, experimental, sonic textures and ethereal backing vocals to sweeten his songs.

Lyrically, Matz covers love, hate, freedom, fear and power in the songs; a kind of radical environmentalism pops up, appropriately enough for the almost tree-hugging, hippie-type sound.

“The Forest” is some sprightly sounding nu-grass; the mandolin is always fun to hear, and on the songs, it fits right in. Matz, hiding in the trees, finds freedom in the woods.

“Fairly Balanced Mind Clean” has cool wind effects over deep, Eastern sounding strings and mandolin, with Matz, as he often does on the songs, railing against a TV-induced “trance-like fiction” and overall brainwashing of the masses. Spooky, intricate mandolin runs provided by John Morgan (who recorded and mixed the CD) add to the ambience.

In addition to “The Forest,” “Remote Controlled Rapture” is one of our favorites. Catchy acoustic opening gives way to a frenetic, layered distortion, and one of the only times on the CD you hear something approaching a kick drum. Sounds like something off Bad Music for Bad People; a nice snapshot of Matz’ bipolar approach to tone on the entire CD, in one song.

“Wild Noise” is two minutes worth of samples, warm synth and pulsing, miscellaneous noise over an anti-totalitarian rant about secret police and FBI agents. This is the kind of thing that we’d want to hear more of; it really shows Matz’ sight, vision, and creativity -- it would be great to see him do more of this.

“Thoughts to Ignore” floats in on the rustling, spooky samples from “Wild Noise” over acoustic, sax, and eerie pitch-shifted backing vocals, with Matz’ most appropriate line on the CD, maybe: “I'm trying to find a cure for the war in my mind.” So, Jacob Matz, indeed, there is a war on for your mind, an info war, maybe.

“Hands of Greed” is an anti-mountaintop removal polemic over ambling, dirty blues, even more appropriate to hear after what happened in Raleigh County a few weeks ago. Metz sings:

“Buy off all the justices, pay off all the congressmen, get in bed with the governor, and a cut for every senator...The earth weeps at the hands of greed. Business booms, rivers bleed.”

More dreamy soundscapes and Gaia-type lyrics on “Newborn, Culture Entranced,” (“Where man is nothing, and loving is fun,”) -- The Dreadful Horoscope may indeed be an appropriate band name, as nuclear meltdowns ruin the planet.

“I Walk Towards The River” closes the CD nicely with Matz solo on acoustic, finding salvation in a deer carcass, swimming to the middle of the river for peace of mind.

Here would be a good place to give kudos to Morgan (for his musicianship and production on the CD) and Morgantown’s Paul Vallette (Squirrel Sound) for mastering; nice job capturing not only the sound, but Matz’ vocal range -- soft to shrieking, echo-laden where appropriate.

This is a way better CD than we expected it to be; half sunny day in the forest, half bad acid trip in front of TV at night. At a time when listening to an entire CD has seemingly gone the way of the evening paper, Matz’ crazy, Tim Burton-like dystopia is a place we’d want to come back and visit, surprisingly enough.

We seriously wish Matz the best in the battle for his own sanity (in this day and age maybe it is the sane people who actually go crazy) and look forward to seeing where his vision takes him, and us as listeners, next.

mp3: “Remote Controlled Rapture” by The Dreadful Horoscope

Event/music reminder: Wizards of Ghetto Mountain

Just a quick reminder: the Huntington doom band Wizards of Ghetto Mountain just uploaded some rough demos onto their MySpace page, and have confirmed some studio time with Steve Albini in Chicago this July to record their debut. You read that right.

The Wizards will make up the cancelled Weedeater show from early February May 7 (as you can clearly see on Jimbo Valentine's flyer above), and look for more on these Ghetto dudes soon.

Related: our chat with the Wizards from January

Enter the Softcore: Mike Andrick's Soft Rock Renegade

Hands off the monitors!!! Mike Andrick's Soft Rock Renegade site captures a bygone era...

For some reason we’ve had a recent affection for throwback, roll back the clock type pages for area bands that may have preceded the world wide internet revolution. And, we love coming across cool West Virginia related sites, blogs, bands and books.

Mike Andrick’s Soft Rock Renegade blogspot site is a nice combination of these variables, with an emphasis on WV-related bands. Andrick has a ton of killer content, with a lot of band content from years gone by, from user submitted footage, and CDs he’s made available for download.

