manual dexterity music zine winter 2006/07

8/14/2019 Manual Dexterity Music Zine Winter 2006/07

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HeavensRussian Circles

Maps and AtlasesThe North Atlantic

Young Widows {We are a POWER TRIO!!!}+Sixes x 2 , Reviews,


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Contents:2006-2007

07 Sixes: Labels 14 Suicide Squeeze 10th Anniversary 15Young Widows 17 The North Atlantic22 Maps & Atlases 24 Heavens 26 Sixes: Photographers 40 Russian Circles 44 Reviews


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On the Cover: Louisville, KYsYoung Widows. www.youngwidows.net Photo: Ryan Russell www.ryanrussell.netAbove Photo: Russian Circles. www.russiancircles.net Photo: Will Hough www.inthehollow.com

Correspond: [email protected]

P.O. Box 2076 Maple Grove, MN 55311


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What album or band really turned you on or got you interested in music?

Music was always playing in my house, but it was always AM radio becausethis is what my Mom listened to all day. It was Rush that really turned me

on to music in a bigger way. They were one of the first bands I heard thatwere not lite AM fare. At this point I was already like 11-12, so I wasjust missed the boat on a lot of 70's stuff that was happening while I was

growing up. Rush just made the right impact at the right time and thatchanged the whole world for me.

What made you want to start a record label?

I thought that I could never really make it in a band, so I figured I wouldjust apply myself behind the scenes a la Rick Rubin style.

What do you think is the biggest problem facing record labelstoday?

There is too many of them! And way too many bands to boot.

What do you think is the most important aspect to consider beforereleasing a bands album?

How much work is the label and the artist willing to put into making thealbum a success.

What has been your top selling or most popular release?Jets To Brazil "Orange Rhyming dictionary"

What was one mistake that you made with the label that you haven't

made again?

Releasing cassettes. Jade Tree only released one, the Four Walls Falling record.After that we learned our lesson.

Darren Walters


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What album or band really turned you on or got youinterested in music?

7 SECONDS. They were kind of local to me as RENOis just a few hours east of the San Francisco BayArea. It's a band that I had on cassette whilst rid-ing the skateboard with the big ol' SONY WALK-MAN attached to the pants.


It was done out of necessity. At the time Istarted playing music in the late 80's, therewere very few people of color involved inany sect of popular or underground rockbased music and guess what, 20 yearslater, there still is very little representation.

But growing up on the idea of putting outyour own records in the same direction asDischord gave me the inspiration to followsuit.

What do you think is the biggest prob-lem facing record labels today?

They just care about numbers. Sell SellSell. $$$ major label, indie label. It's all thesame. You get caught up in the numbers

game and you're screwed. That'll be yourdrive. Bigger and bigger and bigger. No con-tention with where you are.

What do you think is the most important aspect toconsider before releasing a bands album?

Are these people credible? Do they understand the phi-losophy of punk? Make sure they don't wear make up.

What has been your top selling or most popular release?

Alkaline Trio by a landslide. They are the best band to work with. Trulyunderstand my goal as a label and have made the process of being in themusic business quite enjoyable.

What was one mistake that you made with the label that you haven't made again?

Working with a band that only wanted to use me as a stepping stone to reach fame. It won'thappen again.

Mike Park

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What album or band really turned you on or got youinterested in music?

The Replacements. They were the most influentialband to me growing up.


Having a bunch of talented friends thatnobody was paying attention to. I wantedother people to appreciate the music myfriends were making as much as I did.


Getting our records to stand out in an

overly saturated industry. Due to the lowbarrier of entry into being a band, there ismore music than ever out there for peopleto explore. Trying to get any one band tostand out compared to all the others(many of them with huge marketing budg-ets) is not an easy task.

What do you think is the most important

aspect to consider before releasing a

bands album?Do you like the record? Equally as important

would be, 'do you like the people'?

What has been your top selling or most popularrelease?

Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning.

What was one mistake that you made with the label thatyou haven't made again?

How presumptuous of you...

Robb Nansel


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What album or band really turned you on or got you

interested in music?

"Watercourse" by Boilermaker. They were from thesame small hometown as me, and I as a highschool kid who thought all people in bands wererock stars, they were the band who helpedknock down that wall between performer andfan. Still to this day, they're one of my favoritebands.

What made you want to start a recordlabel?

A tax refund check and suburban teenageboredom. I wish it was a grand calling or

something, but I just wanted to find a wayI could spend my refund money as fastand recklessly as possible, putting outrecords worked perfectly.


Well, there are a lot. Mostly it's that as asmall, one-employee, label, I am constantlycompeting with significantly larger Indies and

corporate-owned majors for press, radio atten-tion, store space, tours, etc.

What do you think is the most important aspectto consider before releasing a bands album?

Will they break-up 3 months after the record comesout? If not, will they break-up 6 months after the recordcomes out? Plus they need to tour, a lot.

What has been your top selling or most popular release?

The Velvet Teen's "Out of the Fierce Parade" was been our best sellerto date. Hopefully their new album, "Cum Laude" due out July 25th (niceplug!) will sell more.

What was one mistake that you made with the label that you haven't made again?

Oh man, there are so many. This label exists on a foundation of terrible mistakes. I guess itwould be to trust my instinct when it comes to new bands that I fear will break-up.

Ezra Caraeff


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What album or band really turned you on orgot you interested in music?

The 10-5-60 EP by the Long Ryders

What made you want to start a recordlabel?

Originally to put out spoken word records,switched to music to put out Unwoundrecords.


Depends on the label.

What do you think is the most impor-

tant aspect to consider before releasinga bands album?

Is it a good fit with us.

What has been your top selling or most

popular release?Elliott Smith "Either/Or"

What was one mistake that you made with the

label that you haven't made again?

Licensing a record to Domino.

Slim Moon


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What album or band really turned you on or got you

interested in music?

Frodus - A We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea. Iwas a freshman in college and was kinda into punkand hardcore already but this album blew mymind. I knew at that point I wanted to be in themusic industry. PS at this point we'vereleased albums by 3 ex members ofFrodus...Nathan Burke is in the Out_Circuit,Brahm and Night Is Invisible who each havealbums on lujo, Shelby Cinca is in FranticMantis, and Jim Cooper is in Baby Teeth.

What made you want to start a record

label?You know it actually all started out of ajoke. I went to a show in LafayetteLouisiana that My Spacecoaster was play-ing. At that show the band was sayinghow they needed to get signed. I jokinglysaid "I'll sign you." A few months later Isaw them again and they asked "So youwant to put out our ep?" I agreed to it, wenthome got some money together and put it out.

I also started emailing some musical heroes ofmine (guys from Raft of Dead Monkeys, Frodus,Blood Brothers, etc) and got a few more releasedunder my belt. It all kind of snowballed from there.

What do you think is the biggest problem facing

record labels today?

I guess its got to be funding and finding an audience. I'veseen so many labels start up and die out in the five years I'vebeen doing this.

Erik Aucoin


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What do you think is the most important aspect to

consider before releasing a bands album?

There dedication to it. If the band isn't touring, andpromoting themselves it becomes really difficult to

sell their record.

What has been your top selling or mostpopular release?

Fall of Troy -Self Titled. We just actuallysold the rights to Equal Vision.

What was one mistake that you made

with the label that you haven't madeagain?

At one point early in Lujos life we joined awell meaning non profit corporation. Lujoin effect became the record label branchof the corporation. We (the owners ofLujo) couldnt make decisions on our ownfor a while and other people had a say.Some decisions were made in ways we

would not have made (about budgets andso forth) and when the non profit quickly dis-

solved we had to clean up the mess. Since

then weve strived to remain 100% independ-ent and self sufficient.


