http://www.explosionsinthesky.com/
http://www.myspace.com/texasband

With a reputation for a scathingly intense live performance and a quickly sold-out CD-R demo, How Strange, Innocence, which was later reissued in 2005, Explosions in the Sky was touted early on in their career as the next phenomenon in moody and dynamic instrumental indie rock ‡ la Mogwai and Godspeed You Black Emperor! The quartet of Texas kids, made up of Mark Smith and Munaf Rayani on guitars, Michael James on bass, and Christopher Hrasky on drums, was signed for its first release on Temporary Residence Limited after half a listen to their demo, which was submitted by the American Analog Set with a brief note saying "This totally f*cking destroys." From that, they released their first six-song album, Those Who Tell the Truth, in the latter half of 2001. After a new record, 2003's contemplative The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place, and the 2005 re-release, Explosions in the Sky, who had by this time garnered a dedicated fan base, came out with All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone in 2007.

http://www.thenewpornographers.com/
http://www.myspace.com/thenewpornographers

Vancouver's indie rock supergroup the New Pornographers features the talents of Zumpano's Carl Newman, the Evaporators' John Collins, Destroyer's Dan Bejar, cartoonist/filmmaker Blaine Thurier, drummer Fisher Rose, and guest vocalist Neko Case. Newman began the band in 1996 as a lark after releasing Zumpano's Goin' Through Changes; one by one, the other members joined the fold, and the New Pornographers' first official rehearsal took place in 1997. By the following year, the group had completed four songs, but then Case left Vancouver for Chicago, Thurier began work on his film Low Self Esteem Girl, and the other members attended to their other bands and projects. Rose left in 1999 and Limblifter/Age of Electric drummer Kurt Dahle and guitarist Todd Fancey joined the Canadian supergroup. With a solid lineup in tow, the New Pornographers reunited and began recording again in early 2000, completing their debut album, Mass Romantic, in time for a fall release and critical acclaim. Ray Davies joined the band at SXSW in fall 2001, performing the Kinks classic "Starstruck" for the first time ever. After a brief North American tour, each member returned to their respective projects by 2002. Bejar recorded with Destroyer and Case headed out on the road with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in support of her second solo album, Blacklisted. Nobody strayed too far, however, for the New Pornographers headed back into the studio before the year's end to work on a follow-up to Mass Romantic. The pop-powered Electric Version, which appeared in spring 2003, marked their first for Matador. Twin Cinema followed in 2005.

http://www.ofmontreal.net/flashsite/index.html
http://www.myspace.com/ofmontreal

The brainchild of singer/guitarist Kevin Barnes, euphoric indie popsters Of Montreal were among the second wave of bands to emerge from the sprawling Elephant 6 collective. A native of Athens, GA, Barnes was inspired to form the group in the wake of a broken romance with a woman from Montreal; signing to Bar/None while living in Florida, he subsequently moved to Cleveland and Minneapolis in search of compatible bandmates, finally returning home to collaborate with bassist Bryan Helium (also a member of Athens' Elf Power) and drummer Derek Almstead.
Of Montreal's debut album, Cherry Peel, appeared in mid-1997, followed that autumn by an EP, The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit's Flower. After Helium left to focus on Elf Power full-time, Almstead assumed bass duties, and keyboardist Dottie Alexander and drummer Jamie Huggins joined the lineup; still, the second Of Montreal full-length, 1998's The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy, was recorded primarily as a Barnes solo project. Multi-instrumentalist A.C. Forrester signed on for 1999's sublime The Gay Parade; the singles retrospective Horse and Elephant Eatery followed in the spring of 2000. The group continued with the release of Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse in April 2001 and Aldhils Arboretum in September of 2002, both for Kindercore. With the folding of Kindercore, the departures of multi-instrumentalist Andy Gonzales and Almstead, and Barnes' marriage, 2003 proved to be an up and down year for the group. Barnes' wife, Nina, joined the band and they signed to Polyvinyl Records, delivering one of their best records, Satanic Panic in the Attic, in early 2004. 2005 found Barnes exploring a bouncier, synth-driven avenue with the release of Sunlandic Twins, but things began to get complicated in his personal life around this time. He moved to Norway with his wife in order to have their baby there. Deprived of familliar touchstones, Barnes fell into a deep depression and, upon returning to the States, things went progressively downhill. He and his wife separated for a time and she returned to her family in Norway with their new daughter. Through the emotional turmoil, Barnes concocted what was to be his darkest, most personal and most ambitious album Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? in 2007.

http://www.jound.com/okkervil/
http://www.myspace.com/okkervilriver

Combining folk-rock inspirations and alternative rock sways, Okkervil River creates a particular visionary sound, strongly founded on dark and profound lyrics and on chaotic visions of patterned sound compounds. Okkervil River is a mutual project of Will Robison Sheff (vocals, guitar), and Seth Warren (guitar), born when both were still in high school, in Meriden, NH. After several years and multiple life experiences, at the end of the '90s the duo eventually decided to re-assemble the band, by then with an extended lineup, after they both relocated to Austin, TX. Following the addition of Zachary Thomas (vocals, bass), Jonathan Meiburg (vocals, banjo), and drummer Mark Pedini, Okkervil River reappeared. In 1998, the group offered their first and self-released disc, the EP Bedroom, followed a year later by Stars Too Small to Use, the band's debut album. During the succeeding years, the band regularly played live on numerous occasions, including an appearance at the South by Southwest festival in 2000. Don't Fall in Love With Everyone You See, the group's second album, showed up in 2002, re-affirming the band's cult all over the Texas music scene.

http://www.myspace.com/owenpalletmusic
http://www.reidtaheny.com/ff/read.html

Canadian violinist/singer/songwriter Owen Pallett has been a member of the groups Les Mouches and Picastro, as well as a touring member of the Hidden Cameras and Arcade Fire. Final Fantasy, essentially a one-man solo project with occasional help from drummer/engineer Leon Taheny, released its first full recording, Has a Good Home, in 2005 on the small Toronto-based cooperative label Club Blocks. It was followed in 2006 by He Poos Clouds on the Tomlab label.

http://whitedenimmusic.com/

http://myspace.com/bopenglish

One of Austin's favorite new bands. White Denim is one of the most blogged about bands in town, with their brand of 3 piece post punk and catchy off time riffs.

http://www.myspace.com/evangelicals

http://www.emmapollock.com/
http://www.myspace.com/emmapollock

Former Delgados member. Signed to 4AD Records as a solo artist in June 2005 after having major panic attack about what to do after band split. It was either that or bugger off out of the music industry altogether and go and find work that I would probably walk out of within a month.
Considered putting out an album on Chemikal Underground for about 5mins and then figured out that asking my freshly ex-band mates to put out my solo record may be a little odd for us all so I then went to look elsewhere and as Delgados had a history with the Beggars Group of labels (Mantra put out our albums outside the UK) I ended up with a deal with 4AD which i'm delighted about as I've been a fan of the label since I left school.
I wrote much of the first solo album in 2005 immediately following the band's split and by March 2006, myself, Paul Savage, Jamie Savage (Paul's brother) and Campbell McNeil (Aereogramme) were all ready to go into our newly built studio Chem19 in Blantyre, outside Glasgow to record the album. We had Victor Van Vugt producing, and the weeks that followed were some of the most fun and stressful I've every known. I ended up spending weeks on guitars after Victor had left and by July was ready to go over for final mixing in New York for a week. That was great fun and one of the few times I've had time to just walk around in the city without being stressed out about playing a gig in a few hours.
The album is now finished. It is called 'Watch The Fireworks' and will be released in September. The first single from the album, 'Adrenaline' has just been released and the next single 'Acid Test' will be released in August.

http://www.myspace.com/brothersandsistersmusic

Brothers and Sisters is a band out of time. Led by real-life siblings Will and Lily Courtney, their music entirely lacks the calculated cool of contemporary indie rock and seems totally oblivious to the cynical machinations of the music business. In an indie world currently hell-bent on exhuming the still-warm corpse of post-punk, Brothers and Sisters reach back to a sunnier age, when idioms as disparate as polished West Coast pop, rock and roll choogle, AM radio balladry and classic country could still rub up against each other at the same hazy Topanga canyon party. Live, the music called up by this stage-cluttering eight-piece alternately evokes classic-rock gods like the Band and Buffalo Springfield alongside songwriters such as Dennis Wilson, Jimmy Webb, and the Mamas and the Papas' John Phillips on his out-of-print classic John, the Wolf King of L.A.
Brothers and Sisters' eponymous siblings are the children of Ragan Courtney and Cynthia Clawson, respectively a Baptist preacher and a Grammy-winning independent gospel artist dubbed "The Christian Barbra Streisand" both for her voice and for her support of the Christian gay community (the latter of which got her excommunicated from Christian radio). When he was six, the Courtney parents took young Will to a Beach Boys concert and it was over; he decided to become a musician. As a kid he sang in Houston's Post Oak Boy's Choir and before long was recording songs for childrens' records and commercials. When he was old enough to get out of Houston, Will headed to L.A. – home of his idols the Beach Boys, Love, and the Flying Burrito Brothers.
After stints in short-lived bands and some work with Zander Schloss (The Circle Jerks, Joe Strummer) and Ric Menck (The Pernice Brothers, The Tyde), Will grew frustrated when the excesses of the L.A. music scene stymied productivity, so he took off – driving his pickup down to Austin, Texas to start a band with his sister. Their self-recorded debut featured a motley crew of Will and Lily's friends and acquaintances as the backing band; a handful of weeks after that debut was recorded, Brothers and Sisters had grown into a seven-piece. In late 2005, Conrad Keely – the singer of…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead – invited Will and Lily to contribute harmonies (and, on one of the song, a lead vocal) on the forthcoming …Trail of Dead record. Shortly thereafter, Keely joined the band as an eighth member, playing violin and keyboards. The ragged sprawl of their live appearances (misunderstanding audience members have all-too-frequently compared Brothers and Sisters to a cult) sparked attention, and gigs with friends in Okkervil River, The Court and Spark, The Tyde and …Trail of Dead – as well as an appearance at Austin's SXSW music festival – quickly made Brothers and Sisters a favorite with Austin crowds.
Following several months of good press, in December, their song "Without You" was featured on an episode of The OC. The band followed up their debut release and ended their first yearby U.S. touring the US and Canada with ...Trail of Dead and The Blood Brothers, piling in a van for several months and lapping the country twice, an epic, roving family affair. The band just finished recording a new EP due out in September. This fall, they will begin recording the second full length record incorporating lessons learned from their ever-evolving live shows.
--Will Sheff (Okkervil River)

http://www.myspace.com/zykos

http://www.thelemurs.com/
http://www.myspace.com/thelemurs

http://www.catpowerthegreatest.com/
http://www.myspace.com/catpower

Cat Power was the alias of Chan Marshall, a Southern-bred singer/songwriter whose father, Charlie, was an itinerant pianist. After dropping out of high school, Marshall found herself in New York; performing under the name Cat Power, she was booked as the opening act for Liz Phair, where she met Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley and Two Dollar Guitar's Tim Foljahn, who agreed to become her backing band. Following the release of 1995's Dear Sir and 1996's Myra Lee -- both recorded on the same day -- Cat Power signed to Matador for 1996's What Would the Community Think?, which won acclaim for Marshall's unsettling, emotional songs and cathartic vocals.
The superb Moon Pix followed two years later, and in the spring of 2000 Cat Power resurfaced with The Covers Record. Released in 2003, You Are Free featured a lusher, more polished sound as well as cameos by Dave Grohl and Eddie Vedder; 2006's The Greatest was recorded in Memphis, TN, with legendary soul players including guitarist/songwriter Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, bassist Leroy "Flick" Hodges, and drummer Steve Potts.