Just quickly scanning the posts, you can:
*See footage of KTB and Clutch circa 1997
*Download Chum’s 1994 cassettes Postblisstheory and God Given
*Watch the Butthole Surfers play Magic Town waaay back in 1985 (talk about a time machine)
*Download the entire EMC CD from The Emergency! Their last? Who knows, but it looks like someone had the great idea to make entire CDs downloadable -- and we mean it: GREAT IDEA!!! Will he make How Can You Move? (our personal favorite -- hear “Morning Announcements”) and Doo-Lang Doo-Lang available? You know you want him to. Each of these are CDs that would still be in the WVRockscene home stereo rotation, if we had a home stereo. Oh, this just in, we scrolled down, not only can you download the aforementioned CDs, you can catch footage of The Emergency too! This is the post you wanna check out if you do not know which song is which off of Doo-Lang Doo-Lang.
*There’s even footage of Common Grounds coffee house in Charleston you can check out -- remember that place?

There’s also super neat WV-related books and documentaries you can check out (Denise Giardina checks in) and oh yeah, J Marinelli makes an appearance (as he is seemingly apt to do) as a Dirty Poncho download is tucked away on there, too. Talk about getting awesome.

If you’re sitting on old footage or think you’ve got something cool Andrick could use, holler at him at his email: srrblog@gmail.com. Kudos are indeed deserved to him for setting this up; we’ll be keeping tabs on it here.

photo: Bob Williams

Morgantown Rock Scene

You don't have to paste pics of yer favorite one-man band together to have yer pics posted on Andy & Brian Pickens' Morgantown music group on flikr...

If you're out and about up Magic Town way, catching any number of cool acts, like, say The Hackensaw Boys tonite at 123 Pleasant Street, and you happen to have a camera, you too can be there to document the event by snapping band pics for the Morgantown music flikr group.

Like Brian, you may be able to snap a cool pic of Staggering Cardoons frontman Chris Herrington (with beer) at their recent CD release show:

Like Andy, who's taken tons of awesome pics, you may catch Lake & Ocean (below) out, and catch 'em with all these cool, blurred lighting effects:

But it's not just Andy and Brian out there at the show; there are more than a few contributors to the Magic Town music flikr group. If you want to be part of the scene and submit pics to the group, these dudes are super cool and now there's a rockin' place to post & host 'em.

Marinelli panorama: Andy Pickens

CD Review: "My Bloodless Wife"

CD: My Bloodless Wife
ARTIST: It's Birds

When it comes to evaluating art -- music, film, messed up barbecue pits -- it’s been argued that a piece can and should stand on its own; that comparing, say, a new CD to previous works can be largely irrelevant. That’s good for us, because we’re starting fresh with It’s Birds recently released nine-song sophomore CD My Bloodless Wife.

The Morgantown-based math rockers follow up 2007’s Horses Love Me Yes I Am (which we didn’t hear) with more confounding time signatures, chord progressions that sound like M.C. Escher staircases look, and lyrical absurdity -- just look at the song titles.

The band (Brian Spragg: guitar/vocals; Andrew Slater: bass/vocals; George Zatezalo: guitar; and Jason Birch: drums), influenced by the likes of King Crimson, Fugazi, and Dismemberment Plan, sucks it all in and spits it out as their own unique version of version of post-punk, prog-rock or, whatever they want to call it, “hard math,” maybe. Fat, punchy bass walks underneath the weird time changes and riffs in the verses, leading to frenetic, hook-filled, heavy chorus and jammed out bridge parts, displaying a quirky, experimental bent throughout.

“Spy Gear Website” kicks off the CD with ethereal, dirty, hard stomping riffs over what sounds like morse code, with lyrics about sentimental, half-eaten Twix bars, and spying on a chick with binoculars bought on a spy gear website. Those can get expensive.

The dreamy, minute-long song fragment/intro part “We Want and Want to Have Our Cakes” sounds like an unfinished thought. “Gina Lollobrigida” has quirky, dreamy noodling verse parts with heavy, kicked out retro rock sounding jams; a song about Gina, and something involving a doctor:

“The right will be the one I let go/Don’t give me time to change my mind, so/Let’s call the doctor let’s get this done/You sure you’ll want me more with just one?”

The standout track, “The AIDS and the Bees” has a marching post-punk sound that reminds us of a song off that At the Drive-In we had like 10 years ago, with cool lo-fi guitar breaks and blips, instant rock is had.

“I’m in Love with Warren Forest” is apparently not about an actual person, so if your name is Warren Forest, sorry. Cool song though.

A great example of the complex, yet approachable vibe It’s Birds rocks out is “Understand the Silverware but Why the Dog?” -- runner-up to “AIDS and the Bees” not only in Bloodless Wife standout track mention, but, the WVRockscene Most Absurd Song Title of 2010, a category It’s Birds might sweep this year.