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Left ColumnTop to Bottom:

Chin Up Chin UpCrystal SkullsRussian CirclesSpencer (Hella)

Right ColumnTop to Bottom:

HeadphonesMike, Colin, BekahZach Hill (Hella)

10th Anniversary ShowsJune 29- July 1st 2006Neumos

Seattle, WashingtonPhotos courtesy of Suicide Squeeze Recordswww.suicidesqueeze.net


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Was it a shock when Steve announced he was leaving Breather Resist or was it planned

out?

Actually, Steve kind of got kicked out, but I like to say that we parted ways. We had just grownapart and our friendships weren't the same as they were when we started.

Whyd you decide change the name from Breather Resist to Young Widows? How haveyou tried to distance Young Widows from Breather Resist?

It was the only name available that we all could agree on. We thought of about 20 names andthey were all kind of lame or taken. A friend of mine, Kelley Cox, suggested Young Widows and

it instantly stuck. We haven't tried to distance the the bands. We just kept on doing what we do.It was really natural.

When Steve left the band, you announced that you wouldnt be playing any material writ-

ten by him, which is a noble move. Why did you decide not to play his material?

Because those are his songs just as much as they are our songs. They are about his life andfeeling. It would not be appropriate to sing a song about Steve dealing with his mother's death.We did re-work the song Stained Sheets from our seven inch and changed the name to GladHe Ate Her, but that wasn't released on CD and there was only 1000 copies.

How has the lyrical content changed from BRs Charmer to Young Widows Settle

Down City?

The lyrical content has changed a lot because Steve is no longer writing the lyrics, he is not inthe band. Now, they are more socially political and maybe a little more straight forward. Whenthey used to be more about particular emotions or situations Steve had felt or been through.

Evan, you took over vocal duties with Young Widows. How has that been going and

have you had any struggles with it on stage?

I really enjoy singing. It makes me feel more attached to the music. Performing has been goinggreat and there no real struggles. I might forget a line here and there, but I also sometime for-get guitar parts as well. That's something I love about the live music, is hearing the fuck up andthe flaws. It makes everything more real and less rehearsed.

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Did you even have to look for a new label after Breather Resist broke up? Was Jade Treethe obvious choice to put out Settle Down City?

We tried to get on Death Row Records, but they said we weren't tough enough. So then wesent out demos to Jade Tree and a few of them liked it. I really was so broken hearted that wecouldn't be apart of the Death Row Family, that we would have been on any label that semi-enjoyed what we were doing.

Can you explain the artwork for Settle Down City? Who came up with that idea?

It was a very last minute kind of thing. I had this idea for a fold and a city skyline kind of thing,but it just looked lame and over done. I ask my friend Derek Snodgrass if we could use one ofhis drawing. He agreed. I gave him $100 and told him which I liked best. Derek is an amazingartist and he does tattooing for a living at Temple Tattoo in Oakland, California, but he is origi-nally from Louisville. I thought it was pretty offensive and kind had an early punk look to it. Iwas and still am sick of seeing all these records that all look the same.

I know you got into punk rock through skateboarding. Do you still skate? Does living

near the Louisville skatepark ever tempt you to go skate?

I haven't skated in a few months. Kentucky summers are so brutal! Not like a bad metal band,but the humidity just sucks the life out of me. I try to stay ACd as much as possible.

Besides only having to split the money 3 ways now, what are some benefits of being a 3

piece than a 4 piece?

We are a POWER TRIO!!!


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After going on hiatus, what made everyone

decide to get back together? Was it yourintention to always restart the band after

the hiatus? Do you think youd be the sameband if you hadn't gone on hiatus?

It would have been ludicrous on our part tothink that we would never get back togetherafter I went away for art school. We built thisthing that is our band together and saw someamazing places, people and bands along theway. I think that when you have invested somuch time into something like this, the idea ofgiving it up seems absurd. Even with distance,it just seemed like we had to keep going. Iguess I understand when bands get burnout,but I just get more and more excited about cre-ating within The North Atlantic and really see-ing where we can make a contribution tomusic, and maybe even culture at large.

How did the first reunion show go? Werethe crowds bigger than before your hiatus?

The crowds were maybe slightly larger, butonly by a few new faces here and there. WhenI left for school, things were going really wellwith the band. It was definitely bittersweet toend on such a good note. Our last show intown was completely amazing, we were totallyconsumed in the crowd, friends had to keep

reassembling my pedals and the microphoneevery two minutes because they just kept get-ting unplugged or knocked around by people,it was just a mass of bodies on top of oneanother. People were screaming the lyrics toour songs almost louder than the PA, it was aonce in a lifetime experience, very humbling,very touching. It was complete chaos thatsomehow functioned, very organic with a life ofits own.

Why did you decide to re-release Wires inthe Walls instead of record a new album?

How many copies were released of the

original Wires in the Walls? Is there anydifference between the 2 versions?

Well, in short, it is an amazing album. Theband put so much time and work into it, alongwith Jason Clark and Ben Moore, it seemed ashame to have only a couple thousand out inthe world. Also we were able to add things tothe original that we had planned on doing in

the first place, but had run out of time andmoney to do. It is re-mixed and re-mastered,and it sounds incredible. There are definitelynew sounds in the new version.


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Even though Wire in the Walls wasrecorded a few years ago, it still has a feel-

ing that it was recorded recently. Why doyou think that is?

I think maybe that because we never confinedourselves to a specific style, or genre, it lendsthe songs a certain timeless quality. Hopefullythe songs offer up a lot of musical directionsand ideas to follow and expand upon, hopeful-ly it still resonates as vital. It is the hope withany creation that it evolves as its contextshifts.

How did the deal with WPO come about?

The brother of one of the WPO guys came toour show and dug it, so he sent our CD along,and then we started talking, etc. I have to say,that we are very pleased to be working withWPO, you hear so many horror stories withlabels, but everyone involved is amazing anduncompromisingly supportive.

You shot a music video for Bottom of This

Town, do you plan on doing more videosfor songs on Wires in the Walls?

We are very pleased with the job RyanRentaria and his crew at Nightshop Films didwith the video. They guy is like McGuyver, hetook two nights of film and a shoestring budg-et and made art with it. We shot a video forScientist Girl with Simon Chan of ArtificialArmy (Mars Volta, Thursday, Coheed andCambria, the Locust, Kill Me Tomorrow) sokeep an eye out for that, as he does amazingwork as well.

You are quoted as saying We are moreexcited about our music now than we ever

have been.... What makes it exciting?

What isn't exciting about it? We are working ona ton of new material, playing in front of newpeople, touring full-time, traveling, meetingnew bands. The new music we are working onis growing and expanding and making merethink the way I structure songs. I find it very

exciting when your process ends up teachingyou to think in new ways.

Are you currently working on new material?

Yes, we have a ton of raw material.

How is touring a big part of the band?

Playing live is what a band does. If you don'tplay out, then it is a recording project, which isfine. But for me, the music is not complete untilit is executed live, with an audience. Live,there are so many possibilities and the soundis dynamic, not frozen as data on a disc or ahard drive. The music is about that livemoment, and I like to spend as much time as Ican in that moment. I think it shows that welove to play live when we play. I have neverunderstood bands that stand around like pot-ted plants when they play.

When you first started touring as a band,

gas prices were lower than they are today.How have the higher gas prices affected

touring? How do you think the higher gasprices have affect independent bands in

general?

I think that, in general it is obviously hard oneveryone who has to drive, but I think that asad effect of the higher gas prices will be lessbands being able to maintain on the road. It isgoing to be harder and harder for bands to

start out touring for the first time. When westarted touring we could fill our gas tank for 50dollars, we didnt always make that much at ashow, but you could survive. I think it would bea hell of a lot harder doing that kind of DIY, juststarting out touring now. It will be sad if theonly bands that are able to afford to tour arebands that either already have somewhat of aname, or bands with label backing. I think thattouring is a great experience and it would be

sad for it to only be possible for a few.