http://www.myspace.com/battlestheband

Battles is a quartet comprised of drummer John Stanier of Helmet and Tomahawk, guitarist/keyboardist Ian Williams of Don Caballero and Storm and Stress, guitarist David Konopka of Lynx, and avant solo musician Tyondai Braxton. All members bring their honed-in angular math skills of past glory to Battles. The Tras and EP C EPs were both released in June 2004 on Cold Sweat and Monitor respectively. The B EP followed on Dim Mak in September 2004. The Atlas EP followed in early 2007, followed in turn by the band's proper full-length debut, Mirrored, in May 2007.

http://www.tedleo.com
http://www.myspace.com/tedleo

For over ten years, Ted Leo has been one of the most progressive forces in East Coast independent music, with a unique combination of punk and folk, soul and hardcore, and tradition and experimentation. Originally rising to a small degree of fame in the late-'80s New York hardcore scene by playing with Citizen's Arrest and Animal Crackers, Leo left New York for Washington, D.C., in 1990, when he founded and fronted Chisel, one of the first mod/punk revival outfits to gain national notoriety. Leo was the primary songwriter and singer of Chisel, recording two full-length records with the band that were released on Gern Blandsten in the mid-'90s and leading the band on countless short tours. The songwriting was as infectious and calculated as that of Brit rock legends the Kinks, yet the rhythms remained fueled by the anthemic energy reminiscent of bands like the Who and the Clash.
Chisel's eventual breakup in 1997 came after their critically acclaimed sophomore full-length, Set You Free. The band's reputation seemed to flourish after their breakup, however, and even though the retro trends in indie rock would eventually gain enough popularity to inspire the likes of mod underground sweethearts like the Mooney Suzuki and the Delta 72, the influence of Chisel goes largely unnoticed. Leo went on to a variety of musical endeavors, including two years of on-again, off-again touring as a guitarist with the Spinanes, and a short-lived project called the Sin Eaters that he founded with his brother, Danny Leo, on drums and former Van Pelt bassist Sean Greene. The Sin Eaters' progressive, politically charged, punk-fused rock and local all-star lineup took the New York underground by storm between 1997 and 1998, until Danny Leo left the band to work on his own material and eventually founded the Holy Childhood.
When the Sin Eaters disbanded without a recorded legacy in 1998, Ted Leo was left without a band and began his career as a solo artist. He remained active by wearing the hat of producer for the Secret Stars' debut record, Geneologies, and touring alone on the East Coast and through the Midwest. He eventually recorded a self-titled full-length on his homestead, Gern Blandsten Records, in 1999 with a new band, the Pharmacists, that included various friends and affiliates of the Secret Stars, including Jodi Buonanno. This record marked a notable change in Leo's sound, which, mostly due to his performance practices, was more and more rooted in songwriting legends like Billy Bragg and Alex Chilton. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists released a split with the One AM Radio later that year as a collaborative effort of both Gern Blansten and Garbage Czar.
In the spring of 2000, Leo's sophomore effort, Treble in Trouble, was released on New Jersey-based Ace Fu Records, displaying a more aggressive and romantic bent to Leo's writing. In the early summer of 2001, Leo released a polished studio effort, The Tyranny of Distance, on Lookout Records. A strong contender for record of the year, it was followed by the equally strong Hearts of Oak in 2003. Shake the Sheets. which appeared in 2004, would prove to be his last for then-troubled Lookout, as Leo signed with Chicago-based indie Touch and Go in February 2006. A tour followed in March, on which he was supported by the Duke Spirit and Les Aus. He continued touring throughout 2006, festivals such as Coachella and headlining dates alike, as new material was worked on as well. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists eventually returned in March 2007 with full-length number five, Living with the Living.

http://www.matesofstate.com/
http://www.myspace.com/matesofstate

Kori Gardner (keyboard/vocals) and Jason Hammel (drums/vocals) were both playing guitar and singing in the Kansas music metropolis of Lawrence before forming the Mates of State in 1997. With their dual vocal harmonies and minimal pop appeal, Omnibus Records released Mates of State's first EP as a split with Fighter D in 1999. Upon a relocation to San Francisco, the duo's second EP, It's the Law/Invitation Inn, and a debut studio effort, My Solo Project, followed in 2000. Tours of the Midwest followed into the next year and creative ideas continued to swirl. Hammel and Gardner, who were married in early 2001, inked themselves a deal with Polyvinyl prior to recording a follow-up. Summer days were spent playing shows with Superdrag, the Anniversary, and Beulah while writing songs on the road. Those sessions lead to the second album, Our Constant Concern, in 2002. The next spring Polyvinyl reissued their debut album, My Solo Project, and later on the full-length Team Boo. After their contract was up with Polyvinyl (ending with the 2004 EP All Day), Mates of State decided to head over to Barsuk, the label that released their fourth record, Bring It Back, in 2006

http://www.chosendarkness.com/
http://www.myspace.com/chosendarkness

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness is a five-piece dark pop band out of Austin, TX; scene mates include Paul Newman, Windsor for the Derby, and Glorium. But I Love You, formed in 2001 and comprised of singer Christian Goyer, bassist Edward Robert, guitarists Ernest Salaz and Daniel Del Favero, and percussionist Tim White, is not all that predictable, at least if their debut album, Fear Is on Our Side, tells a reliable story. Where the band's self-titled EP, a five-song dazzler issued in 2003 on the daredevil Emperor Jones label (and reissued in 2006 by Secretly Canadian), offered up mildly doleful and semi-danceable indie rock courtesy of Spoon's Britt Daniel, who produced and helped swirl buzz on the band beyond the city limits, Fear Is on Our Side takes a turn for the seriously, achingly bleak. Echoes of Talk Talk and other visceral, introspective 1980s bands filter through the familiar guitar textures, but the mid-2000s is a new era for intelligent gloominess, and flavoring this brew is an overcharged mindfulness that suggests close attention to recent musical history, especially electronica. Though the group's output so far suggests a willingness to climb and explore, cynicism would seem to be an enduring I Love You trait. Their recognition of its versatility promises to propel them.

http://www.myspace.com/doncaballeropgh

Pittsburgh math rockers Don Caballero were one of the first bands to expand on the work of genre innovators like Bastro, Bitch Magnet, and (especially) Slint. Their music was entirely instrumental, and while their guitar interplay was as complex and dissonant as any of their peers, the real driving force behind their precisely calibrated attack was virtuosic drummer Damon Che. In essence, it was Che's manic explosions and stop-on-a-dime shifts in time signature that mapped out the trail his bandmates followed. His whirlwind of percussion helped pace the crashing din of the rest of the quartet, yet they also had a firm grasp of dynamics and often slowed things down into a heavy dirge. And despite the influence of jazz, there was no improvisation -- all the group's compositions were carefully structured, no matter how chaotic they seemed. Don Caballero recorded several albums for Touch & Go over the '90s to generally positive critical response, before going their separate ways in 2001.
Don Caballero was formed in Pittsburgh in 1991 by drummer Damon Che (b. Damon Fitzgerald), guitarists Ian Williams and Mike Banfield, and bassist Pat Morris. Individual veterans of the local scene, they had offers for gigs before they'd even found a lead singer, and simply wound up remaining instrumental. Their name was taken from an SCTV sketch in which the Joe Flaherty character Guy Caballero was made a Mafia don. Through some personal contacts, the band got a chance to enter the studio with producer Steve Albini, who recommended them to Touch & Go Records. Don Caballero released several singles on Touch & Go before completing their Steve Albini-produced debut, For Respect, in 1993.
Pat Morris departed following its release, and was replaced by Matt Jencik for Don Caballero 2, a loud, ugly, intricate album that was released to rapturous reviews in 1995. Hailed as a math rock landmark in some quarters, 2 expanded the group's audience by leaps and bounds. In its wake, several Caballero side projects sprang up: Che played guitar in another Pittsburgh band called the(e) Speaking Canaries, who issued an album not long after; Williams, meanwhile, formed an experimental side project called Storm & Stress, which was most often based in Chicago. Meanwhile, Matt Jencik left the band, and went on to play with Hurl and Taking Pictures; his spot was eventually filled by Storm & Stress bassist Eric Emm (aka Erich Ehm, b. M. Eric Topolsky). This new lineup released What Burns Never Returns in 1998, after which Mike Banfield left the group, reducing them to a trio.
A compilation of Don Caballero's early formative singles appeared in 1999, under the title Singles Breaking Up, Vol. 1 (a reference to the Buzzcocks' Singles Going Steady). In 2000, the group issued its fourth proper album, the cleaner-sounding and more subdued American Don, which again won complimentary reviews. However, intra-band tensions conspired to break up the group by 2001. Williams and Emm returned to Storm & Stress, and Williams also formed a new outfit called Battles with Helmet drummer John Stanier. Che, meanwhile, formed Bellini in 2002 with two members of Sicilian prog rockers Uzeda. However, he left after their first album to re-form Don Caballero with an entirely new lineup, merging himself into a Pittsburgh-based Don Cab-influenced math rock outfit formerly known as Creta Bourzia. The group returned in 2006 with World Class Listening Problem on the Relapse label.

http://www.myspace.com/headlights

Headlights are a trio from Champaign, IL, made up of members of Kindercore band Maserati and Parasol band Absinthe Blind. After name changes, false starts, and membership adjustments (at one point they were known as Orphans) the group settled on their current name and lineup (Erin Fein on vocals and keyboards, Brett Sanderson on drums, and Tristan Wraight on vocals, guitar, and bass) in 2004. The band soon recorded their debut, The Enemies EP, with Adam Schmitt serving as producer. The record was sold at gigs and through mail order, and thanks to a year of near nonstop touring, the disc sold out and the band and their early-'90s American noise-pop sound reminiscent of Velocity Girl and Lilys filtered through modern electronics found a receptive audience. Polyvinyl took notice of the band in 2005 and quickly signed them, re-releasing The Enemies EP in November of 2005. The band kept touring and soon began recording their first full-length album, Kill Them with Kindness, which then came out in 2006.

http://www.ilovecelebrationmusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/celebrationcelebration

Baltimore, MD's cabaret-punk trio Celebration features vocalist/percussionist Katrina Ford, multi-instrumentalist Sean Antanaitis, and drummer David Bergander. Ford and Antanaitis — who are also husband and wife — started out in Ann Arbor's chaotic, early-'90s noise-punk band Jaks, where Ford began to explore the formidable vocal style that would shape the sound of all of the couple's future musical projects. After stints in Chicago and New Orleans, Antanaitis and Ford settled in Baltimore and formed Love Life, a band that traded the sonic combustion of Jaks for a darker, more theatrical sound that put Antanaitis' keyboards at the forefront. Love Life released two albums, 2001's The Rose He Lied By (on Troubleman) and the following year's Here Is Night, Brothers, Here the Birds Burn (on Jagjaguwar), before disbanding in 2003. Later that year, Ford and Antanaitis started Birdland, which saw the two performing as just a duo for the first time in their career. With the addition of Bergander, they became Celebration. The trio recorded their self-titled debut album with the help of producer/TV on the Radio member David Sitek; Ford had contributed vocals to several tracks on that band's Young Liars and Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes. Sitek also introduced them to 4AD, TV on the Radio's international label, who signed Celebration in 2005. That fall, the band embarked on a tour that included a CMJ appearance, coinciding with the release of Celebration.