“Sean Balad” is It’s Birds’ seven-minute space jam ode to Sean, who, tragically, was stuck down by lightning at a young age. Hope it’s not a true story. Essh. At a little over three minutes in, the band breaks down into distorted, heavenly awesomeness. Taken as a whole, it’s almost like the band could drop the absurd lyrics and singing altogether, take up an instrumental, experimental approach, and maybe draw out or expose what they’re going for musically.

While the songs aren’t exactly simple, structurally, it’s mainly the verses that have the weird time changes and the band breaks it all down with simpler, hard rocking chorus parts, and they’re funky and catchy enough to definitely keep things interesting.

My Bloodless Wife, recorded in-house (literally) by the capable Spragg and shipped off to David Klug in Pittsburgh for mixing and mastering, is a CD that should be listened to with headphones. It’s times like this we’re glad we ran that crowbar through the WVRockscene home stereo/DVD player back in 2009. You can tell Spragg spent some time in his bedroom, tweaking and stabbing little parts like a DJ, laying echo on top of vocals.

Zatezalo and Spragg might seem to be doing their own thing on guitar half the time, but bring it together for the rockin’ chorus/jam parts; there’s a method to the sound of their madness. Spragg and Slater sharing the singing (and songwriting) duties mixes things up nicely.

The rhythm section stands out, too; the bass is full, punchy and fat on most of the songs, and the drums, well, they get beat with on with ferocity in parts, and it all sounds live, loud, and clear.

It’s Birds’ sound is at once challenging, unique, and fun. Don’t let the “math” part fool you; whatever rock and roll is about, It’s Birds get whatever “it” is. But is there a ringing endorsement to be found in this review?

It’s Birds -- more fun than a bunch of math problems!

Related: Our chat with Brian Spragg of It’s Birds

CD Review: "Down The Narrow"

CD: Down The Narrow
ARTIST: Mark Bates

Over the course of 11 songs of Americana and alt-country, 22-year old Hurricane native and Nashville transplant Mark Bates, on his recently released CD Down the Narrow removes not only any doubt as to his musical talents, but also, the depths of his insanity.

We were lucky enough to catch Bates open for Bud Carroll at the Glass in early 2008, back when he wasn’t even old enough to buy beer, and remember being blown away at this guy alternating between the piano and an acoustic, fronting The Vacancies, before his Lonely Town days. We came to see Carroll, but always remembered how impressed we were with Bates.

So, long story short, it’s no surprise that Bates would release a great CD, but wow, the depths of his depravity, at least lyrically, in song, know no bounds. Over the course of the first few songs worth of twangy, sometimes bluesy, piano-based Americana, Bates:

*kills a born-again, ex-felon preacher to avenge the murder of his lover (“The Promised Land”)

*hits his wife in a drunken rage, forges his kids names on Christmas cards, and then burns down the Christmas tree in the middle of town, naked, smoking a joint (“A Drunkard’s Holiday”)

*has a $20 hooker for a wife! (“Daisy”)

Nashville really changes a man.

Seriously, a nice alternate title for Down the Narrow would be Bates Motel, or, maybe, Down and Out on Blue Lick Road. But really, if Bates were ever to go postal and really hurt anyone, this CD would be the smoking gun, nail in the coffin piece of evidence for the prosecution. Much media hand wringing would ensue: “Who could miss these clues?” Not us here.

Shoot, that sounds like a Bates song right there, the logical follow-up to “Promised Land,” maybe, called “Murder was the Case That They Gave Me,” haha. Bates’ morbidly depressing lyrics might approach over-the-top hilarity, but that’s not what he’s going for. Painfully honest and insightful, beautiful lyrics? Bates has ‘em.

“Your words go into my ears/like rusted nails I’ve come to fear”...“You hug so hard with thorns on your arms/I bleed for you, and all that you are” (“Clean Through”)

The songs throughout Down the Narrow have a rich, layered feel, with Bates adding harmonica and trumpet, guitarist Duke Levine adding pedal steel, banjo and mandolin, and Michael Bellar contributing Hammond organ. Bates’ vocals alternate between soft and raspy crooning to soaring, soulful and powerful. He’s a great singer and musician.

“Shotgun with the Devil” is Bates’ fork-in-the road weary haunting descent into madness, opening with plucking banjo and piano cutting through silence; one of the standout tracks, in addition to “Drunkard’s Holiday,” on the CD. The song deftly employs soft/loud dynamics into an approaching storm, as “the clouds swallow the moon” and Bates battles his demons in an open field on a cold summer night.

“Flying Shoes” is Bates’ Townes van Zandt cover, one of his main influences. “The Show is Over” opens with soft, beautiful chord progressions as Bates’ gets “low down and lonesome,” keeping his memories in a hole. A really pretty song. Bates has the “melodramatic pop song” arrangement thing nailed down.