After reading through the lyrics, I noticed

that a lot of the themes are repeated

throughout the album. Was it your intentionto do so?

Yes, the songs are meant to reference eachother, interrelate and forge new meanings andunderstandings. There are certain musicalaspects that are shared between songs as

well. It was not an act of laziness, it was inten-tional, I have plenty of lyrics, more than I knowwhat to do with, but I wanted the entire albumto tell a story and for the songs to build off ofone another.


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In an interview I read, you said that themusic scene in Michigan is remarkably

tight. Have you experienced that same typeof community in other regions?

Of course, there are amazing scenes all over,and I am sure many more that I haven't seen.We have little pockets of amazing creativecommunities all over that we feel at home in.The great thing about touring is that our"scene" is spread out over a huge distances,not confined to our own hometown. I think thatit is good in that it gives us a more diverse poolof influences and support and it comes from anatural affinity rather than geographic con-straints. The references to the music scene inMichigan definitely reference a different time,however (1998-2000, or thereabouts).

What do each of you have a college degree

in and do you plan on going into thosefields when your done playing music?

What keeps you playing music? Do youthink going to college and getting an edu-

cation is important?

I have a degree in Fine Art from The School of

the Art Institute of Chicago, Jason Richardshas a degree in Anthropology from TheUniversity of San Diego, and my brotherCullen is finishing up his PHD in ComparativePolitics at University of California San Diego. Idon't really think about what I am going to doafter music, mainly because I plan on playingmusic for the rest of my life, and because I tryand remain focused on the present moment. Iplay music because I have been in love with it

my entire life.

The North Atlantic have a strong D.I.Y. work

ethic, do you think that new bands these

days lack a lot of that do it yourself atti-tude?

Some do, some don't. I think, in general, it isgetting to be less of a statement or ideology asit used to be. This may be from the develop-ment of a less politicized musical community

or a confusion of what constitutes DIY in a cli-mate of rapid dissemination of informationthrough the internet and a complication of sub-culture identity in the face of cultural globaliza-tion. I guess that as an ideology, as with all ide-ologies, it becomes problematic, a hindrancethat becomes more important than the music

itself. DIY isn't banner to wave, it is just logical:doing the best with what you have on hand.But, in general, I think that if kids are waitingfor someone to come along and do the hardwork for them, well then, I hope they have acomfortable seat because they'll be waitingforever. Fuck gimmicks, fuck styles, fuck hype,because in the end, if your music doesn't deliv-er all the money in the world isnt going to help.

The members of the band seem to be pas-sionate about a number of topics. Id like to

get your opinions on:

-Musical/Art Education in Schools

Education in the United States is criminallyundervalued, under funded, and suffers fromextremely flawed pedagogy. The music and artprograms in most schools, with few excep-tions, are a complete joke, plenty of people tryand work toward building good programs, butit doesnt bring in funding, so they get com-pletely sidelined, but what do you expect froma nation of puritan war mongers: beauty andcompassion get buried to build an empire.

-Current Government / War

Like anyone needs me to say this, this war iscompletely ridiculous, and the idea of us win-ning the war on terror is a sad delusion. Wemay as well wage a war against fog, or Puffthe Magic Dragon. More precisely, its impos-sible to wage war against a technology, whichis what a strategic and tactical doctrine is, ulti-mately. There is a reason why people use

guerrilla warfare against massively "powerful"military powers such as the United States: it'seffective, and it will continue to be part of themilitary repertoire as long as its effective. It

just sucks that we have crazy religious zealotson both sides ready to kill one another over thedifferences in their stupid little ideologicalminutiae of their relatively similar, and outdat-ed belief systems.You have all of these peoplewho think they are living in a modern world, but

it is really the fucking dark ages, no one both-ered to actually take out the trash of historyand tradition. We aren't enlightened, we arelost, we don't know how to define ourselvesoutside of the turgid labyrinth of history.


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-Religion

The Religious Right can go fuck off and die. Iam not going to talk about this, if people wantto be willfully ignorant their entire life than thatis just sad. Religion is a culturally derived, endof story, it isn't some objective truth, I am sorrybut it is time to take off the training wheels.

-The U.S. Society

I just want so much more for everyone, I justwant so much more for existence. Peopleneed to turn the TV off, shut down the comput-er for a little while and take a little time to takean active role in their own lives. I think trying tolive each day as if it were your last is not badway to look at it. I don't mean in someMountain Dew commercial, para-sailing overan active volcano kind of way, but in the sensethat we ask ourselves why it is we do thethings we do. Why do we work at our jobs?Why do we define your gender? Why do we goto church? Why does the government work theway it does? Why do we pay for food? What isprejudice? Why is there poverty? I think the

world would be a lot better off, if we all spentless time producing, and more time thinkingand questioning our realities.

What is next for The North Atlantic? Do youhave any tours planned for the fall/winter?

Lots and lots of touring. We are going out for afive week Midwest/East coast tour, beginningin September, with Wax On Radio fromChicago. We are extremely excited about this,they are a great band and we are hungry toplay out. We definitely plan on being on theroad through December, so come on out andsee us, I promise a good time.


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E a c h me mb e r o f t h e b a n d is f r o m a d if f e r e n t s t a t e , h o w d id yo u a l l c o me

t o g e t h e r t o f o r m Ma ps a n d At l a s e s ?

We a l l me t w h il e a t t e n d in g s c h o ol h e r e in Ch ic a go , b u t a l l o f o u r f a mil ie s

(except S h ir az) r e l o cat ed t o t h e Mid wes t s o me t ime b e f o r e col l eg e . On e g r ea t

a s pec t o f t h is i s t h a t w e a l l h ave f amil y an d peo pl e wh o we kn o w s pr ead ou t

a l l o ve r t h e pl a ce wh e n w e a r e on t ou r . For t h e mo s t pa r t we ve d on e t h e

mos t t ou r ing wher e my famil y l ives , wh ich h as a l l owed me t o vis it peopl e who

I w ou l d n t o t h e r w is e s e e .

Wh y d id yo u d e c id e t o s e l f -r e l e a s e yo u r a l b u m? Did a n y l a b e l s e xp r e s s in t e r -

e s t in r e l e a s in g it ? Ar e yo u l o o k in g f o r a

l a b e l ?

Fr o m t h e b egin n in g we a l l ag r eed

t h a t it wa s mo r e impo r t a n t t o do

t h in g s o u r o wn w ay an d I t h in k

t h a t we h ave a l wa ys f e l t a l it -t l e s k ept ic a l o f b e in g

a f f il ia t e d wit h a n y

l a be l t h a t we d id n t

c ompl e t e l y t r u s t a n d

r e s pe ct . I t h in k f o r a

l o t o f b a n d s it is t e mpt in g

t o j u mp in t o t h in g s an d we

t a l k ed t o s o me ve r y f r ie n d -

l y pe o pl e w h o h a d g o o din t e n t io n s , b u t I a m n o t s u r e

t h at we we r e r e al l y wh at

t h ey wan t ed an d vice ve r s a

a n d I a m g l a d t h a t w e w er e a b l e

t o r e a l ize t h at e ar l y on .

S in c e yo u r a b a n d w it h o u t a l a b e l ,

w h a t d o yo u d o t o f u n d t o u r s a n d r e c o r d in g ?

We s e t u p ou r t o u r s o n o u r o wn , u s in g mo n ey w e mak e pl ayin g o t h e r s h o ws .As f a r a s r e c or d in g go es , S h ir a z is k in d e n o u gh t o d o t h e w or k f o r f r e e a n d

s in c e w e r e c or d e d t h e ma j o r it y o f it in o u r o wn s pa c e t h e c o s t wa s ve r y l o w.

Ho w l o n g d id it t a k e t o wr it e a n d r e c o r d Tr e e s , Sw a l l o w s , a n d Ho u s e s ?