http://www.myspace.com/thecavesingers

Here is the mystery of Seattle's Cave Singers: They never listened to much folk music, they never intended to play folk music, and more importantly, their guitarist never picked up the instrument until recently. Yet, this strange trio is writing and performing some of the most hypnotizing folk music we have today.
One listen to Invitation Songs, however, and you're ready to call bullshit on them. It sounds like an updated version of the Anthology of American Folk Music. Not the graduate-student, learned interpretations of folk music circa 1962, but folk music approached by way of punk rock. It's sparse, melodic, creepy, and alluring, like the widow mourning graveside in Johnny Cash's "Long Black Veil". Guitarist Derek Fudesco's bottom-end acoustic work sounds like Mississippi John Hurt's soft, rolling finger plucks. Singer Pete Quirk's appealingly nasal voice simultaneously echoes Arlo Guthrie and a mosquito's buzz. And drummer Marty Lund plays like he's slapping a newspaper on a kitchen table.
Though Quirk spent time in Seattle post-punk group Hint Hint, Lund in Cobra High, and Fudesco as bassist for Pretty Girls Make Graves and the legendary Murder City Devils, maybe they've been folk artists all along and we just haven't been open to the idea.
The band maintains that they never made a conscious effort to play a certain 'style' of music, and that, besides the odd Dylan record, their favorite bands are still the Replacements, the Pixies, Fleetwood Mac. With that in mind, I do believe it was Big Bill Broonzy who quipped: "All music is folk music."
Invitation Songs is the Cave Singers' debut. It was recorded in Vancouver, British Columbia by Colin Stewart (PGMG, Black Mountain), and its title is appropriate; it is one of the warmest and most welcoming records of 2007. Each track is coated in a dense atmosphere that feels humid but not stifling. The shuffle-stomp rhythms on "Seeds of Night" and "Dancing on our Graves" recall Civil War marches, highlighting Lund's innate abilities. Elsewhere, on "Royal Lawns" harmonicas sigh and echo back like ghosts in abandoned railway cars. The brooding, washboard-driven "Called" is kin to Ugly Casanova's chain-gang musings, and Quirk's mid-song yelps don't sound planned, but rather like the ultimate summoning of his inner turmoil. "Helen", a classic tale of a long lost lover ("Helen, you're eyes are frozen in my brain"), employs a wavering synth to create a Martian blues vibe. On the rustic rock-flavored "Oh Christine", another strummy song of a love just out of reach, Quirk takes on an almost jazz-poet tone. "I saw you smoking in the bar just the other night/If I saw you right...I saw you drinking in the bar just the other day/And what's that I heard you say?" Nothing fancy, but he sings as if he is conjuring memories so personal he has to force them through his pinched teeth.
You see, the Cave Singers' music demands attention. You'll throw this record on, maybe in the morning while you're getting ready for work. Then, in the middle of the day, one of Quirk's lyrics or Fudesco's riffs will pop into your head, the way a Townes Van Zandt song does. You won't be able to shake it. You'll go home and listen to it again. Pretty soon, Invitation Songs will have worked its way into your subconscious and become the soundtrack to this moment in your life. Invitation Songs will remain a part of you forever.

http://www.birdsofavalon.com/
http://www.myspace.com/birdsofavalon

Birds of Avalon is a rock band from Raleigh, North Carolina whose sound fuses elements of psychedelic and progressive rock. The band consists of Cheetie Kumar (guitar), David Mueller (bass), Scott Nurkin (drums), Paul Siler (guitar), and Craig Tilley (vocals, keyboards). After a 7-year stint in a prison van with the double drum, frenetic rock n' roll assault known as The Cherry Valence, guitarists Cheetie Kumar and Paul Siler felt a growing desire to move on. In a final whirlwind year that saw The Cherry Valence touring Europe multiple times, the couple, Kumar and Siler, got married and made the difficult decision to divorce their band, which had earned a strong live reputation.
Returning home hitched and band-less, they began late night clandestine meetings with neighbor and local crooner Craig Tilley (The Weather), where they hatched a plan to form Birds of Avalon and laid the foundation for what was to become the first batch of Birds Of Avalon songs. Still needing to round out their line up they snared their favorite area drummer Scott Nurkin (Dynamite Brothers) and soon added multi-instrumentalist and fanatical 4 tracker David Mueller on bass.
Having developed a unique psychedelic meets progressive sound that yields feelings that transcend the conventions of both, the Birds Of Avalon skillfully channel elements of a time in Rock since past, while representing their current place in the lineage of North Carolinian independent rock heritage. Easily traversing the gray area between raw blues rock and atmospheric psych-pop, Birds Of Avalon "can tear it up in a three-minute barn-burner or lure you into an extended psychedelic journey, wandering schizophrenically like a Brian May guitar solo." Since their inception in 2005, Birds Of Avalon have toured extensively, sharing the stage with luminaries such as Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, The Fucking Champs, Big Business, Oneida, Mudhoney, Valient Thorr, Destroyer, Federation X, and Drunk Horse. In 2006, the band released a self-titled EP.
Birds Of Avalon's debut full length album, Bazaar Bazaar, was released by Volcom Entertainment on May 22, 2007. The album was produced by Mitch Easter (R.E.M., Let's Active, Wilco), Greg Elkins, and Brian Quast.
In addition to handling guitar duties for Birds of Avalon, Siler is one of the co-owners of the downtown Raleigh nightclub Kings. The club, which opened in July 1999, quickly became one of Raleigh's major concert venues, hosting a wide variety of local and national touring acts. Kings has served as a headquarters of sorts for the local underground rock scene, and to some extent, Birds of Avalon owes its existence to the club (in addition to co-owner Siler, Kumar, Mueller, and Tilley have all worked at Kings). The club recently closed after the property which housed it was sold to the City of Raleigh to facilitate the construction of a nine-story parking garage. Kings' owners are currently considering alternative locations in downtown Raleigh, which has gentrified rapidly since the opening of the McDowell Street location in 1999.

http://www.attackformation.org/
http://www.myspace.com/attackformation
http://www.uber.com/attackformation
Attack Formation has now included over 200 members throughout its eight-year existence. From a trash-can sample rampage, to beautiful soundscapes, to rainy day songs coming from the heart through the chest. A message as big as the current line-up(9 people) , this life is short and you might miss it. Thier newest L.P., "We Are Alive In Tune"(2007) is out now. You can preview it @ www.wearealiveintune.org

http://www.neurosis.com/
http://www.myspace.com/officialneurosis

Formed in Oakland, CA in late 1985, Neurosis developed a style blending industrial, heavy metal, and alternative rock with often spiritually focused lyrics. Members Steve Von Till (guitar, vocals, percussion), Dave Edwardson (bass, vocals), Scott Kelly (bass, vocals), Jason Roeder (drums), Noah Landis (keyboards, samples, tape effects), and Pete Inc. (visuals) debuted in 1987 with the album Pain of Mind, but it took nearly five years for any follow-up to be released. Both Souls at Zero and The Word as Law appeared in 1992, followed by Enemy of the Sun a year later. 1996's Through Silver in Blood became the band's most popular release, and 1999's Steve Albini-produced Times of Grace helped build upon that breakthrough. Sovereign followed a year later. 2001's Sun That Never Sets stuck with more tribal-like beats and composition.

http://www.swordofdoom.com/
http://www.myspace.com/thesword

Not to be confused with the Canadian heavy metal band from the late '80s, named simply Sword, the Sword is a retro-metal four-piece hailing from of all places the singer/songwriter oasis of Austin, TX. First conceived in 2003, the Sword really hit their stride about a year later, when founding vocalist and guitarist J.D. Cronise joined forces with guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie, and drummer Trivett Wingo, and made a much raved-over appearance at Austin's famed SXSW Festival. National touring stints with everyone from Clutch to indie rock darlings ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead followed, and by mid-2005 the Sword had been picked up by New York-based indie label Kemado Records, with their much-anticipated debut album, Age of Winters, appearing early the next year.

http://www.angrysamoans.com/
http://www.myspace.com/angrysamoans123

Along with X, Black Flag, Fear and the Circle Jerks, the savagely satirical Angry Samoans rode the first wave of Los Angeles punk. Formed in Van Nuys, California in the summer of 1978, the band was founded by singers and guitarists "Metal" Mike Saunders and Gregg Turner, a pair of erstwhile rock critics who previously teamed with fellow writer Richard Meltzer in the group Vom. After considering names like the Egyptians and the Eigen Vectors (a mathematical term ó Turner later became a math professor), they settled on the Angry Samoans, enlisted Saunders' brother Kevin on guitar, bassist Todd Homer and drummer Bill Vockeroth, and initially set out as a Dictators cover band.

BIO:
Soon, Saunders and Turner began writing original material, drawing influence from the Velvet Underground, the Sonics, the 13th Floor Elevators and garage rock. After honing their primitive and increasingly thrashy sound at a series of surreal gigs (including sets at the Camarillo State Mental Hospital and a lunchtime show at Santa Monica High School, where emcee Meltzer asked if any "heroin addicts" were in the audience), the Samoans ó substituting guitarist P.J. Galligan for Kevin Saunders ó debuted in 1980 with the EP Inside My Brain, highlighted by "Get Off the Air," their pointed swipe at KROQ deejay Rodney Bingenheimer and the L.A. musical community.
Two years later, they resurfaced with Back from Samoa, featuring titles like "They Saved Hitler's Cock," "Tuna Taco" and "My Old Man's a Fatso." Soon, the band grew disenchanted with the entire punk culture, and they spent the next several years largely in a dormant state: guitarist Steve Drojensky replaced Kevin Saunders in 1984, Vockeroth went on hiatus, and Jeff Dahl temporarily stepped in for "Metal" Mike in 1985, but by and large the group laid low until 1987's Yesterday Started Tomorrow. Problems with their label and internal differences led the group to disband after recording 1988's STP Not LSD.
In 1991, "Metal" Mike issued a solo EP, Plays the Hits of the '90s; in 1994, Turner released his own album, Santa Fe, and later fronted Gregg Turner and the Blood-Drained Cows. Homer, meanwhile, resurfaced in the neo-psychedelic outfit Mooseheart Faith Stellar Groove Band. By the mid-1990s, "Metal" Mike was also fronting a new Samoans line-up which still included longtime mainstay Vockeroth as well as guitarist Alison Wonderslam and Mark Byrne as well as bassist Adrienne Harmon; their infrequent performances (only on Saturdays and only in California) remain a vital link to punk's past.