Down the Narrow, ably produced and engineered by Mark Thayer at Signature Sounds in Connecticut, is a very nice start to what will hopefully be a stellar career for Bates.

It’s great to see that Bates is doing well (at least we hope he is), moving his career forward out Nashville way. Remember, he’s still only 22 years old; Bates likely has a lot more great music left in him, we just hope he stays out of trouble long enough to make it.

mp3: “The Promised Land” by Mark Bates


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Shows statewide canceled Thursday!

We've never been big on April Fools Day pranks, but yeah there are a coupla rockin' shows lined up around the state, and no, despite what you read in the title of this post, the shows will still go on...

Morgantown's Billy Matheny makes the short drive to Huntington for a show at Shamrock's with Shepherdstown's Prison Book Club and the Bud Carroll Band Thursday night. The Huntington Herald-Dispatch had a pretty neat artikel on Matheny (well, at least it didn't have any typos) by some handsome devil, with a haircut that makes Jim Traficant look like Rod Blagojevich. Cool lineup. Check out our Q&A with PBC here, and revisit our recent chat with Carroll here.

Up in Magic Town, Lake and Ocean is set to play 123 Pleasant Street with Depresbyterians and David F. Bello. Read our very sober (like there's any other kind) review of Lake and Ocean w/J Marinelli at the Sound Factory here, and check out our lame attempt at reviewing Lake and Ocean's debut EP Pull right here. Sounds good to us if yer up that way.

Update: Just heard from L&O's Nick Bradley that Depresbyterians had to cancel...and, this just in: our friends in Thick As Thieves have jumped onto the bill; nice.

more to come...

The WVRockscene Roast of Jeff Ellis

So, you’ve seen him live, heard the CDs and/or read the reviews. But what do the people who know Jeff Ellis best have to say about him? We asked a few notable friends and fellow musicians to spill the beans on him, from being in the studio, to hanging out…

What can you say about Jeff Ellis? Jeff is one of the best friends I’ve ever had. He can drink more than just about anyone I know. As far as his progression as a musician, dude’s been writing great songs since forever, he can sing like a motherfucker, and he knows exactly what he wants in the studio. He can really hear where something is headed, and knows how to get it there. I think his writing is always progressing, and this new disc is definitely a testament to that.

To say I’ve been in a lot of recording sessions over the years is putting it mildly. But I have to say I’ve only been in one where I was sure that we were hearing a dead ringer hit song come back off the speakers.

I know a few people who have written hit songs, now they’ll probably never actually get to be hits in the real world, but I know them when I hear them, and they do exist outside of the mainstream. When we heard the playback of “I’m Not Leaving This Time” I knew it was a fucking hit song. People may think I’m an idiot, but it is, and I’ll fucking fight anyone who claims differently. “I’m Not Leaving This Time” is a hit, but in an industry full of stupid motherfuckers who wouldn’t know good shit if it kicked them in the nuts, it’ll probably never be a hit.

As far as the good times are concerned, we’ve had a few to say the least. I wish I had the secret drunken footage that Phil Dog took of us getting wasted after the sessions for the first record we did with him, that would alleviate the need for any discussion on the subject. I can say I’ve never tracked a record more hung over than with Jeff Ellis. I know that Jimmy Lykens hasn’t.

The new disc is great, the songs are great, the playing is great, it sounds great, and I’m very honored that Eddie and Jeff gave me an executive producer credit. Apparently all you have to do to produce a record is give Steve Barker a bunch of shit during the sessions. J/K He played great, all the guys did, and we’re all real proud that we could be a part of it.

The thing that was most notable to me about the record is the fact that there were hardly any rehearsals before it. We tracked most of it live in the same room together, with very few fixes or overdubs. Hell, some of the takes on the record are the first time I had even heard the songs. But when you are playing on great stuff, it’s easy to hear your part if you know what your role is. And when you’re working with Jeff, it’s rare that what you are ever playing on is anything less than great.

--- Bud Carroll


Jeff Ellis is a natural born superstar. One of the all-time great tightrope walkers. Hemmingway would count him both as friend and nemesis. Both great writers, and great drinkers.

--- Steve Barker


Jeff’s favorite accommodation in the whole world is the Highlander Motel, otherwise known as “The Second Worst Motel In Athens, Ohio.”

Not sure why this is.

Perhaps it is the constant smell of curry that wafts from the office (where the owners live) and seems to permeate every room in the establishment. Or the din of out-of-town partiers who frequent the place on weekends, when Jeff and the crew are most likely to stay there. Or the noisy HVAC that is too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. Or maybe it is just the allure of the free HBO.