Ha d yo u b e e n pl a yin g t h e s o n g s a l o t b e f o r e r e c o r d in g t o k e e p t h e s t u d io

t ime t o a min imu m?

We r eco r d ed t h e r eco r d in a r e l a t ive l y s h o r t amo u n t o f t ime . On e d ay f o r

d r u ms , a c ou pl e o f d a ys f o r e ve r yt h in g e l s e a n d t h a t wa s it . We w r o t e it o ve r

t h e pe r io d of a c ou pl e o f mo n t h s a n d pl a ye d t h e s o n gs q u it e a b it l ive b e f o r e

w e s t a r t e d r e c or d in g . S t u d io t ime wa s n t r e a l l y a n is s u e , b u t b e in g a bl e t o

pl a y a pa r t n a t u r a l l y a n d s mo ot h l y a l wa ys h a s a be t t e r r e s u l t wh e n r e co r d -

in g a n d we wa n t e d t o c a pt u r e a s o me o f t h e l ive q u al it ie s o f t h e mu s ic .

In t e r vie w

Wit h

Dave

D a v i s o n


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Wh a t w e r e t h e b e n e f i t s o f e n g in e e r in g yo u r o w n r e c o r d ?

We we r e a b l e t o do t h in g s e xa c t l y t h e wa y w e wa n t e d t o a n d s p en d t h e t ime

n e c es s a r y t o ge t t o n es a n d d o it in a c o mf o r t a b l e e n vir o n me n t wit h o u t wo r -

r yin g ab ou t e a t in g u p mo n ey o r an yt h in g l ik e t h a t . I h ad a l o t o f f u n d o in g it ,

u s u a l l y r e c or d in g f e e l s v er y f o r ma l a n d of f ic ia l t o me , b u t t h is w a s e n j o y-

a bl e a n d we we r e a l l owe d t o j u s t t r y wh at e ve r we wa n t e d.

H o w ma n y c o pie s o f Tr e e s , S wa l l o ws , a n d H ou s e s w e r e p r e s s e d ? Ho w h a s

t h e r e s p on s e b e e n ? Ar e t h e y o n l y b e in g s o l d a t s h o w s ?

We pr e s s e d a t h o u s a n d a n d t h e r e s po n s e h a s b e en g r e at , we a r e ge t t in g

r e a dy t o pr e s s a n o t h e r t h ou s a n d . Mos t of t h e r e cor d s we r e s o l d at s h o ws ,

b u t w e a l s o h ave t h e m a va il a b l e o n l in e .

Ma p s a n d At l a s e s s o u n d is u n l ik e a n yt h in g I've h e a r d in q u i t e s o me t ime .

Wh a t in f l u e n c e s yo u r mu s ic ?

We a l l s o r t o f in it ia l l y b on d e d ove rmu s ic t h a t wa s v e r y t e c h n ic a l a n d I

t h in k t h a t is d e f in it e l y wh e r e w e

got ou r s t a r t , bu t we al l a l s o l o ve

f ol k mus ic, R&B and mor e e xper imen -

t a l mu s ic . Of t en t imes mu s ic t h a t

h a s ve r y t e c h n ic a l e l e me n t s t o it is

in t e r e s t in g at a ce r e b r a l l e ve l a n d

I j u s t wa n t e d t o have t h at , bu t t r y

t o give it a s o u l a l s o . I t h in k t h a twe s o r t of j u s t t r y t o ma in t a in a

b al a n c e b et we e n t h o s e t h in g s a n d

t o t r y t o por t r ay t h e el e me n t s t h at

w e l ik e a b ou t a l l o f t h e mu s ic in a

n ew way.

H o w a r e t h e s o n g s w r it t e n a n d w h a t in f l u e n c e s t h e l yr ic s ?

Mo s t o f t h e t ime t h e s o n g b e gin s a s a ve r y b a s ic s o n g t o e s t a b l is h a me l o dy

a nd s t r u ct u r e a n d we s or t of a bs t r a ct t h e pa r t s f r om t h er e .

Yo u 've p l a ye d s h o w s w it h b a n d s in yo u r s a me g e n r e a n d w it h b a n d s o u t o f

yo u r g e n r e . Do yo u t h in k it s i mp o r t a n t t o pl a y s h o ws w it h d if f e r e n t b a n d s

t o r e a c h d if f e r e n t a u d ie n c e s ?

I d e f in it e l y t h in k t h a t it is impo r t a n t t o pl a y w it h b a n d s o u t s id e of a pa r t ic -

u l a r ge n r e , n ot on l y t o r e a ch d if f e r e n t a ud ie n ce s , b ut j u s t t o ke ep t h in gs

in t e r e s t in g on a l l s id es .

Wh a t 's n e xt f o r Ma p s a n d At l a s e s , t o u r in g , r e c o r d in g . . . ?

We wo u l d r e a l l y l ik e t o c on t in u e t o u r in g a s mu c h a s po s s ib l e a n d we a r e

a l s o wr it in g a l o t r igh t n o w s o we a r e t r yin g t o f in d a go od ba l a n c e t h a t

wo u l d al l o w u s t o f in is h u p a l o t o f t h e s o n gs t h a t we h ave be e n n e gl e ct in g

t h is s u mmer b y t o u r in g a l o t . We a r e a l r ead y l ayin g d ow n s o me r o u g h ve r -

s io n s o f t h in g s , b u t w il l d e f in it e l y b e d oin g s o me s e r io u s r e c or d in g in a c ou -

pl e mon t h s a s w el l .

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You and Josiah have known each other forquite some time. When did you two meet

and when did you begin working on thisproject?

Matt: We met in Chicago about 5 years ago at

a show. Joe was in town recording a record andmutual friends introduced us. I was living in SFand moved to LA in 2003. Joe and his wifewere renting a house in Hollywood and neededa roommate. I moved in with them and shortlythereafter we began writing songs together.

{ }

Interview with Matt Skiba & Josiah Steinbrick

Another night with your head in the oven // Simmering like a heat wave over you //

Sweat drops hiss at the bottom // Blood droplets cook like glue

Another Night - Heavens, Patent Pending

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You two funded this project your selves.Was it costly? Was there anything that

you did to keep the cost to a minimum?

Josiah: We did the album at our friend'sstudio. This gave us time to work on it at allhours and at a generously discounted price.We borrowed money from Matt's friend MikePark to fund all the initial costs.

Is there any difference when writinglyrics for Heavens compared to writing

lyrics for Alkaline Trio?

Matt: Until recently, I would do most of theAlkaline Trio writing on my own where withHeavens, I wrote almost entirely to some-one else's ideas. That's been the biggestdifference and the thing that has made thisproject fun and new for me.

How long did it take to write and record"Patent Pending"? Were the 11 songs for

"Patent Pending" the only ones written?

Matt: The record was written and recordedover the span of 2.5 years. We worked onit when we could and thanks to Ben Lovettwe were able to make our schedules work.As for the songs, those are it. Everything wewrote together we recorded. There weresome initial song ideas that never came tofruition, but for the most part you're hearingeverything.

How was the writing and recordingprocess compared to doing an AlkalineTrio album?

Matt: Doing the Heavens record was quitedifferent because we didn't allocate timeframes for writing or recording. The entireoperation came together over a long stretchof time - we were in no rush because wedidn't have a deadline. With a trio record we

usually create deadlines for ourselves.

I'd assume that with every Alkaline Trioalbum you do, you want the new one to

outdo the previous one. With Heavens,did you feel less pressure, since there

are no previous recordings to outdo?

Matt: Yes. Heavens was really fun and easyfor me. Alkaline Trio's creative process hasbeen a bit more complicated. Although Triorecords are a ton of fun to create, its notalways easy.

You have a long-standing relationshipwith Vagrant Records. Why did you

approach Epitaph to release the Heavensalbum?