http://www.sickofitall.com/
http://www.myspace.com/sickofitallny

Formed by brothers Lou and Pete Koller in the mid-'80s, Sick of It All became a seminal band in the New York City hardcore scene. While remaining true to their roots and without compromising their style, Sick of It All have progressed from an indie band with a strong live following to a major-label act touring with the likes of Helmet and Rancid. Sick of It All remain a vital influence on the hardcore scene. They released Built to Last in early 1997 to critical acclaim and an expanding audience.
The brothers came up with the band's bluntly expressive name in their parents' basement in 1984. SOIA's original lineup with Lou on vocals, Pete on guitar, Rich Cipriano on bass, and Arman Majidi on drums released an initial self-titled EP in 1987 on the independent Revelation label. After playing N.Y.C. clubs like CBGB's and building a strong local following, SOIA released, on the Combat label, their first album, Blood Sweat and No Tears, a collection of 19 songs of intense energy, 17 of which clocked in at less than two minutes. Following the release of the album, SOIA embarked on their first national tour. Majidi left during the tour to work with Rest in Pieces and was replaced by Max Capshaw. Majidi rejoined to record the We Stand Alone EP, which was released in early 1991 on the Relativity label. Neither Majidi nor Cipriano played with the Koller brothers on the tour preceding the release; Eddie Coen substituted on bass, plus E.K. on drums.
SOIA recorded and released Just Look Around for Relativity in 1992 with the original lineup intact, and then Cipriano left for good prior to an international tour that brought SOIA to Europe and Japan. Craig Setari came on to play bass and to establish the lineup that has remained intact through the release of Built to Last. Just Look Around was instrumental in revitalizing the declining N.Y.C. hardcore scene. SOIA left the Relativity label after the release of the album, citing dissatisfaction with the efforts of the indie label. They released Scratch the Surface in 1994 on the Eastwest label, facing accusations of selling out from fans and industry members.
Two releases in 1995 on the Lost and Found label, a live album entitled Live in a World Full of Hate and a collection of early recordings, Spreading the Hardcore Reality, bridged the gap between the releases of Scratch the Surface and Built to Last, which was released on the Elektra label. During that time, SOIA continued to tour extensively, including visits to South and Central America.
SOIA has suffered from associations with violence. Frequent fights at early shows gave them the unwanted and unfounded image of condoning violence. The bandmembers have attempted to disassociate the group from the violent acts of their fans. In the early '90s, Wayne Lo, a Massachusetts prep student, shot and killed several classmates while wearing a Sick of It All T-shirt, and The New York Times granted space to the bandmembers to issue a statement of vindication, in which they explained how Lo had misinterpreted their lyrics. Rolling Stone also ran an editorial in defense of the band. "Goatless," a song on Scratch the Surface, is inspired by the episode.
SOIA's steady progression has been colored by numerous accusations of selling out. The band once debated the pseudo-anarchist band Born Against live on N.Y.U. radio about that very subject. The band generally dismisses any such accusations. Only in recent years have the members of the group been able to give up their "day jobs." They are not overly concerned about their image, and in fact have stated in interviews that they have no image. They are more concerned about writing music inspired by real events in their own lives, and performing it with more emphasis on impact and energy than on melody.
Still going strong into the new millennium, Sick of It All returned with their second release on Fat Wreck Chords, Yours Truly, in the fall of 2000. Next came the band documentary video The Story So Far in 2001, their contribution to Fat's Live in a Dive series (2002), the studio album Life on the Ropes (2003), and the B-sides collection Outtakes for the Outcast (2004). Marking 20 years together in 2006, they began the year over in the U.K. with Dropkick Murphys before their ninth full-length, Death to Tyrants, dropped in April on Abacus.

http://www.myspace.com/battalionofsaints

In 1978, George Anthony (vocals) and Chris Smith (guitar) started the band up under the name the Nutrons. After a year or so, they had quickly gone through many bass players, and settled with Barry Farwell. They also had finally found someone that was willing to drum for them. Don Diaz then joined them as a second guitarist. Shortly after, Chris kicked Barry out because Barry stole Chris' girlfriend. They were nearly ready to start touring, so then they recruited friend James Cooper to play bass with them. That lineup didn't last for long either, and they found some new members to play with them who were in a band that had just broken up called the Standbys. Ted Olsen was one of the members, and drummed for them until near the end of their career. By now, George and Chris were really developing their sound, and started doing lots of shows with bands like the Dead Kennedys and others. They were looking for a change, and along with the development of their sound, they decided to change their name to the Battalion of Saints. The name seemed fitting because a battalion is a hell of a lot of people - seeing how many members they went through already, and the fact that they were far from being saints fit in great. So far, the band hadn't really released anything except for some demo tracks recorded at Hit Single. Shortly after that in late 1981, the band went back to Hit Single Studios and recorded for the "Fighting Boys" 4-song 12"ep. They released this in '82 on Nutrons Records, their own label. It was distributed through Mystic. The record was an instant classic, and is quite a collector's item now. The music was good, fast, political west coast hardcore punk. By now, they were pretty well established and had a reputation and quite a following all over the west coast.
They played with many well known hardcore punk bands of the day including the Exploited, Broken Bones, The Misfits, 7 Seconds, Dead Kennedys, Iron Fist, Angry Samoans, The Freeze, etc. Shortly after their first EP was out, they were asked to contribute a few tracks to the BYO Records compilation "Someone's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In" - a compilation challenging youth to stand up for what they believe in - especially to take a stand against police brutality. The band went to Mystic Sound Studios and recorded. Three of the tracks were used, including the vicious attack on police brutality, "Cops Are Out." Some other bands to appear on the comp were Youth Brigade, Adolescents, Social Distortion, and Bad Religion. They also appeared on Version Sound's "Meathouse 1" compliation, and the "Our Blow Out!" compilation (local San Diego band comp.). Tracks from the Hit Single sessions were used for these comps.
After recording at Mystic Sound, Doug Moody of Mystic Records, who kept the masters, released the Second Coming 7" EP on his label, with really raw and screamy early versions of 3 tracks. He also used an otherwise unreleased track, "Sweaty Little Girls," to be included on the Destroy L.A. Fanzine on vinyl. After the release of the 'zine/record, Mystic used 2 of the Destroy L.A. tracks and released a split 7" with the Battalion of Saints track on one side, S.V.D.B.'s track "Chain Reaction" on the other. Unfortunately, none of these Mystic releases were ever authorized by the band, and the band got no money from Mystic. The singles sold several thousand copies - more than any other band had done for Mystic at the time. They were legitimate releases on a somewhat legitimate label, but as usual, Mystic got in the habit of ripping off bands who worked with them. A few years after they had disbanded for the first time, Doug Moody of Mystic put out the Sweaty Little Girls ep with the track from Destroy LA, and on the B side 2 live tracks. At the same time, Moody also got in touch with Randy Fuele from Hit Single and got some of the tapes from the band's two recording sessions there. Using these demos, the Fighting Boys session, and again the Destroy L.A. track, along with more live recordings, Mystic put out a bootleg Best of... lp of the Bats titled "Rock In Peace."
In 1984, the band signed a contract with Enigma Records and recorded for a new album, Second Coming. Here's what Op Magazine had to say about it: "A fiery record - slick, polished, and tight - which members of G.B.H. and Dischargeshould be required to listen to at least 10 times a day between now and the next time they go into the studio to record... this is definitely a fine effort that easily puts to shame many of their English counterparts doing the same kind of thing." Overall, it was a very well done record that blows away the typical hardcore sound of their days Earlier versions of a few of these tracks can be found on the BYO compilation and Mystic's Second Coming EP.
After they had gone through two more bass players (Travis Davidson and Dennis Frame), they finally got their friend Capt.Scarlet to fill the spot. Scarlet, who was from England, had been kicked out of the Exploited a year or two earlier, and had played guitar for the U.K. Subs for a short time. Right before they were to go on tour, Ted Olsen, their drummer for the 4 previous years, quit the band. Then they got Joey Maya to join the band and toured. Unfortunately, after they toured, more problems came their way. Chris Smith (guitar) decided that he wanted to move to New Jersey and marry his girlfriend. He got ready to move, but his plans backfired. He then stole George's girlfriend. Then moved to New York for some other girl. At this time, he joined the band Kraut and recorded some material with them. George decided to go to New York and talk Chris back into coming back to San Diego. Once he got there, he found out that Chris had just died! The story was that he slipped in the bathtub and cracked his head open, proceeding to drown.
They actually had found him lying dead in the bathtub with syringes laying all over the place from shooting up heroin and speed. This was about all the band could take after so many members quitting or dying, and so Scarlet and George moved to England deciding not to go on without Chris.
After nearly a decade, George and his longtime friend Terry "Tezz" Bones decided to reform the band. Both had grown tired of the hardcore punk that was out there nowadays, and wanted to play again and do it their way. Since most of the original mainstay members had quit or died, they began searching for a bass palyer and a drummer. At the same time, Curtis from Taang! Records was working on re-releasing their original material. He spent two years searching for their original studio tapes and ex-band members.
He was finally able to contact George Anthony through a classified ad that George and Terry had put in a San Diego newspaper looking for musicians whose influences were the Battalion of Saints. They worked on gathering all of the out of print and unreleased stuff they could find, to remix and remaster it, and have it all on one CD, which is what became the Death -R- Us CD. On Dec. 22, 1994, on an off night during a U.K. Subs tour, nearly a decade after the formation of the original band, the second incarnation of the band recorded two songs in a few hours when the other members were in San Diego (they were in the UK Subs and on tour). This time, they added the suffix 'A.D.' to their name. Accompanying George (vocals) and Tezz (guitar) were friends Matthew McCoy (drums) and Gregor Kramer (bass), who were both UK Subs members. Two new songs were recorded that night, which were released on a limited 7" on Taang! Records. The band had built up a lot of hype by this time, and the 7" was sold out even before it was pressed! Those songs now appear as the first two tracks of 'Death -R- Us.' After playing some shows together, Gregor and Matthew decided that being in two bands was too much of a strain, so they both left concentrate on the UK Subs. A new bass player (Ken Ortman) and drummer replaced those two. George and Tezz had written a lot of new material now, and the band went out on tour with Total Chaos. Their new drummer left the band in the middle of their tour, so Gearbox, the drummer of Total Chaos, was enlisted to serve double duty as the drummer for both headlining bands. After the tour, they recruited Slayer Hippie (of Poison Idea) to play drums, but unfortunalely he couldn't leave Portland due to his probation, so they then found an amazing drummer, Mark Bender, and went on with business. Since then they proceeded to tour with as many old school punk bands as they could after that, including Anti Nowhere League, Stiff Little Fingers, Meatmen, The Business, GBH, Rancid, Fear, etc. In '96, they recorded all of their new songs and and released the full length CD Cuts on Taang Records. The intensity and sound of the new line up was in the same general vein as the original lineup, but with an even more blistering tone, with a heavy Broken Bones influence to it with the addition of Tezz's guitar work. '97 rolled around, and the band stopped touring for a little while (other than a few West Coast shows now and then) to work on new material. The first product to come out of this was their Muscle of Love 7" on Taang!, which has a really strong original called I Don't Know along with a cover of Alice Cooper's song Muscle of Love. The sound on this is a bit matured from the sound on Cuts, with a more blistering, straight forward thrash sound to it that gives it more appeal.
The band started working on more new material, and planned to record in the fall of '98, and go on tour after the release of the album. Unfortunately more problems came their way, which led to the break up of the band... One unreleased track came out of this, the rest remained unrecorded. George began working with Rick Agnew of Adolescents fame, and Terry "Tezz" Bones started playing bass with Billyclub. .
2004 George recruited new members and returned to the name Battalion Of Saints and they are now currently playing shows again

http://www.madballnyhc.com/
http://www.myspace.com/madball

Part of the New York hardcore scene, Madball originated back in 1989, as a side project of the legendary outfit Agnostic Front (Madball vocalist Freddy Cricien's older brother is none other than AF's Roger Miret). After releasing the "Ball of Destruction" single in the same year, an early version of the band began playing live. It wasn't until 1991 when Madball truly hit their stride, when the lineup of Freddy Cricien on vocals, guitarists Matt Henderson and Vinnie Stigma, drummer Will Shepler, and bassist Hoya joined forces. The new version of the band quickly recorded and released an EP called Droppin' Many Suckas, which eventually led to the band signing with Roadrunner in 1994. By releasing a pair of straight-ahead hardcore full-lengths (1994's Set It Off and 1996's Demonstrating My Style) and touring steadily, the band built a sizeable fan base outside their hometown. Now a quartet consisting of Cricien, Henderson, Hoya, and new drummer John Lafatta, the band recorded what many consider their finest album yet, Look My Way, which was released in the spring of 1998. Hold It Down followed two years later.