All I know is, when asked by a band member why he ALWAYS stays at the Highlander when in Athens, when there are other, only slightly more costly, and much more, uh, clean establishments to spend the night, Jeff’s answer was “I freakin’ LOVE this place!!!”

--- Eddie Ashworth


I have known Jeff since he was about seven years old. We grew up not five miles from each other in Chapmanville, and have been very close for over 15 years now. I really cannot think of any one individual in my generation that will have more of an impact on the landscape of WV music than Jeff Ellis. Period.

He has already at the ripe old age of 30 delivered a wealth of good, independently produced music. I myself own at least 10 releases going back to Harvest. I envy Jeff for the volume of great material he seems to so effortlessly put out. But, Jeff doesn’t come by it easy. He has forced himself into hard situations, into wars, into fending for himself at a young age, just so he could write from the heart. A lot of musicians, including myself, have taken a path more traveled.

Although Jeff and I have very different musical tastes and went different directions with them, we have always shared a certain admiration for our differences. He has had me guest vocal on his albums, Byzantine has had Jeff guest vocal on ours. It might stem back from knowing Jeff since he was in 10th grade, but I pull for Jeff more than anyone. He does it his way. If you don’t like it, there’s the door. He orchestrates whole albums in his head. He gets off a plane from Afghanistan and immediately books shows. You tell me who does that. I couldn’t do that.

--- Chris Ojeda, Byzantine


I was around Jeff quite a bit when he was writing many of the songs that ended up making the cut for The Forgetting Place. There were a lot of nights, consuming a lot of beer, where we exchanged stories about our similar situations in the female department. If you’ve listened to the CD, then there’s no need for me to tell you what those situations were -- ha!

I saw Jeff perform a good amount of those songs acoustically around the Tri-State and was super pumped to hear that some of them made the cut for the actual disc. I always told him I was ready for another Jeff Ellis heartbreak CD -- he delivered with a CD that hit me in the heart pretty hard. Even though he wrote the songs for someone else, about 75% of them could have been written about a girl who was once in my life.

It was disappointing when Jeff said he was getting shipped back out before the CD came out. I’m really looking forward to having Jeff back in town and hearing the full band versions of the new tracks!

The last time Jeff was overseas he came back with what is his best material in my opinion. Although I connect with The Forgetting Place, I still feel overall A Front Seat [for the End of the World] is his best quality CD, maybe even better than any of the Guinness Clarke’s Wine works.

There’s been plenty of wild times with Jeff over the past couple years. I can’t wait to have him back over here for good -- although my liver isn’t really ready for him just yet!

--- Brandon Woolum, X106.3

--- photo: Taylor Kuykendall

CD Review: "The Forgetting Place"

CD: The Forgetting Place
ARTIST: Jeff Ellis

Looking at things one way, it seems like Jeff Ellis just can’t catch a break.

Back home from serving in the Middle East in the Army Reserves, the 29-year old Huntington resident and Marshall University student barely seems to have time to make great records in between work, school, and, most importantly from a songwriting perspective, getting his heart trampled on by female love interests.

Hey, if he wasn’t getting his heart broken, what would he write songs about? Gold rims, platinum grills and worshipping Rockefellers and the Illuminati? It just wouldn’t be the same if he did.

On his new CD The Forgetting Place, Ellis, despite all the personal upheaval, lays down 13 songs worth of his own version of rockin’ Americana; folk, bluegrass, alt-country and blues, and, like most songwriters worth their salt, turns the things that suck for him, and weaves them into touching, personal stories inside great well-structured, memorable songs.

On another level, on the new CD, Ellis, on first listen to longtime followers, may seem to be a victim of his own past success; following up 2007’s epochal A Front Seat for the End of the World (mainly a recounting of Ellis’ time in the Gulf) and 2008’s Covering The Distance (his alt-country trip home) would be tough for anybody, but Ellis pulls it off nicely on The Forgetting Place.

Having had a burned copy of the CD for a few months now, and hearing it at first, it is, to longtime fans of his, no big surprise how good it is, just a bit softer overall than the material on his last two releases. Only letting it digest over many plays, can you appreciate how solid it is, and his talents as a songwriter.

Yeah, it’s another great CD from Jeff Ellis; ho hum.

Regardless of Ellis’ success in the relationship department, or how and where The Forgetting Place stacks up to, or fits in with his last two releases, Ellis has taken his music to the proverbial next level; he has caught his (relatively) big break, as it were, as his fourth overall solo release (this after his work in Guinness Clarke’s Wine) is put out on the New York-based NewSong Recordings. Since we last heard from him on Covering the Distance, Ellis has impressed some of the right people, winning the Mountain Stage NewSong competition in 2008.