Matt: We had initially agreed to do therecord with Vagrant. We went in there andstruck a deal but when the lawyers got totalking the deal seemed to change and getway more complex than we wanted. BrettGurewitz is a friend and someone I have alot of respect for as a businessman and anartist. He was very enthusiastic about theprospect of putting out the Heavens recordon Epitaph and made us an offer we could-n't refuse. Great label with great people -what more can you ask for?

Will you be touring in support of "Patent

Pending"? Will you be bring a full bandor will it just be you two?

Josiah: Yes, we play our first show inEngland on the 15th of October. We have afew more UK dates, then we do the westcoast and the north east intoChicago. We have fourother people joining usfor the live show.

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What got you interested in photography?

I had a crush on a lady that worked in a bookstore. I used to sneak out of the cafI was working in and pretend to browse through books so I could look at her. Oneday I found Nan Goldin's "Ballad of Sexual Dependency". I kinda forgot about thewoman after that.

What is your earliest memory of photography?

Some dude at the Foto Mat telling my parents that some pictures I had taken on a

camping trip were pretty sweet. They got them blown up real big. I was prettyproud of myself. Didn't pick up a camera for another 8 years. I'm a slow grower.

Do you have any formal training in photography or are you self taught?

Mostly self taught. Learned most of what I know from assisting. Thank you BillyPhelps and Marina Chavez.

Do you use film or digital? Why?

Both. Just got my first digital SLR. When a magazine is only gonna pay you 150bucks to shoot a bunch of photos, its gonna cost me 300 to do it on film.

What is the secret to getting "the shot"?Patience and a shitload of luck. Unless your Henri Cart ier-Bresson. He had a sepa-rate brain in his finger.

What is the hardest thing about being a photographer?

Pimping yourself.


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Dan

M

onickp

:Chrissy

Piper

www.dm

onick.

com


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What got you interested in

photography?My high school photography class wasa start, but I was inspired by the worksof Michael Wilson and Erik Keldsen. Isee in visuals, so it is important to meto create what I was seeing in my head.Photography gives me that opportunity.

What is your earliest memory of

photography?

My dad used to take his 110 cameraeverywhere. I thought it was such anodd camera but was fascinated by it atthe same time. Then I borrowed it toenter a contest when I was 9. It waspretty awesome.

Do you have any formal training in

photography or are you sel f taught?

A little of both. I went to school for acouple years strictly taking art classesand then spent a lot of time on my ownin the darkroom and working with mybest friend Erik on weird shoots.


I use film because I am printer. I pre-fer to have the option of being able togo into the darkroom. For me, photog-raphy is just as much the shoot as it isth darkroom. Being able to create aphysical object to pass on is importantto me.

What i s the secret to get t ing

"the shot"?

I'm not sure there really is. There havebeen plenty of shoots where "the shot"never actualizes and th shoot isscrapped, but there are things you cando to improve your chances of creatingsomething you are happy with. Findinga good location, working with someonethat you are comfortable with andworking on your own composition.

What is the hardest thing aboutbeing a photographer?

Promoting yourself .


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ww w.m eganh ol m es.com Sl eat er K i n n ey


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photography?I got interested in photography by a guynamed Pat Graham. He was from a sub-urb of Milwaukee, where I grew up. Heshot a lot of stuff for Dischord, SimpleMachines, etc. Seeing his shots made merealize that I could get a camera and havefun shooting the things/places I was see-ing on tour. I still consider Pat as a greatinspiration.

What is your earliest memory ofphotography?

I recall my dad using a Polaroid when Iwas about 4 or so, and thinking it was soneat to see it develop before your eyes.The over-saturated colors really stood outin my mind.


photography or are you self taught?

I have no formal training whatsoever. Ihave lots of friends who are photogra-phers, and who are blessed with a lot ofpatience. I ask tons of questions. I alsoread lots of books.

Do you use film or digital? Why?I shoot digitally now. I occasionally pullout my 35mm camera for just walkingaround shots. My medium format camera

broke, and I never got around to fixing it .I really like being able to see the shotright away. It's more cost effective whenyou're working a shoot with a very limited

budget. I also think it's a great way to

learn new tricks-by being able to see theshot immediately, you can try the sameshot with different F-stops,shutter speedor lighting and figure out what works foryou. I'm not saying I have a problem withfilm - I just prefer to work digitally.

What i s the secret to gett i ng"the shot"?I don't think there's a secret, r eally. I

shoot enough to cover my bases, and tryto get into the moment with the subject,whether it's a studio set up, or portraits,or a live show setting. If you're payingattention, and have an idea of what youwant in your head, you just need to waitfor your moment, and hit it. Of course,there are a million times where some-thing just happens right in front of youand you just get lucky. I guess it's just allabout being as ready as possible.

What is the hardest thing about being aphotographer?I think the hardest thing about being aphotographer is keeping up with the gearwhich can be super expensive, and alsogetting your name/work out there. It's alot of work to set up the shoots, get intothe shows or whatever, and to get theshots, process them, get them sent out. It

takes a long time to even get to thatpoint.


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I si swww.m

arkphoto.net


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What got you interested in photography?

I don't really remember. Just liked it.

What is your earliest memory of photography?Learning black and white darkroom techniques in high school.

Do you have any formal training in photography or are you self taught?

High School / Self taught.


Digital. Instant gratification.

What is the secret to getting "the shot"?Being in the right spot, timing, lighting.

What is the hardest thing about being a photographer?

Trying not to get in peoples way when I'm shooting concerts.


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www.i n t h eh ol l ow.com M i n us t h e Bear


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What got you interested in photography?I took a class in high school, loved the black and white darkroom immediately. Istarted shooting friends' shows and decided to figure out how to do it for a living. Ididn't really get started until I moved to Seattle in late 1997.

What is your earliest memory of photography?

My dad is an Aerospace Engineer and would travel the world often, he wouldreturn home with rolls of film. He would load the slide trays full of photos, and myolder brother and I would sit and hear of these places we didn't really knewwhether they existed.

Do you have any formal training in photography or are you self taught?I took a few classes in college, then dropped out after two years. After that, it wastrial and error. I'm always learning.


I prefer film but shoot a lot of digital these days due to tight deadlines and lowerbudgets. Magazines know they don't have to cover film/processingexpenses anymore. And I need to eat.

What is the secret to getting "the shot"?Being patient with your finger ready. If you're incredibly observant, you can seesomeone get comfortable, let their wall down, and it might be for only a second.

What is the hardest thing about being a photographer?Aside from the cont inuous struggle with money, it 's the fact that you careso much about what you shoot, that it becomes highs and lows. It's incredibly diffi-cult, impossibly really, to let things go. I think when you mix business with whatgets you out of bed in the morning, it can subject you to possible heartbreak. But Iwouldn't want to do anything else.


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www.r edh edpi ct u r es.com Robi n L aan an en


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photography?In college I was really getting burnedout on my computer science degreeand really wanted to take some artclasses since I was always really intoart, but had put it aside for quiteawhile. I always had an interest in pho-tography, but never even owned a cam-era. So I signed up for some classesand bought a camera immediately.

What is your earliest memory ofphotography?

It's hard to really remember a specificearly memory, but t he thing that real-ly got me interested in my teenageyears was a lot of band photography,and most specifically the Glen E.Friedman books. Those definitely sold

me on doing what I do.


photography or are you sel f taught?I took a total of 3 college classes, whichtaught me some basics. But mostthings I really had to learn on my ownwith a long period of trial and error.You have to waste a lot of film to reallyfigure out some techniques.


I'm still a film diehard. For a variety ofreasons, but mostly these two:1) I really like having a physical nega-tive. I don't really trust computers tonot lose my data (I was a computer sci-ence major in college) or for me toaccidentally delete original files. I t akea lot of comfort in having boxesof pr ints and negatives that I canalways go back to.2) I am unable to afford the initialinvestment of a few thousand dollarsfor a really nice digital SLR. I have a$150 film camera that keeps gettingme great shots over the years.