http://witchcrafthome.com/
http://www.myspace.com/witchcraftswe

The Swedish retro-doom-psych-folk band known as Witchcraft was started in 2000 by vocalist/guitarist Magnus Pelander, whose original intent was to record a single in tribute to Pentagram's Bobby Liebling and Roky Erickson -- how often does that happen? Calling on his friend John Hoyles (guitar) and brothers Ola (bass) and Jens Henriksson (drums) to lend a hand, Pelander did indeed record that single (entitled "No Angel or Demon") and released it through small independent Primitive Arts Records in 2002. Then, encouraged by the results, he continued to compose material for Witchcraft while his bandmates pursued other interests.
A year would pass before they reconvened as Witchcraft, and with new drummer Jonas Arnesen in tow, the quartet began preparing their eponymous debut album for release through Rise Above the following year. Recorded in a basement studio outfitted exclusively with vintage equipment, the album captured a hauntingly authentic 1970s sound -- steeped not only in the heavy-handed work of Black Sabbath and Pentagram, but also in the psych and folk-rock elements of obscure acts like Leaf Hound, Captain Beyond, and Comus. And yet, ironically, none of the members of Witchcraft were even born before 1977, making their loving reconstruction of that decade's music -- underground music at that -- all the more remarkable.

http://www.killforsaviours.com/
http://www.myspace.com/saviours666

Although they formed in Oakland, CA, in 2002, the Saviours are a deliberate throwback to an earlier time and place, specifically Great Britain in the late '70s and early '80s. Deeply inspired by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal as well as first-generation thrashers like Slayer and early Metallica, the Saviours formed out of the ashes of a minor East Bay thrash and screamo band named after the excellently monikered actor Yaphet Kotto. Singer and guitarist Austin Barber, guitarists Tyler Morris and Mag Delena, bassist Cyrus Comiskey, and drummer Scott Batiste signed with the indie label Level Plane and debuted with the 2005 EP Warship. Their first full-length album, Crucifire, followed in the spring of 2006.

http://www.modernlifeiswar.net/
http://www.myspace.com/modernlifeiswar
We are a band from Marshalltown, Iowa. Formed in 2002. We have toured all over the world over the course of the last five years playing in over 20 different countries including: US, Canada, Japan, Iceland, Netherlands, UK, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Hungary, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Poland and Switzerland. We are working on our third album and we are always out there pounding the pavement. Look for us in a town near you.

http://www.vivahate.net/
http://www.myspace.com/vivavivahate

Psychobilly? Hard Rock? Punk? The sound of VIVA HATE could be described as all (or none) of the above. Drawing on influences such as American country music, 70s arena rock, early-80s skate punk and death rock, modern psychobilly, and more, VIVA HATE has come to rise above the trends of cookie-cutter pop and retro rehash. By distilling the ingredients of their influences, rather than watering them down, VIVA HATE are prepared to carve out their own niche in the ever-growing musical underground.
VIVA HATE was formed late in the summer of 2004, shortly after Geoff Kresge had left his previous band, TIGER ARMY, with the intent to play aggressive music that would incorporate the upright bass playing as a key element of the sound. Kresge approached longtime friend and razor-throated vocalist, Matt "Wedge" Wedgley (formerly of THE FORCE) to retain his services as the lead vocalist for the new band. The two had talked about, and made several attempts at forming a band together for years, but the timing was never right. The closest they had come to realizing their vision up until that point was a song the two had written together for Wedgley's band while Kresge was still a member of AFI.
Kresge had earlier produced a record for 12 STEP REBELS, for his own label, Dead Body Records. The band had fallen apart shortly after the release of the album and Kresge soon after enlisted Mad Dog Chad as VIVA HATE's drummer, based not only on his drumming style, but his ambition as well. Upon landing in his new position in VIVA HATE, Mad Dog Chad immediately rallied Kresge and Wedgley's enthusiasm like a drill sergeant, hell-bent on getting the band off the ground. Within the next weeks, the final position in the lineup was filled. Eric Razo's playing and stage presence had already caught Kresge's attention, even in the earliest stages of Viva Hate's career. Kresge had seen Razo's own LA-area band, the HENCHMEN, on a few occasions and was convinced that Eric's playing was just what VIVA HATE needed to round out the lineup.
After recording a demo comprised of rough versions of the first batch of songs Kresge and Wedgley put together (samples of which can be heard here on the VIVA HATE MySpace page), the band began playing shows in the Southern California area and did a short California tour. In a short span of time as a functioning band, VIVA HATE have already managed to amass a following for themselves that doesn't adhere to any pre-defined subcultural group.
In February 2007, VIVA HATE announced the addition of new drummer, GREG UTTER (SWINGIN' UTTERS, THE LOWDOWNS, etc.). Greg joined VIVA HATE after Mad Dog Chad left the band to focus his attention on a new addition to his family and his band ENDS!NTRAGEDY. Greg's debut with VIVA HATE was on the band's tour with AFI in March 2007.
In May 2007, the band completed a short tour with NYHC legends AGNOSTIC FRONT, successfully introducing VIVA HATE to another new audience.

http://www.myspace.com/ironagetexas

http://www.myspace.com/downtonothing

http://murdercitydevils.net/
http://www.myspace.com/peopleaskwheremurdercityis

The Murder City Devils was a rock and roll band active between 1996 and 2001.
The band's original lineup, consisting of Spencer Moody, Dann Gallucci, Derek Fudesco, Coady Willis and Nate Manny, formed in Seattle, Washington in 1996. Gabe Kerbratz was their permanent roadie, and considered a member. Within a year, the band had released two singles Three Natural Sixes (Hopscotch Records #5) and Dance Hall Music (Empty Records MTR-354) and signed with the "Die Young Stay Pretty" label, a subsidiary of Sub Pop. The self-titled debut album was released in 1997.
In 1998, the band released Empty Bottles, Broken Hearts, its second full-length album. This release saw a greatly increased use of electric organ, and in the same year they recruited Leslie Hardy, a former member of Hole, as their full-time keyboard player. They emarked on a year-long tour of North America to support the record. During that tour, they played with the likes of Built to Spill, Pearl Jam, and At the Drive-In.
After a short break, the band released In Name and Blood in 2000, with photos in the liner notes notoriously depicting every member as a murder victim. They also appeared as both individual actors as well as a band in David Larson's independent film The Edge of Quarrel. The band released the Thelema EP in 2001 before breaking up later that year due to circumstances surrounding Hardy's departure from the band. (The Stranger Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2001 issue, It's My Party column by Kathleen Wilson)
The band's final concert on Halloween was recorded and released by Sub Pop in 2003, titled "R.I.P." Notably, R.I.P. includes two previously unrecorded songs. It was also released on DVD in 2005.
In 2006 the band announced they were reuniting for a July show in Seattle with all original members. The band performed on July 29th at the Capitol Hill Block Party closing the two day music festival on Saturday night. The day following the Block Party performance the band played a secret unannounced show with The Blood Brothers at The Showbox in downtown Seattle, the same venue where "R.I.P." was recorded.

http://www.againstme.net/am.php
http://www.myspace.com/againstme

The roots of Against Me!'s rousing punk-folk sound lie in Tom Gabel's guitar-and-stool troubadourship around his native Gainesville, FL, beginning in 1997. The then 17-year-old Gabel performed as a solo act wherever anyone would have him, drawing much influence from early acoustic protest music. The band around him would eventually solidify by 2001 ó including guitarist James Bowman, drummer Warren Oakes, and bassist Andrew Seward ó and get considerably louder as punk bands often do. But there would always be some anarchism and Billy Bragg in the raucous braggadocio. After a few initial 12" and 7" releases, Against Me! issued the fan-favorite Reinventing Axl Rose through No Idea in 2002. The underground hit blended elements of punk, folk, and country into socially conscious and impassioned anthems for late-night basement shows and bars. Continuing their reputation of always being on the road, countless tour dates were played around the country. The slightly more polished As the Eternal Cowboy followed from Fat Wreck in 2003, and after a DVD (We're Never Going Home) and another 7", the band returned with their most mature effort to date, 2005's Searching for a Former Clarity. A subsequent headlining tour in support of the introspective and politically aggressive album saw the band proudly hitting every U.S. state. They signed to Sire Records in December 2005 and were back on the road by spring 2006 opening for the Alkaline Trio. That summer found Against Me! on the main stage at Warped Tour, their first time on the festival. Though the guys were officially now on the roster at Sire, they released the live album Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live in London!!! on Fat Wreck in August 2006. Recorded while on tour in London with Murder by Death, it harnessed the band's notoriously invigorating live show as well as any album could. Finally, in July of the following year, the band's major-label debut, New Wave, a decidedly more rock-oriented record produced by Butch Vig, hit shelves.

http://www.lifetimenj.com/
http://www.myspace.com/lifetimenj

Cult favorite melodic hardcore unit Lifetime was formed in New Jersey in 1990 by singer Ari Katz and guitarist Dan Yemin. Boasting a positive lyrical approach in stark contrast to the cynical mentality predominant throughout the hardcore community of the period, the group earned immediate fame with the 1991 release of its self-titled debut EP, issuing the acclaimed full-length Background the following year. After countless lineup changes, the Lifetime roster stabilized prior to the release of their 1995 Jade Tree label debut, Hello Bastards, with Katz and Yemin recruiting guitarist Pete Martin, bassist Dave Palaitis, and drummer Scott Golley. The album really cemented the band's status as underground heroes, only to be further solidified with their next effort. After a brief tour in support of 1997's well-received Jersey's Best Dancers, the influential group dissolved; while Katz, Palaitis and Golley were soon reunited in Zero Zero, Yemin teamed with drummer David Wagenschutz (a Lifetime alum from the group's earliest incarnations) to form Kid Dynamite, and later, Paint It Black.
Lifetime reunited in August 2005 to play New Jersey's Hellfest, but when the festival was unexpectedly canceled, the group instead played a few shows around the East Coast, all proceeds going to charity. Several more packed shows followed, including a slot at 2006's South by Southwest festival, before the band decided to seriously re-form and sign with Decaydance (headed by Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, who was a huge fan of the band) in March 2006. That same month, Jade Tree released the double-disc collector's set Somewhere in the Swamps of Jersey, which highlighted the band's earlier (and much of it out of print) work alongside 52 pages of lyrics, rare photos, and liner notes. As work began on a new record, Lifetime embarked on a brief summer tour with the Bronx and the Loved Ones in tow. The EP 2 Songs appeared that fall and wetted palates for the eventual release of their highly anticipated self-titled record, which picked up exactly where the guys left off upon its release in early February 2007.