Ellis is joined on the new CD by his longtime cohorts Bud Carroll and the Southern Souls (Jimmy Lykens, Steve Barker & Jon Cavendish) in the studio, along with longtime friend and GCW bandmate Phil James on piano. Anybody who’s heard Ellis’ last two releases, with Carroll’s soaring, bluesy solos, knows how powerful the duo is. If you haven’t or you don’t, now you do.

The Forgetting Place opens with “If He’s So Good To You,” jangly, twangy Americana with layered organ and awesome solos, which catches us all up on what’s happening with Ellis -- the whole relationship thing. Long story short, he’s trying to move on, but getting jerked around. The nerve of that girl!

“Russell & Honeybee” is Ellis’ stripped-down, shuffling, somber and dreamy-yet heartbreaking ode to a heartless lost love, sung from the perspective of a homeless romantic. It’s got kind of the same vibe as Distance’s beach song, “Sleepyhead,” but nowhere near as good from the singer’s perspective.

Ellis’ dynamic, powerful voice takes a softer backseat along with delicate backing vocals, showcasing his range (and writing) as he sings on the chorus:

And it’s been a long life of waiting for some change to come
It might take a long time/but that’s something he’s got plenty of
He searches for some comfort/But never finds relief
And out there on the streets he dreams of Honeybee

So you’re only two songs into the record and you’ve got a nice encapsulation of Ellis’ songs: touching, painfully honest poetic balladry (“You can barely call it livin’/Oh, but dying’s too extreme. And somewhere in between he dreams of Honeybee.”) inside of well-arranged, catchy songs with Ellis’ harmonica thrown in for the Dylan effect. A great song.

Ellis breaks out the rockin’ Americana on “Don’t Let Me Go” and the Wilco-esque Being There bar-balladry of “Still Ain’t Over You Yet,” one of the standout tracks, and at two-and-a half minutes long, it doesn’t take long to rock out.

The thing about Ellis’ songwriting is that he can write songs geared toward a big, full band lineup, or songs made more for solo rocking; either way, at this point you get the idea that Ellis is one of the best songwriters in the state, and maybe beyond.

“Is Something The Matter” is Ellis’ slow, road weary, piano-flaked ode to love, with cool sounding e-bow type guitar parts on it. For Ellis, who listed R.E.M. as an influence, this is a song that would fit well on New Adventures in Hi-Fi, maybe. When it comes to “the battles of love” and dealing with women, is something the matter? Something’s always the matter.

Ellis is joined on the stripped down alt-bluegrass hit “Can’t Stop Me From Loving You” by members of Huntington’s Wilson Creek, for the nice female backing vocals and delicate mandolin runs. You want more broken hearted, poetic lyrics? Okay, here is the chorus:

You can’t make someone feel something they don’t
Make ‘em love you if they won’t
Change the way things are/no matter what you do
Just like you could never stop me from loving you

The song has great progressions, delicate, hushed vocals, and with Ellis’ harmonica parts, is one of the best songs on the CD. It’s a tribute to Ellis that he would invite female guest vocalists on his songs, to complement his vocals, like he did (most famously in our mind) on “Time Slips Away” on Front Seat.

“Fooled” shows off Ellis’ bluesy side, (it’s good that he’s got Carroll with him) and his ultra-powerful, belt-it-out vocals as he takes the fight to his ex’s strategic disinformation as he builds the song to the awesome chorus:

Well I thought if I run and hide
I might escape the things I’ve done
But I’ve come to find hurt and time,
Are the only things that’ll heal someone

Symptoms may include goosebumps, as it’s one of the more powerful parts on the entire CD.

Ellis is again joined by Wilson Creek members for the fun bluegrass feel of “Jealousy,” again with the female backing vocals, a nice touch. But while the song has the fun bluegrass feel, Ellis sings about the bad times suspicious minds can bring about:

Like a cancer it crept in and took its toll on me and you
Eating at the little parts til it tore our hearts plain through

“Mama Dear” sounds like a bit of a post-script to, or at least would’ve fit well on Front Seat, with its Eastern, Sitar sounding guitar parts (ala the band Live) over marching snare, and the post-traumatic, war themed lyrics:

I have seen destruction and I have seen its toll
I have seen the works of men
I have seen their wealth, their power and control
And I don’t want no part of them

These men have crushed my spirit, these men have crushed my soul
These men have made my hands to sin
They’ve stripped me of my conscience and left this empty hole
This darkness deep within

The sprightly, almost haunting fireside folk of the title track may evoke “House of the Rising Sun” for some reason, as Ellis continues his efforts to get women off his mind at the pub, but no, he can’t stay there.