What is the secret to getting

"the shot "?

By not being afraid to get up close. Be

polite and try not to get in anyone'sway, but standing at a distance doesn'tusually get those great shots.

What is the hardest thing about

being a photographer?

Paying for it. And convincing yourfr iends to let you take their pictureover and over again.


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www.i l i k et h el i gh t s.com Deer h oof


40/52

RUSSIAN CIRCLESIve heard from a few

people that they dont like instrumental music

because they find it boring since there is novocals to sing along to. How do you draw the audience

in and keep them interested throughout each song?

I think keeping an audiences attention has less to do with vocals andmore with a band putting on an engaging live performance. I think any

good band, vocals or not, should make a lasting connection with theaudience. Most of the bands we listen to are not the type you sing

along to, so we never thought too much about making up for any lackof catchy vocals by implementing other devices to attract attention. As

long as the songs carry melodic themes, people seem to not miss the pres-

ence of a vocalist.

During live shows, is there any between song banter or do you play thesongs straight through? Do you even have mics on stage?

We prefer not to say anything between songs. Typically well create transitions

from one song to the next to give the set a more cohesive feel. Without havingmics onstage, the audience is less likely to expect vocals. If we had a mic we

would end up embarrassing ourselves.

A lot of bands use their music to convey political or emotional messages through

the vocals. What is Russian Circles trying to convey with its music?

We arent trying to convey any topical message whatsoever. We are more interest-ed in portraying emotion and feeling. I think music can be more powerful if inter-

pretation is left up the listener. Sometimes it can be easier to identify with an emo-tional state rather than a specific incident described by lyrics.

Is writing instrumental music more difficult to write because of its length and

complexity?

Writing without a traditional vocalist allows each song more freedom to go in anydirection without worrying about returning to a specific verse or chorus. I much

prefer a writing process that builds on on ideas and themes and the freedom toexplore alternate routes. At times it can be very frustrating to maintain the fluidity

of a song, so many ideas get abandoned or put on the back burner and another

more suitable part is added.

Interview with Mike Sullivan

Photos by Will Hough www.inthehollow.com

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Describe your writing process? How long

does it take to write one song? Whatinfluences your song writing?

Usually well start by exploring a few

ideas on guitar and then gradually startpiecing together other ideas and even-tually decide the direction of a song.

Part of the process is knowing when tostep forward and step back in the mix.

Its important to listen to what oneanother is playing and then find your

appropriate level to compliment theother instruments. Writing can take any-

where from two weeks to as long as sev-

eral months. The more aggressive/fastersongs are much easier to write than

long dynamic pieces. Writing can bethe most rewarding and also the most

frustrating part of being in a band.

It seems instrumental music is gettingmore recognition lately, why do you

think that is?

I think its a shame that many instrumen-tal bands from the last decade have

not gotten the credit they deserve. For

example, I think bands like The Fucking Champs, Trans Am, Tristeza, Pele, Ghosts andVodka, Dianogah, Turing Machine, and Oxes are absolutely amazing bands that are

way more relevant and innovative than many of the more recent instrumental bands.One reason instrumental music is getting more popular can be attributed to the fusion

of metal and instrumental music, which is starting to forge a new genre within itself, butunfortunately many of these bands are beginning to sound dangerously similar to one

another. I think its important that melody and build/release dynamics stay at the fore-front of instrumental music.

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Many instrumental

bands write obscenelylong song titles, some-

thing that

Dakota/Dakota did.

Why no long humoroussong titles on Enter?

Not having lyrics allowsbands more freedom

with song titles, for bet-ter or for worse.

Humorous song titles no longer appeal to me because the songs in this band havemore of emotional connection than Dakota/Dakota songs. I feel like it would be disre-

spectful to the songs to have a long-winded mildly funny title. Id rather someone tell

me they like a song for its musical content, instead of its title. Dakota/Dakota was sim-ply 3 friends getting drunk and playing the music that came most natural to us.

Perhaps the lack of booze keeps the titles more traditional. Russian Circles song titlesare more personal, whether it be a an inside joke or acknowledging various aspects of

our lives.

How have you tried to distance Russian Circles from past bands?

When we started this band, all three of us looked at our previous bands and discussed

what we liked and didnt like and we did the same thing with bands we were influ-enced by. We made a strong point to dumb the songs down and take a less-is-moreapproach to the song writing process. Quickly we learned that the simpler the part,

the easier it is to integrate other instruments and rhythms. Textured interplay among

the instruments is valued more than technical performances.

I read that, after a show someone asked you if you were the roadies for the headlinersof that show, can you explain more about that? Have you had any other experiences

like that or are people pretty receptive to what your doing?

We were playing a SXSW Alternative Press party last year and most of the crowd wasvery young and was obviously there to see better looking, flashier bands with scream-

ing/singing vocals. We were definitely the odd man out at that show. Some peoplethought we were The Chariot performing without a singer and some girl thought we

were Thursday roadies sound checking with Tool songs. Either way it was pretty amus-ing. Definitely the youngest and most confused crowd weve played for.

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Guitar One magazine did an article onyou in a recent issue. How did that

come about?

Our publicist, Dave Lewis, at Riot Act

hooked that up. I grew up readingGuitar magazines so I was pretty excit-ed to do the interview. Weve also

done interviews for Guitar Player, and

an upcoming Guitar World article.When I was younger I loved discover-

ing unfamiliar bands through guitarmagazines.

There is an previously unreleased song

Upper Ninety on the Suicide SqueezeComp, are you currently writing new

material? How was it playing theSuicide Squeeze 10 year anniversary

show?

We recorded two songs for a Suicide

Squeeze 7 that was released lastmonth. In addition to Upper Ninety, the B-side is a completely different version of the

title track to our full length, Enter. We went through three different versions of thatsong before setting on the version that made it onto the album. We thought it would

be a great opportunity to show the transformations a song may go through during awriting process.

What are your plans for the rest of 2006, more tours, writing,...?

We head out with Daughters for a three week tour in September and then we go out

with Minus the Bear, P.O.S., and the Velvet Teen for a six week tour that begins in early

October. After that we take a break from touring and finally get to start writing again.

RUSSIAN CIRCLES43


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All City AffairsBeesAll City Affairs is the solo endeavor of BabyTeeths Peter Andreadis, and like BabyTeeth, Peter mixes many genres into onedisc. Influences of jazz, rock funk, plus oth-ers can be heard on this disc.(Lujo Records)

ArchaeologyChant Chant CampI hesitated to listen to Archaeologys newalbum, due to the albums artwork. Thedesign reminded me of some white dudesdoing bad hip-hop, mainly because theArchaeology name and rest of the text is ina graffiti-ish type font. I hadnt planned onlistening to this CD, but after I had import-

ed it into Itunes, I accidentally doubleclicked on one of the songs and it startedplaying. What had played though, caughtmy ear enough to make me want to listen tothe album over and over. Archaeology blend indie, math rock, progressive, plusmany different styles so effortlessly itsamazing. Definitely a band worth checkingout. (Thug Factory)

Aspen It Is

Release Me From the Weights ofGravity Aspen It Is took the good parts of earlySaves the Day and melded it with the hooksof The All-American Rejects to produce agood upbeat pop punk album. Any fans ofthe aforementioned bands would enjoythis. (Peirmont Records)

Baby TeethThe Simp

Baby Teeth are the champions of not tak-ing themselves seriously, but still maintainsounding good. Who else can combinedisco violins, rock, and Billy Joel influ-enced piano gems into one disc? (LujoRecords)

Ben Davis/Des Ark SplitBattle of the BeardsThis release was originally supposed to bea split between Ben Davis and the