http://www.theriverboatgamblers.com/
http://www.myspace.com/theriverboatgamblers

The Riverboat Gamblers rocked their way out of the university town of Denton, TX, in September 2001 with the "Jenna Is a No Show" 7". It's unclear how the vinyl sliver was able to effectively harness the sonic fury that the Gamblers' legendary UNT house party live act had become; nevertheless, an instant classic was born. A Tim Kerr-produced, eponymous LP followed on Vile Beat; it poured a pint of whiskey on an already raging rock and roll fire. Led by the whooping vocals of Teko (Mike Wiebe), the band also featured guitarists Freddy Castro (Fadi El-Assad) and Colin Ambulance (Colin James), bassist Spider (Pat Lillard), and drummer Jesse 3X (Jesse Hamilton). Like their peers in the Catheters and Tight Bros from Way Back When, the Riverboat Gamblers reveled in flailing 1970s cock rock and cared little for subtlety. Despite rabid major-label interest (in part derived from a typically incendiary set at the 2003 South by Southwest festival in Austin, TX), the band signed with rawking indie powerhouse Gearhead, which quickly issued the Something to Crow About LP in June 2003. Extensive touring commenced in summer of that year, logging time with MC5, Burning Brides, and Flogging Molly along the way. The Riverboat Gamblers signed with Volcom Entertainment in April 2005, spent time on the summer's Warped Tour, and released To the Confusion of Our Enemies in April 2006. By this time, Wiebe, Castro, and Lilliard were rounded out on guitar by Ian McDougall and, eventually, drummer Mark Baker. This lineup only lasted a few more tours, as by March 2007, while on the road with Against Me!, former Gorilla Biscuit Luke Abbey was enlisted to take over the drum kit.

http://homepages.nyu.edu/~cch223/usa/poisonidea_main.html
http://www.myspace.com/blankblackoutvacant

Nihilistic Portland, OR, hardcore outfit Poison Idea was formed in 1980 by frontman Jerry A., guitarist Tom Roberts, bassist Chris Tense, and drummer Dean Johnson. The group debuted three years later with the EP Pick Your King, cramming 13 songs into a 16-minute time frame; the Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes EP followed in 1985, fine-tuning the band's blistering sound and fatalistic worldview. Thanks to their notoriously insatiable diet of drugs, alcohol, and junk food, the members of Poison Idea all ballooned past the 300-pound mark by the time of the 1986 full-length Kings of Punk, with Roberts, who now tipped the scales at an impressive 450 pounds, rechristening himself Pig Champion in honor of the occasion. Tense and Johnson were then dismissed from the lineup, although the former returned in time for 1987's War All the Time, recorded with second guitarist Eric "Vegetable" Olsen and drummer Steve "Thee Slayer Hippy" Hanford; Tense was then replaced by bassist Mondo for 1988's Filthkick EP. Both the Darby Crash Rides Again and Ian MacKaye EPs followed a year later, another period of roster tumult which made way for the addition of guitarist Kid Cocksman (soon replaced by Aldine Striknine) and bassist Myrtle Tickner. Poison Idea returned in 1990 with Feel the Darkness, with a series of live releases (the Official Bootleg EP, the Live in Vienna EP, and the Dutch Courage LP) preceding 1992's Blank Blackout. A collaboration with Jeff Dahl appeared a year later, concurrent with the covers album Pajama Party; however, in the wake of Pig Champion's subsequent departure Poison Idea disbanded, releasing their June 6, 1993, farewell gig at Portland's La Luna as Pig's Last Stand.

http://www.myspace.com/youthbrigadebyo

YOUTH BRIGADE was formed at the end of summer 1980 in Los Angeles, amid the explosion of the punk scene in Southern California by brothers Shawn, Mark, and Adam Stern. The brothers Stern have established YOUTH BRIGADE as one of the most powerful, independent groups in North America over the course of their 25 odd years of existence. The basic philosophy of the band is that "youth" is an attitude, not an age and that every generation has the responsibility to change what they feel is wrong in the world. Unfortunately, it seems that many people either forget or grow weary of this responsibility as they get older in years, so the band feels it is really important that every new generation realize this responsibility and act upon it. It is with these ideals in mind that the band was started, and that eldest brothers Shawn and Mark formed the Better Youth Organization in 1982. The BYO is dedicated to promoting alternative music, art and other creative endeavors in a completely independent manner. They started off promoting shows, (they ran the infamous Godzilla's nightclub), started BYO Records in 1982, (which has released over 100 records to date and become one of the strongest and most respected indie labels in the world) set up tours for many bands, (including the first BYO tour which was done in a big school bus and documented on 60 hours of video tape to become the movie, "Another State of Mind"), as well as many other projects too numerous to mention.
YOUTH BRIGADE played their first gig as a 3 piece (the band's first year of existence was as a 6 piece!) on New Year's Eve '81/'82 at Godzilla's. They were part of the big BYO extravaganza "Youth Movement '82" at the Hollywood Palladium, where 3500 people showed up for an all LA bill in early February. Then they recorded 3 tracks for the first BYO record release "Someone Got Their Head Kicked In", and took off in their big yellow school bus on their first North American tour during summer of '82. After about 30 shows and several breakdowns (all documented on film!) they returned home to record their debut LP "Sound & Fury" with the infamous producer, Thom Wilson. (DOA, TSOL, and later Offspring, Bouncing Souls). (A premature version was rushed together before the tour but pressing was stopped at 800 copies, as the band was not satisfied with the quality of the material or production.) This all-new version was recorded and met with rave reviews upon release in June of '83, followed by a highly successful, 50 date tour of North America during the summer. After having secured a licensing deal for "Sound & Fury" in England, plans were made to tour Europe in the fall of '84. They released a 3 song EP "What Price?" in spring '84 and then played about 50 dates throughout Holland, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Yugoslavia, Poland, and England and were one of the first indie American bands to tour the "underground" of Europe and especially eastern countries. After this tour, younger brother & bassist Adam decided to return to art school and finish his degree. The band recorded his last show in June of '85 at Fenders Ballroom in Long Beach and these tracks have been released on Italian and French releases as well as the "Sink With Kalifornija" CD collection. Brothers' Shawn and Mark continued on as THE BRIGADE for about 2 years, but it wasn't the same without all 3 of them together.
After taking time off, the 3 brothers were again touring North America and Europe. This time with their new bands in late '91; Mark and Adam's red hot be-bop, jump, jive sensations, THE ROYAL CROWN REVUE, and Shawn's hard hitting melodic punk band THAT'S IT! Meeting in a bar in Hamburg while touring, Mark and Adam expressed the desire to reform YOUTH BRIGADE for a tour and Shawn agreed, as long as they would work on a new record. When they returned home in January '92, they started working on new material and did a wild show at the Whisky A Go-Go in Hollywood, late April. As people chanted along to "Men In Blue", it was an eerie comeback just 3 days before the riots (inspired by the unjust verdict in the case pertaining to the white L.A.P.D. officers who violently beat black motorist Rodney King) that rocked LA They even played shows during this uprising, having one shut down by police in Santa Ana, 50 miles south of LA As the city gradually returned to it's usual state of unrest, they recorded 6 songs in July at the infamous Westbeach Studios for their newest EP, aptly entitled "Come Again". As they planned that cold, intoxicated night in Hamburg, they once again packed up their equipment, a couple of roadies and a film crew, and boarded a jumbo jet in the middle of September, to tour Europe again as YOUTH BRIGADE. The tour covered Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Czechoslovakia & Poland. The film crew documented the music, politics, and madness of the world they live in and have been able to help create a part of.
Ten years after their landmark debut, the band recorded "Happy Hour" at Westbeach & released it March '94. Soon after they added former CADILLAC TRAMPS, US BOMBS, and current Social Distortion guitarist Johnny "Two Bags" Wickersham and recorded the next full length "To Sell the Truth" in April of '96. Produced by Steve Kravac (Less Than Jake, MXPX) and mixed by long time friend Thom Wilson (Offspring, Bouncing Souls), this highly acclaimed album contains 14 rompin stompin punk rock action tracks. They toured throughout the world for the rest of that year.
In 1998 the band went back in the studio to record a 30-second song for the Fat Wreckchord compilation "Short Music For Short People". The song was recorded in a friend's living room, and brought back all of the raw edged energy that had been missing in previous recordings. The raw sound went over so well, that the band decided to abandon the high production sounds and get back to basics. In mid '99, they went in to record 6 new tracks for Volume 2 of the BYO Records Split series. The flip side of the album was N. California's Swingin Utters. The album received rave reviews, stating that this was Youth Brigade's best recordings ever! The band has been touring sporadically for the past year and a half, and is currently working on a new album that is tentatively scheduled to be released in 2005. After more than 20 years as a band the boys don't keep to any strict schedule, they've earned that right! But one thing is for sure...they don't seem to be going away anytime soon!

http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/saints.htm
http://www.myspace.com/saintsmusic

Roaring out of Brisbane, Australia, in 1977 with the punk-era classic "(I'm) Stranded," the Saints, despite going through numerous incarnations, were a part of rock and roll for more than 20 years, thanks mainly to their indefatigable leader (and founder), Chris Bailey. Although they didn't play anything that passes for punk rock after about 1978, and despite extended dormant periods, the Saints never officially broke up, and Bailey always seemed to have another version of the band and record ready to release. Saints fans generally fall into two distinct camps: the punk-era fans (up to about 1980) and the mature pop fans, which for American audiences begins with the release of All Fools Day in 1987. After co-founder Ed Kuepper left in 1979 and the band became Bailey's show, and the twists and turns he took them through (horns, folk/blues arrangements, as well his numerous solo excursions) produced some good music, but it was mostly scattershot and lacked focus, though Bailey did record two fine records with the late-'80s incarnation of the band.
Punk-era Saints were exactly what you'd expect: buzzsaw guitars, Bailey's pissed-off, nasal vocals, and locomotive rhythms supplied by bassist Kym Bradshaw and drummer Ivor Hay. After the LP (I'm) Stranded became a modest hit in England, the follow-up record, Eternally Yours, showed some changes (more varied tempos, acoustic guitars) that would set the stage for their third record, Prehistoric Sounds, which combined horn arrangements into a punk-ish sort of RandB. It was at this point that the Saints were beginning to change enough to not resemble the band they were just a scant two years earlier. Kuepper left to form the arty Laughing Clowns and eventually made a number of records as a solo act. Bailey, however, got to keep the name the Saints and soldiered on, taking time here and there to record his own solo records.
To most Americans, the Saints were a dead issue, if they were still an issue at all. (I'm) Stranded caught on with punk aficionados, but hardly anyone else; Eternally Yours came and went without a trace, and Prehistoric Sounds was never domestically released (neither were any of the post-Kuepper Saints records of the early '80s). So, by the time All Fools Day was released in 1987, there were many who thought the Saints were a brand new band ó and they were right. Gone were the rapid-fire guitar sound and bellowing vocals, replaced by sophisticated pop arrangements and more technically accomplished singing. The music was strong, intelligent pop that was better than much of the late-'80s "new wave." The next LP, Prodigal Son, wasn't as good, but did nothing to hurt the reputation of the "new" Saints. Oddly enough, Kuepper got together with Celibate Rifles guitarists Kent Steedman and Dave Morris and performed under the name the Aints. Gigging in Sydney, they generally played a set of (I'm) Stranded-era material and even recorded a couple of lo-fi live discs, all done for laughs.
It took almost a decade, however, for the next Saints (meaning Bailey plus others) album, 1997's Howling, to come out. The record portrayed a louder, edgier band than what had been seen on Prodigal Son, and was followed soon after by Everybody Knows the Monkey. In 2002 Spit the Blues Out was released and three years later, with the Church's guitarist Marty Willson-Piper on board, the Saints issued the rocking Nothing Is Straight in My House, followed by Imperious Delerium (without Willson-Piper) in 2006.