“Fade” opens with rockin’ muted riffage, sounding like Weezer or something in parts, (not much like anything on Ellis’ previous releases) as he recalls running from his strong feelings.

The swaying acoustic of “I’ll See You Soon” closes the CD, with Ellis yearning for a long lost love, with the hope of a reunion.

Ellis, for The Forgetting Place, returned to Athens, Ohio’s Tracking Station and re-enlisted Eddie Ashworth to produce the new CD, with solid, rich results. And, Carroll snagged an associate producer nod on it; nice. Throughout the CD, before and after the songs, Ellis can be heard cutting up in the studio with Ashworth and his bandmates, giving the recording a more fun, informal feel. Come to find out, the songs were recorded in one or two takes, on the fly.

For newer fans of Ellis, it might behoove them to go get their hands on his prior releases. Wrapping all his music up into one package, you can get a feel of his talent and why Ellis has now impressed the important people, who will hopefully help him get the audience he deserves.

And, without a doubt, you’ll be glad you got turned on to the music he’s been making the past couple of years.

mp3: “Can't Stop Me From Lovin You” by Jeff Ellis


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Morgantown salutes the Clinton Years 3.20

This Saturday night a who’s who of Magic Town luminaries will come together at 123 Pleasant Street to relive the glorious nineties, playing some of their favorite songs to help raise money for the Mountaineer Boys & Girls Club. ‘85 Flood frontman Aaron Hawley, engineer of so many benefit shows up there, told us what he thinks about this one…

We’re really excited for the show, for a wide variety of reasons! ‘85 Flood will be covering a couple tunes that had a big impact on me back in the halcyon days of the mid-nineties, so that’ll be fun.

I don’t really want to reveal too much about who’s playing what, but I do know there’s going to be a large and diverse cross-section of 90’s music represented. From really innovative, underground rock like Dinosaur Jr. to cheesy ball country artists like Garth Brooks, to MTV buzz clips the whole gamut will be presented. It’s going to be a blast!

It’s a great opportunity to support the Mountaineer Boys & Girls Club. I worked for the MBGC for about five years when I moved back to Morgantown and it had a profound influence on me. It was an eye-opening experience that really taught me to appreciate what I have in life and made me realize how important it is to offer support to those who don’t. Some of the kids at the Boys & Girls Club are some of the most entertaining, engaging and inspiring people I’ve ever met, regardless of age.

From a show standpoint, I love the big tribute nights since they serve as a sort of ‘State of the Scene’ by getting a lot of bands together for one night only. This year we’re playing with a lot of band's we’ve played shows with in the past and a lot of bands who we haven’t. I’m particularly excited to see what Fletcher’s Grove and Square the Circle have in store. They’re a couple of bands who haven’t had the easiest time cracking into the Pleasant Street scene, so I’m excited to have them get up in front of a full house and do their thing.

Also on the bill is a band called The Sawngs who will be making their debut at the show. The band has Mikey Iafrate from the Priesthood, Walt Sarkees from the Morgantown Rounders, Chris Russell from the Argument and Aaron Crothers from the Emergency, so it’s a pretty all-star lineup to begin with, and I know they’ll deliver the goods.

I’m also pumped about Karate Balboa. It’s another All-Star group featuring Joe White from 8-Bitz, Ryan and Jeff from Descension Rate and Kevin Post from the Emergency. For 80’s night they came out and did three songs featured in 80’s movie montage scenes, hence the name Karate (as in Kid) Balboa (as in Rocky). For this show they’re doing three more songs that are thematically-linked, though I don’t want to spoil the surprise.

And as for that sick flyer, it was done by Brian Pickens, of course.

It's a Q&A w/Brian Spragg of It's Birds

Morgantown’s It’s Birds will release their new CD My Bloodless Wife Friday at 123 Pleasant Street. We caught up with singer/guitarist Brian Spragg (far right) in time for the show to see what’s up…

WVRS: How satisfying is it to get the new CD out? How much total time went into the recording and just getting it done?
BS: Very satisfying. We tracked most of the drums in early November, then we did all the guitars and bass whenever we could after that on weekends and evenings. By the end of November we had all the basic tracks and were then able to track vocals with David Klug. We had to go up one other time in I think mid January to finish some little overdubs and that was it. It would have been done a little sooner but there were some things like FOX Japan had some shows in December, the mastering engineer’s email account kept sending my emails to his trash folder, and let’s not forget the bullshit snowstorm(s) that happened.

WVRS: You mentioned being burnt out musically, what’s up, just staying busy with other stuff?
BS: I love playing and writing and booking shows but those combined with getting things arranged for some benefit shows coming up, starting another project called Pat Pat, and recording various bands was wearing me out a little, but I think after April or so, I should be a lot better and not so stressed out.