Rosebuds, but the Rosebuds couldnt do it

for some reason. The first 5 tracks on thisalbum go to Ben Davis, and they are a mix-ture of Pinback subdued indie and MarkMallmans piano driven pop. Des Ark hasthe next 5 tracks and are similar to whatthey have done in the past. A couple of thesongs have acoustic guitars and the othertracks are full on rocker. The last 2 tracksare collaborative efforts, and sound similaras they both have strings and are mostlysung by Amy of Des Ark. Both artists dogreat jobs on this release and Im eager tosee what they do with next full lengths.(Lovitt Records)

Blood BrothersYoung MachetesIf you want your brain to totally shut downand make the most easy things, like back-ing into a parking space, impossible, then

listen to the new Blood Brothers joint. Onthe way to work one day, I was listeningthis to at a high volume, and when it cameto back into my parking spot, I didnt haveenough mental capacity to do so until Iturned off the CD. What you can expectfrom Young Machetes is the typical BloodBrothers approach, scream, thrash, repeat.Pretty similar to their Previous Crimesbut longer. (V2)

Che ArthurIronIron is the new solo album from ex Atombombpocketknife guitarist CheArthur. The sound of the album instantlyreminded me of Foo Fighters and Nirvana,but with a more punk feel. Overall the CDis pretty good. If you liked his previousalbum, youd be into this one too.(Sickroom Records)

Baby Teeth

Des Ark


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Chin Up Chin UpThis Harness Cant Ride AnythingThe release of This Harness Cant Ride Anything marks a one of many firsts forthe band. This is their first release after thedeath of Chris Saathoff, their originalbassist. Its the first release with their newbassist, Jesse Woghin of Narrator. And it istheir first release on the Suicide Squeezelabel. The sound on this album reminds meof that Rusted Root song, Send Me on MyWay. Its easy on the ears and its a greatlong drive album. (Suicide Squeeze)

CohoThings ChangeThings Change starts out with a slow whispery song, but then barges into the

genuine indie rocker I Will Disappear.This pattern of slow/soft to loud/fast con-tinues throughout the album. You cantdeny this Seattle musicians skills, but youhave to be in the right mood to sit throughthe sludge before getting to the good parts.If there was one song on this album that I would suggest, it would be MahatmaDenver. It starts off slow, then half waythrough, explodes into its sound, suggest-ing influences from Cursives Ugly

Organ. (Lujo Records)

CopelandEat, Sleep, RepeatIt seems to me that the band discoveredRadioheads OK Computer before writ-ing, and were so enthralled with it, thatthey decided to emulate Radioheadssound on tracks Wheres My Head andCareful Now. The other 9 tracks are sim-ilar to something Jimmy Eat World would

do. They do show some originality onLove Affair. The first half of the song is aslow piano driven ballad, but then turnsinto a jazzy trumpet and drum number. Itsa nice little ending. (The Militia Group)

The Dark RomanticsSome Midnight KissinAfter sending some demos to their friend,Jason Martin of Starflyer 59, Martinagreed to produce and record the bands

full length. With the backing of Lujo theywent in and recorded 10 original indie rockditties with a slight feeling of Starflyer 59.Some of the lyrics are bland like she stolemy heart like a million bucks // she stolemy heart like an armored truck. Sure itmakes sense but lacks in the intelligencedepartment. Some Midnight Kissin is astrong debut and it shows some promise ofthings to come. (Lujo Records)

Dead Voices on AirFrom Labrador to MadagascarQ: Whats better than listening to noisyambient industrial influenced music? A:Not listening to it. There are many artists

that do this style of music thats dark, slowand quiet, and sure I appreciate your artbut I dont see a need to listen to this whilesober and not depressed. (InvisibleRecords)

December's Architects,Apiary Ennui And Curiosas. TheBrew ShakesThe long awaited release of December's Architects final recording is finally here.

This album fucking owns. Its a shame thatthis band has been broken up for years nowand that it took so long to get this albumreleased. It is the perfect blend of bandslike Capn Jazz, Joan of Arc, The PromiseRing, and Braid. It has a very indie Chicagosound like the previous bands mentioned.Get your hands on this, because it has alimited pressing, so they wont be aroundforever. (Say & Stay Said)

The Drugstore CowboysChapter 3006The Drugstore Cowboys take influencesfrom everyone from Botch to BritneySpears, and are described as a electro-hardcore-hip-hop-pop-thrash collective. Ifthat sounds weird to you, then they havedone their jobs. Its rumored that they have

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Copeland

The Dark Romantics


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one hell of a live show and if the sound ofthis album is any indication, then youknow its true. (Lujo Records)

The End of The WorldYoure Making It Come Alive

I think you have to be in the right situationto truly appreciate some music. Take forinstance The End of the Worlds newalbum. I think Ive listened to this 3 or 4times but never remembered or got it.Then one day at work I put it on and itclicked with me. Youre Making It ComeAlive shares sounds with The Jim YoshiiPile-Up, but a little faster and less gloomy.(Flameshovel)

Ferocious EagleThe Sea Anemone Inside of Me isMightyFerocious Eagle is a two guitar and drums band from Portland, Oregon. Their newalbum is a mixture of angular art rock andhalf shouted vocals. Think BARR makingbabies with Hella and youre getting close.(5440 or Fight)

Form of Rocket

MenForm of Rocket's latest release "Men" isfull of angular guitars squelches andtongue and cheek lyrics, similar toMinneapolis' STNNNG. At nearly an hourlong, with songs titles like, "Teapot Dome,Bitch" "You'd Look Cute In The Trunk OfMy Car" and "Dogfucker", "Men" keeps youentertained throughout the entire album.(Sickroom Records)

Four Star AlarmS/TThis 5-song EP from Four Star Alarm isquite an impressive blend of original postpunk and pop punk. If the strong songwriting and guitar work on this EP contin-ue onto their eventual full length, then itwill be worth the wait. (Thick Records)

The Good MorningsS/TLansing, Michigans The Good Morningsself titled debut features atmospheric indiesung by the buttery voice of CarmenParadise and some impressive guitar workfrom Jason Lantrip. Both artists are members of the space rock band Calliope.(Thick Records)

Happy Together Compilation -Various ArtistsThe idea behind this is quite cool. LujoLabel owners, Eric and Jocelyn, metthrough the label a few years ago, and gotto know each other and then fell in love.They recently got married and as a gift toall those in attendance they gave away this

Happy Together compilation. What do youdo when you have to order 500 CDs fromthe pressing plant, but only have 200guests? You give the extras to the press andsell them on the website. Now this isnt anyordinary compilation with songs youveheard before. All the songs on the albumwere specifically wrote for this compilationor are covers. The bands are mostly Lujo bands but there a some outsiders likeHanalei. (Lujo Records)

Hair: Chicago Punk Cuts - VariousArtistsThick Records have once again put togeth-er a comp with some of the best Chicago bands. Great music from Holy RomanEmpire, The Killing Tree, Allister, HoracePinker, and more. (Thick Records)

HeavensPatent Pending

What electronic pop duo features an indieicon from a long running popular group,and an electronic beat maker who is semiwell known? Im not talking Postal Service, but the new project from Alkaline TriosMatt Skiba and Jonah Steinbrick from F-minus. While Heavens and the PostalService have many exterior similarities, itsthe music that sets them apart. BenGibbards lyrics are complete opposites toMatt Skibas dark violent tones. For exam-

ple, the opening line of Another Night:Another night with your head in the oven// Simmering like a heat wave over you //Sweat drops hiss at the bottom // Blooddroplets cook like glue. Sure the lyrics aredark, but the danceable beats make it agreat combination. (Epitaph)

Drugstore Cowboys


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Jill CunniffCity BeachJill Cunniff, formerly of Luscious Jackson,has hereby ruined eating orange popsicles with the release of her new solo albumCity Beach. The opening track LazyGirls, is a summer-y blend of infectiousbeats and loops with sugary female vocalsthat whispery say eating orange popsiclesin the chorus. So now, whenever I eat anorange popsicle I will think of this song.Couldnt she have chosen a different flavorlike grape or cherry or the flavor that noone likes, root beer? City Beach is a wel-come half ray of sunshine for us citydwellers or landlocked individuals tuckedaway for the winter. At least two of thesesongs could easily be played on the radio

and have the kind of one hit charm as LensSteal My Sunshine or All Star bySmashmouth. (The Militia Group)

LakesPhotographsLakes is the new project from FormerWatashi Wa member, Seth Roberts. This 5-song indie rock debut features guest vocalsof MxPx and Copeland frontmen, MikeHerrera and Aaron Marsh. (The Militia

Group)

Love Me DestroyerThe Things Around Us BurnLove Me Destroyer walk the line of melod-ic hardcore and 80s hair metal, and theydo it seamlessly. Its ind of a mix ofSpitalfield and Skid Row. The closing trackis a sweet guitar ballad similar toSlaughter.