http://www.chthree.com/
http://www.myspace.com/channelthree

Mike Magrann (vocals, guitar), Kimm Gardner (guitar), Larry Kelley (bass), Mike Burton (drums) Channel 3 originated in the suburban gateway community of Cerritos in south Los Angeles County, an area traditionally associated with dairy produce, in 1980. They were formed as a consequence of Magrann and Gardener's friendship, which dated back to the second grade. As Magrann later acknowledged: "Channel 3 was a band formed around friendships. If we weren't playing guitars together, we'd probably be bowling or robbing Laundromats together." By the advent of high school, they were frequent visitors to Hollywood, catching LA punk legends at the Whiskey and Starwood. But they were equally influenced by traditional rock 'n' roll (they regularly covered the Who's "My Generation") and Brit-punk (999, the Clash etc). Their songs too betrayed a less literal punk rock schematic, with lyrics penned by Magrann, an English major, while both friends would attend Long Beach State University ("We are influenced by Hemingway!", Magrann once spluttered to Flipside fanzine).
With Kelley and Burton, the most permanent of four early drummers, providing the rhythm section, their first demo tape was passed to Robbie Fields of Posh Boy Records via Cathy Conway, a mutual friend. It led to a contract before they'd played their first gig proper at the Cuckoo's Nest. "You gotta admit, the man has an ear for new things!" Magrann later told Punk Fix. "Just being on the label in those days would guarantee a certain amount sold, and the ability to tour, which is what we loved." For Field's part, he saw Channel 3 as natural successors to the departed TSOL. "In those heady days of early '81," he wrote on the Posh Boy website, "it was as if there was gold lying in the street just waiting to be picked up." Channel 3's first release was an eponymous 12-inch EP in 1981 that comprised re-recordings of those demo tracks. Taken from it, "Manzanar", which raged at the treatment of American citizens of Japanese origin in the Second World War (Magrann's mother suffered at the titular internment camp), was played heavily by premier UK tastemaker John Peel. Released in the UK by esteemed second wave punk label No Future as part of the I've Got A Gun EP, it is arguably the finest recording to grace the imprint. The sheer coiled musicality and tension of all three tracks was in stark contrast to a third wave of punk that seemed listless and shambolic in comparison. "The European popularity was a complete surprise to us," Magrann told me in 2002. "We started receiving fan mail from the UK before we were even aware of the No Future release. We were puzzled as to why we connected with the British folk, but our sound was always closer to classic '77 punk than the hardcore SoCal (South California) skate sound of our peers." Fields then asked them to record a full-length album, Fear Of Life. Tracks like "You Make Me Feel Cheap", with its peppy female backing and poppy arrangement, ostensibly betrayed inclinations towards securing a more mainstream audience. But, as outlined in Mike's piece elsewhere, it's Fields who has to take the credit. He co-wrote the female vocal sung by DJ Rodney Bingenheimer's girlfriend Maria Montoya which turned the song from garage rock into Motown junk, the Vandellas meets the Vandals. "Kimm and Mike were still willing to listen at this stage of their relationship with Posh Boy," Fields, never knowingly undersold, later reflected. After The Lights Go Out was a more mature effort, though interest in the UK had by now dissipated, whilst other former supporters were perturbed by the inclusion of the Rolling Stones' "Stupid Girl" and a shift away from the group's. Jay Lansford (ex-Stepmothers and Posh Boy production intern) joined on bass for the 1983 tour in support of After The Lights Go Out, and was present also for Airborne, as Channel 3 were scooped up, alongside peers TSOL, by Enigma. But they got lost in the shuffle after Capitol bought the label out. Despite three of the four tracks being co-written with Lansford and an accomplished attempt to renovate their sound, featuring folky harmonica in parts, the album alienated their traditional fanbase. They did, however, get to play support sets to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and had Jane's Addiction open for them. Last Time I Drank moved in a more trad-rock direction, signposted by their cover version of Aerosmith's "Lord Of The Thighs". This time, as the band's arch online biography noted, the record even had saxophones on. Ignore the appropriately titled Rejected, almost immediately disowned by the group. The band returned to action in the 90s, their first European show resulting in the release of a live album by German label Lost and Found in 1994. But the album you should really check out is 2002's Channel 3 release on Doctor Strange, which is far more in keeping with the band that recorded these classic, bratty punk rock tunes. And they have continued to gig, with a current line-up seeing Magrann and Gardner joined by Anthony Thompson (bass) and Alf "Fredo" Silva (drums). Magrann, again in 2002:
"Unbelievably, we're playing to more receptive crowds than ever, finally getting some punk rock respect, damn it! We kept a purposefully low profile in the 90s, though we still practiced and wrote, and the timing all seemed to come together for the new push. Sure, we hear a few grumblings about all the old man bands trying to cash in, but believe me, the money is not at a motivating level - it's a cliche, but we'll do it till it ain't fun." Alex Ogg

http://www.myspace.com/completecontrol

Austin based punk rock band, Complete Control, play a fasted paced slam of catchy melodic hardcore. Influenced by the sounds of early Youth Brigade, Bad Religion, Nakend Raygun and the like. Originally known as the Strap Onz rom San Antonio, they cahnged their name after relocating to Austin and shortly after signed to punk label, TKO.

http://www.myspace.com/theheartattacks

“We’re a gang of pirate gypsy crackhead smart-mouthed snot-nosed rock and roll misfits,” snaps Chase, lead singer for The Heart Attacks, Atlanta’s eminent scuzz rock quintet. Confident, energetic and downright bonkers, the men behind the Lars (Rancid, Bastards) Frederiksen-produced Hellbound And Heartless have already put their lives on the line for rock and roll glory. But more on that shortly.
Sounding like the bastard child of Stiv Bators out in front of the Dead Damned Sham Band, the crazed abandon of The Heart Attacks – also counting lead guitarist Tuk, rhythm guitarist Dave, bassist Paulie, and drummer Brad – have converted attendees into disciples at sweaty shows from Boston to Florida in 2005 and 2006. In fact, it was this swagger and take no prisoners aesthetic, coupled with a timeless high energy sound with tinges of punk and late ‘70s rock that made Rancid frontman and Hellcat Records founder Tim Armstrong fall in love with the group and subsequently sign the band.
“When he first saw us, Tim said he thought we looked like a gang or something,” the singer laughs. “And we sort of are. We’re all like 20 or 21 and we make terrible decisions. We do some of the most ridiculous shit. We’re pretty reckless. We act without regard, like we’re 13 or something.”
It’s that youthful recklessness that launches Hellbound And Heartless in the form of the snarling, unforgettable, machine-gunning “You Oughtta’ Know By Know.” Unfolding to disclose the chaotic, attitudinal charms of “Summer of Hate,” the dozen song cycle sounds as if it could easily be the soundtrack for barroom brawls finds punk subject matter expert Frederiksen exhibiting depth as a producer working outside of his staple genre.
Case in point is the piano-touched, handclap-fostered glam-abilly “Eyes,” which wraps with an unforeseen albeit welcome sax solo. Elsewhere, on the punked-out doo-wop of “Tearstained Letters,” rock icon Joan Jett lends her patented growl. Engineered by Michael Rosen (Green Day) and drawing on everything from the Dead Boys and Radio Birdman to D. Generation, 50’s music, Thin Lizzy and Rose Tattoo, this is a disc of enduring rock and roll.
If the group’s a cover of “Travelin’ Band,” first comes on like a piss-take, the brash, white trash, CCR-on-meth homage to John Fogerty is dead serious. “Creedence is one of my all time favorites,” Chase confesses. “I’ve heard that John Fogerty is uptight about shit, and he’s a picky dude. But I love that song, I think we do it justice and I hope he’s into it.”
For The Heart Attacks, risking upsetting the applecart has yielded uncanny results for the group. In fact, the fiery Hellbound And Heartless was the end result of what began out of shit luck and a ‘what the fuck’ attitude. In preparation for a supposed confirmation on the 2005 Warped Tour that later fell through, the group obtained a 1970’s bus that they knew nothing about and quit their jobs. True bad-asses, four of five Heart Attacks are legally bound to the state of Georgia, but make no bones about risking it on the road. “We got the bus an oil change and figured it would be a reliable vehicle,” says the singer – whose bandmates often call Teenage Haircut. “Isn’t that fucking ridiculous?”
Homeless and jobless, the band went for it just the same, setting up a pirate bar in the parking lot of the Warped Tour that wound up becoming the ideal networking place. “We sold beer to people – everyone, kids, whatever – for a dollar. And we didn’t ID ‘em. That was really badass. Plus we sold shots of cheap rot gut whiskey for a dollar a piece and through that we made friends with a bunch of the bands. That helped us make it around from stop to stop, which is pretty funny because the bus made it all the way to California and none of us had a bus license.”
One night early in the tour, Armstrong came upon The Heart Attacks’ bar and they slipped him their CD. “We never thought Tim would listen to it,” Chase says. “Then, as the tour rolled on, Tim – who was into us – found out that we were doing something with another label. He was like, ‘Why don’t you do something with us?’ A few weeks later – once we got the scheduling all worked out – I got a call from Lars and he was really excited. And that’s obviously carried forward because the record turned out really awesome.”
Those within an earshot of the blistering guitar stomp of “Runnin’ With A Gang” or the menacing, smug “Fast Times Attached” – a song Chase wrote when he was merely sixteen – would be hard pressed not to concur. For the frontman, holding onto the track that long – despite the fact he claims to write about four tunes a week – is all about knowing what works. “I know when a song is classic, and if it’s good I’ll hold onto it,” Chase insists with deadpan cool. “In my brain and in the brains of everyone else, they never get old. And the proof is in the fact that the kids out there now the kids go fucking crazy for that song.”
Perhaps it’s that – for all of their apparent mouthing off – fans in ATL found themselves lured by The Heart Attacks’ facility to back up their shit-talk with an exhilarating live show long before they ever recorded a lick. Earning a diverse following ranging from thug hardcore dudes to trendy good girl prom queens with their chaotic riffs and onstage bedlam, the long haired, tattoo-smothered Heart Attacks profess to “love our shit loud and dumb.” Dumb as foxes, that is. Cocky as they are capable, this five-piece – as mentioned before – is willing to risk everything in the name of rock. When their bus broke down in Indio, where they left it to rot, The Heart Attacks lived out of a Ryder truck for a spell. “We’d all take our turns riding in the back with the door down. You’d open the door and three of the guys in our band would be just passed out from the heat and fumes. And there is no way to look cool out there when you’re sweating that bad. We just looked like a bunch of scrappy, moldy dudes. Not to mention, we probably could have killed ourselves.” It wouldn’t be the first time these proud Georgia sons – so loyal to their home city that one of them has the area code “404” on his neck – cheated death. Brad was shot three times during a midtown Atlanta robbery while Paulie – known as ‘The Nasty’ in ATL – wound up in emergency room twice during a two week stretch. Describing one of the incidents, the vocalist explains, “he was beat up with bricks by a gang of white thug kids in Cabbagetown while at gunpoint after a bunch of us and our friends broke a pool cue over the face of an accomplice of theirs.”
In keeping with their careless, exhilarating lifestyle, one has to ask about that moniker. Could it really be that in the fifty-plus year history of rock and roll, no one else has plucked that name as their own? “We don’t really care if someone else has our name,” Chase fires back. “When you hear our shit, you’ll know who THE Heart Attacks are. We steal anything we can from anybody and worry about it later.”