WVRS: This is It’s Birds sophomore release, what if anything’s changed since 2007’s Horses Love Me Yes I Am? You’ve got a new drummer obviously, still recording in your bedroom?
BS: Yeah, the drummer we have is Jason Birch. He’s also from Wheeling like Andrew [Slater] and George [Zatezalo]. We tracked drums for 7 of 8 songs in a warehouse in Morgantown, then did all the main guitars and bass in my bedroom again. At the end of November, we went up to Pittsburgh to track vocals with David Klug. I feel like Bloodless Wife is just so much more interesting and challenging, and I’ll throw in the cliché, more mature. Obviously not that mature because we have songs about AIDS, Twix bars, and stalking.



WVRS: How do you and Slater split up and/or share singing and songwriting duties, smoothly or painfully?
BS: I think smoothly, I’ve never thought of a time when it was a problem. Usually we sing what we write and depending on what’s being played. If it’s easier for one of us to sing and play a specific part, that’s when we’ll make exceptions.

WVRS: You had Dave Klug in Pittsburgh do mixing; satisfied with the results?
BS: Extremely satisfied. David knows so much about recording and mixing. I plan on working with him a lot in the future not just with projects of my own, but for bands that I’ve started recording to hopefully go through him for mixing.

WVRS: You mention the track listing not being really set in stone when you shipped the tracks to Klug, how much thought went into just arranging the songs on the CD?
BS: It’s similar to our live show actually. It wasn’t real hard to figure out a way they seemed to fit the best together, but through a few emails with the other members it was settled on quickly.

WVRS: You’ve helped a few cool bands record; how neat is it to help other bands get their music out, and how does your experience being in a band help?
BS: It’s really cool. Most of them are my friends and I may have seen them perform live and know what they’re going for and try my best to recreate that. FOX Japan is a lot of hard work, but it’s usually fun. They like to try to get cool/new guitar sounds. I’ve recorded one and a half of their records so far. Also, I’ve been tracking for The Resonators full length, which I imagine they’d release sometime this Fall.

WVRS: Is there an actual bloodless wife? Or is that more of a metaphorical thing? Any other ideas for alternate titles that didn’t make it? Where is the cover art from?
BS: I was with my family at Christmas, and my sister had a few blankets on her and asked for another because she was still cold, then my brother-in-law said “My bloodless wife, everyone.” I think it’s a title that doesn’t sound too absurd or too serious. We kicked around a few different ideas like It’s Birds is Stalking You, Spaghetti Stay Water Go, and Bare Hug.
The cover art actually is from a mural in one my favorite restaurants in Morgantown called Rio Grande. We just went in late one night and asked if we can take pictures, but they never told us who the artist was. Whoever they are, I hope they don’t find out and I hope they don’t get mad at us. WHOOPS.



WVRS: Who is Warren Forrest, and why do you have a song about him on the new CD?
BS: Andrew’s father dreamt a musical, and in it, the main song and the name of the musical itself was “I’m in Love with Warren Forest.” We’re not aware of someone in real life with that name, but I think Andrew’s father read an article or saw on a TV documentary about the MC5, and they lived in an area or district or something called Warren Forest.

WVRS: Is the CD out on any particular label? Self-released? How important do you think a label is to a band these days?
BS: We’re just releasing it ourselves. It’d be great to be on a label especially to get better distribution and maybe help in the cost of pressing/mastering but we’re doing fine.

WVRS: You’re playing this Morgantown Salutes the Clinton Years show 3.20, what songs/bands will you be playing, and how neat is it to play for such a good cause?
BS: Yeah, I’m excited for it. It’s fun to cover songs every once in a while. I’m playing with members of It’s Birds and members of Russian Tombstones and a few other friends as one band, and I’m also playing in Pat Pat that night. Some of the songs we’re doing include Foo Fighter’s “Everlong,” Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” and Lisa Loeb’s “Stay.” This night should be a lot of fun. Or really stressful, who knows.

WVRS: The release show, how cool is it to be playing with FOX Japan, and what can you say about Christmas Lights?
BS: It’s always great to play with FOX Japan, and I’m going to get to hear some new songs. Christmas Lights come from Frostburg, and I really like their live show. It’ll be fun playing with them and seeing them again, last time was in December.

WVRS: Do you guys have any additional shows or plans for promoting the release? Big plans or just let it ride?
BS: Right now, no, but we want to. We’re going to see what happens after the release. Also I hope Furnace MFG doesn’t screw me over. Ever since this one guy left a year ago, their customer service has been total shit. Here’s hoping it all works out.

video: DJAndvil