http://www.myspace.com/roidrageskins

http://www.girl-talk.net/
http://www.myspace.com/girltalkmusic

Girl Talk is the pseudonym of DJ and remixer Greg Gillis. A Pittsburgh native who works as a biomedical research engineer during the day, Gillis channels his other creative energies into Girl Talk, whose sample-based dance tracks have made him the John Oswald or Christian Marclay of the mash-up generation: each of his songs are built on recognizable samples of recent hit singles, recontextualized into an entirely new piece. Not just a geeky studio boffin, Gillis is also a manic, intense live performer known for his high-speed exhortations into the mic and tendency to strip to his underwear on-stage while dancing circles around his laptop and DJ setup. At first a teenage punk performer inspired by Japanese noise acts like Merzbow and the Boredoms, Gillis made the surprisingly slight conceptual shift into copyright-flouting sample work around the turn of the millennium. Hooking up with the proudly anti-copyright collective Illegal Art, a shadowy label vaguely connected to the pioneering samplers Negativland, Gillis made his CD debut with 2002's Secret Diary, an artsy and largely conceptual release that turned the recognizable snippets into brief blasts of glitchy noise. 2004's Unstoppable was far more direct, using fewer and longer samples to create more recognizable mash-ups in the manner of early KLF singles, making Girl Talk suddenly by far the most pop-oriented and accessible project on the Illegal Art roster. After a pair of vinyl EPs, 2004's Stop Cleveland Hate and 2006's Bone Hard Zaggin', Gillis' third album as Girl Talk, 2006's Night Ripper, split the difference between his two previous full-length efforts, with the playfully recognizable samples of the second and the more complex structures of the first.

http://www.busdriversite.com/
http://www.myspace.com/busdriver

Possessing a hyper-literate, intellectual style of rapping augmented with dizzying elocution that would tongue-tie even the fiercest auctioneer, Busdriver is eclectic and eccentric enough to cite vocalese jazz singer Jon Hendricks as a primary influence. Born Regan Farquhar, the Los Angeles MC was introduced to hip-hop culture early ó his father wrote the screenplay to one of the earliest films focusing on hip-hop, Krush Groove. He began rapping at age nine, releasing his first record at age 13 with his group, 4/29, named after the 1992 L.A. riots. By the mid-'90s, Busdriver was a regular at the Project Blowed open mic, where he would meet future collaborators and underground luminaries like Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, and Freestyle Fellowship. And shortly after, the vinyl did flow. Busdriver guested on upward of 20 singles, and by 2001 he could no longer be contained by guest spots, releasing his first full-length, Memoirs of the Elephant Man. There were just as many detractors as supporters for his singular style, which was so densely packed it made his chosen name seem a reference for multiple-personality disorder, and the lo-fi production also left more listeners scratching heads than nodding them. His next album, This Machine Kills Fashion Tips (2002), continued in a similar manner before being trumped by better production and more focused rhymes on Temporary Forever the same year. Joined by another West Coast avant-garde MC, Radioinactive, and the breezy, fractured pop of electronic producer Daedelus, Busdriver released yet another odd puzzle piece in 2003, Weather. Fear of a Black Tangent followed on Mush in 2005. After moving to Anti/Epitaph, the rapper issued RoadKillOvercoat, which featured production from Nobody and Boom Bip.

http://www.cadenceweaponmusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/cadenceweaponmusic

Rollie Pemberton, also known as Cadence Weapon, broke down musical barriers when his debut album, Breaking Kayfabe, hit record shelves in 2005. Hailed as a rising hip-hop star in the independent scene, he was lauded for avoiding the stale formulas that are too commonly found in mainstream pop but also for straying from the too often reclusive nature that characterizes a lot of underground rappers. His biting rhymes laid over his own synth-heavy, electro-fused beats have prompted some to label him as the Canadian response to British grime MC Dizzee Rascal. His admiration for IDM acts like Aphex Twin is much more apparent in his material than some of his other influences, such as hip-hop veterans Prince Paul and Timbaland.
Pemberton's musical roots, however, can be traced back to his father, Teddy Pemberton, a DJ who is credited for introducing hip-hop to his hometown of Edmonton, the capital city of Alberta. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Teddy Pemberton created The Black Sound Experience radio show on the University of Alberta's CSJR station in 1980. Following in his father's footsteps, Cadence Weapon discovered that he truly wanted to rap around the age of 13, but his mother wanted him to pursue a career in journalism. He attended journalism school in Virginia for some time, but the school did not suit him. Nonetheless, by the age of 18, he still established a name for himself as a tough music critic, writing for the Brooklyn-based Stylus webzine and the influential Pitchfork Media.
After he quit the former and was fired from the latter (the Pitchfork editor-in-chief stated via email that his reviews were too vague), he began immersing himself into rhymes and producing his own tracks. In 2005, he pressed and released his first effort, the mix CD Cadence Weapon Is the Black Hand. His blog, which featured this work, caught the attention of a few labels, including Def Jam, who wanted him to remix a track for their budding garage artist, Lady Sovereign, and Upper Class Recordings, the Toronto-based label that signed Cadence Weapon and released his first full-length in December 2005. Breaking Kayfabe received rave reviews from the independent press ó including from his former employers. It was also nominated for the first Polaris Music Prize in 2006, which awards the best Canadian album regardless of genre or record sales.

http://grandbuffet.com/
http://www.myspace.com/grandbuffet

GRAND BUFFET is two dudes who make this hot rap-style shit and live in Pittsburgh, PA. Weíve put out a shitload of records on our own and rocked a lot of shows, and plan to continue said shit until weíre destroyed. We also recently decided that we were going to get MYSPACE tatties on our necks. For true, though, weíre not ones to talk ourselves up via a lousy BIO. Check out the MP3s, check out our site, fuck with us. Or not. Either way, RESPECT.

http://www.myspace.com/filipinofist/

http://www.myspace.com/princemotherfuckinklassen/

http://www.myspace.com/mgmt

MGMT (pronounced Management) are a synthpop duo from Brooklyn, who gained a quite a bit of buzz when they released their Time to Pretend EP and got themselves signed to Columbia Records late last year. Now touring with OF Montreal this fall, the full length is on the way!

http://www.smallsinsmusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/smallsins

Originally called the Ladies and Gentlemen, Small Sins was initially a solo project for Thomas D'Arcy, conceived as a way to guide him back to the music he truly wanted to write after his old group, the Carnations, broke up. D'Arcy, who recorded the songs in various locations throughout Toronto over the span of a year, also played most of the instruments on the album. The Ladies and Gentlemen — who tour as a band (Todor Kobakov and Kevin Hilliard on keys, Steve Krecklo on guitar, and Brent Follett on drums, most of whom also made appearances on the record itself) and perform in solid white outfits — released their debut album, Small Sins, in 2005. After a successful showing at SXSW, Astralwerks signed the band, who then had to change their name due to copyright issues. They decided on Small Sins, and their now self-titled album hit U.S. soil (and was "re-released" in Canada) in 2006.

http://www.myspace.com/theonebigface

http://www.formdiplo.com/
http://www.myspace.com/diplo

One thing of which Diplo (aka Diplodocus, Wes Diplo, and Wes Gully) cannot be accused is being afraid to experiment with new music. With his mash-up mixtapes, he found and created a sound where his musical tastes ó '80s pop, electronica, Dirty South hip-hop, and his major influence, Miami bass music ó intersect. His attention-grabbing projects Hollertronix, with partner DJ Low Budget, and the Piracy Funds Terrorism, Vol. 1 mixtape, with elusive British-Sri Lankan MC M.I.A., made a heavy impact on the alternative electro-pop scene, amassing him rave reviews from music critics and indie kids alike, including Spin magazine, which named him DJ of the Year in 2005.
Diplo was born Thomas Wesley Pentz in Tupelo, MS. Although he lived in a few different cities in the South, he mainly grew up in south Florida. He spent his youth in his father's bait shop, fixated on manatees, alligators, and dinosaurs with hopes of becoming a paleontologist. However, he wound up pursuing an education in film studies, starting at a couple Florida colleges but then finishing up his undergraduate degree in Philadelphia at Temple University in 2003. Before his move to Philadelphia, Pentz had moved temporarily to Japan to escape daily life in America. From Japan, he sent a demo tape of his beat concoctions to Will Ashon, founder of U.K. independent hip-hop label Big Dada Records, and once signed to the label, he relocated to Philadelphia.
To support himself, during and after graduating from Temple, Pentz took on a few different jobs in Philadelphia: social worker, after-school mentor, movie theater employee, and gig-by-gig DJ. He was barely able to pay the rent, and the frustration was stunting his musical development (although he does credit one of his musical epiphanies to the after-school students who exposed him to crunk and Baltimore club music). Thus, Diplo and like-minded DJ Low Budget pooled their resources to start up their own club nights in Philadelphia, which they branded Hollertronix. It simply began as a fun night of genre-warping dance music, but it blossomed into an underground subculture drawing out crowds from all over the East Coast. Under the Hollertronix moniker, Diplo and Budget released the highly praised Never Scared mixtape; it was listed as one of the New York Times' top albums of 2003.
The following year, Big Dada released Diplo's solo debut album, Florida, a more downtempo piece focusing on melody and instrumentals that was a departure from the melee of mashed-up vocals and beats. His unrelenting work ethic produced a considerable number of acclaimed mix CDs and 12" records; however, none of them accumulated more interest and Internet chatter than the 2004 Piracy Funds Terrorism, Vol. 1 mixtape that introduced M.I.A. outside of U.K. borders. Developing a yearning to produce more worldly music, he also began to throw his energy behind the Brazilian youth- and street-based music known as funk carioca (also referred to as baile funk), a derivation of Miami bass music. So, it was no surprise that when he established his own label, Mad Decent Records, around 2005, his first signee was the funk carioca group Bondo do Role. Becoming an internationally recognized artist, Diplo developed a knack for championing new world music that seems natural given his dynamism and boundless musical outlook.

http://www.mcchris.com/
http://www.myspace.com/mcchris

Chris Ward (born September 2, 1975), otherwise known as mc chris, is a nerdcore rapper, voice actor, and improvisational comedian born in Illinois, USA. He currently self releases on his own label Jet Pack Industries, LLC. His trademarks include the synthesis of his "geek" heritage with the "gangster" image associated with hip hop artists, and the high pitch of his voice, cele