Make BelieveOf CourseAlmost a year to the day of their debut fulllength, Make Believe is back again with a better album than their debut. All of thecredit usually goes to eccentric front manTim Kinsella, but a job well done goes outto Sam Zurick, Bobby Burg, and NateKinsella for playing the hell out of theirinstruments. Of Course is the closet anyof Tims music has gotten to Capn Jazz.

This album would be great for those peoplewho couldnt get into Joan of Arc or Owls, but respect Tims musicianship.(Flameshovel)

Minus The BearInterpretationes Del OsoIm on the fence about this Minus the Bearalbum being a good idea or a bad one. I

mean Menos el Oso was a good album inits own right, so why remix it. But on theother hand, the remixes were done bymusicians like P.O.S., Alias, and J. Clark ofThe Blood Brothers. Some of the remixesare good and some arent. The openingtrack Drilling remixed by P.O.S. is the best. It would have been nice ifInterpretationes Del Oso had the sametrack sequence as Menos el Oso. (SuicideSqueeze)

Motion CommotionS/TThe 4-piece band of accomplished musi-cians play the standard instruments, butalso throw in clarinets, violins, and accor-dions, because they can. This self-titled

indie rock EP is slightly impressive, butshows promise of for future recordings.(Peirmont Records)

Nakatomi PlazaUnsettledFor an album that was mastered six times,took 3+ years to finish, and almost brokethe band up, youd think that this albumwould sound a little bit better. Unsettledis quite good, but there is one aspect that I

just cant stand. The screaming vocals.Nakatomi Plaza has good vocalists, bothmale and female, but when the guyscreams, it sounds like a chainsaw sawingthrough cats. Luckily the majority of thescreaming is isolated to track two, butmakes slight appearances throughout thealbum. The instrumentation is quite goodalso, but at some parts it sounds like theguitarist is trying too hard to get that riffand it comes off as cheesy. If I were you, Id

give this album a listen and make your ownopinion about it. (Red Leader Records)

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New London FireI Sing the Body HolographicI Sing the Body Holographic has songsabout a man in love with a prostitute, butshe wont stop whoring herself for him, asong about a serial killer that strikes everyyear on Valentines Day, a song about twoghosts trying to find each other in the afterlife, plus other songs. The lyrics may bedark, but when they are sung against thepulsing danceable beats that the NewLondon Fire produces, it works completelywell. Each song sounds different than eachother, but as a whole it creates a cohesivepiece of music that doesnt disappoint.(Eyeball Records)

The New Trust

Dark is the Path Which Lies BeforeUsIts hard to explain how good The NewTrust is. The drums and opening basslineof the album opener A Spoiled Surprise, ACheap Reveal will get stuck in your headfor days. The Velvet Teen member JoshStaples is in charge of vocals and bass andhis wife sings back up on some parts. Thisalbum will surely be high on the list forbest albums of 2007. (Slowdance)

One Night BandWay Back Home A ska band is a rare sight in these daysfilled with horrible rock and emo. OneNight Band is a ska band from Canada,with rotating male and female vocals. Theyplay a subdued reggae two tone version ofska, with plenty of horn solos, uppickingand organs. Way Back Home may not bethe best ska album, but with the rarity of

ska releases, it will do the trick. (StompRecords)

OwenAt Home WithYou pretty much know what youre gettinginto when you pick up an Owen release. Youve got Mike Kinsella on the guitar

playing his soul out. While At Home Withtracks are all of quality, some people mightlike his previous album I Do Perceive bet-ter. At Home With does feature a nicecover of the Velvet Undergrounds FemmeFatale. (Polyvinyl Records)

PinebenderWorking Nine to WolfI know Pinebender is a well respectedband, but some songs on this album I couldcertainly do without. Like the thirteenminute opener Parade of Horribles, bythe six minute mark, Im begging it to beover. Luckily there is a skip button, which brings us to the better, shorter, less epictracks like She Destroys the Light, MaskTree, and Polly Grey. (Lovitt Records)

PortastaticBright IdeasMac McCaughan has done it again. He haswritten another perfect pop album that isup to par with his previous release BrightIdeas. Sour Shores and I'm In Love(With Arthur Dove) are examples of thelighthearted song writing while tracks likeGetting Saved and Like a Pearl show amore serious personal side. I shouldnt

have to tell you to go out and buy this, because you should already have it.(Merge)

ProtokollS/TProtokolls self titled EP has a sound influ-enced by British guitar pop bands of the80s as well as New York post-punk and NoWave from the same era. They blend synth-pop melodies with a rocking rhythm sec-

tion that will keep your body moving.Risen is the stand out song on the album.Four of the five songs are over 5 minutes soyou can listen to it over and over again andnever get sick of it. (I Heart Comix)

Shanna KielOrphanShanna was in the midwestern punk bandSullen, but left St. Louis for the glitz ofHollywood, CA.Orphan is loud and grit-

ty, with similarities to Courtney Lovesband Hole. (Thick Records)

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SpeakerfireAudio AlchemyIf youre looking for unoriginal, poorly written rock, then look no further thanSpeakerfire. The majority of this album iscomprised of the same rock (i.e.Nickelback, etc...) that pollutes the top 40radio stations. A couple of tracks on thisalbum are salvageable, but who wants towade through 30 feet of shit for fools gold.(Peirmont Records)

StylexTight ScrapesOhios Stylex blends together the sounds oftwo other well known bands from the bigO, Devo and Brainiac. Tight Scrapes willhave you dancing until your heart stops,

because each song is energizing and willmake you want to do nothing but listen toit. (Pretend Records)

The SubjectsWith the Ease Grace, Precision, andCleverness of Human BeingsThe Subjects are a teacher/student 4 piecethat plays a Strokes-esque style of music but more lo-fi. The whole album is good.Great and inventive guitar work and fun

pop songs. (Pretty Activity Records)

Tahiti 80FosburyFosbury is a perfect blend of classic 60sand 70s pop, disco and a bit a French flair.Big Day the albums opener will make you feel that youve jumped into a scenefrom Saturday Night Fever. Here Comesinfectious chorus will have you singingalong, and then the rest of the day because

it will be stuck in your head. The U.S. ver-sion of this album is packaged with a bonusEP that has covers of Happy Together bythe Turtles and Give it Away by The Chi-lites. (The Militia Group)

The TinyStarring: Someone Like YouThe Tinys sophomore album sounds like 3Bjorks singing in a choir, while a backingorchestra of toy instruments clinks andclambers along. The majority of the songsstart off slow with piano accompaniments,and then never speed up. (Eyeball Records)

TitlesS/TThe Titles full length debut is 12 songs ofslow indie with slight bluesy bar band gui-tars. Its a good album, but nothing on itstands out as memorable or noteworthy.(Welcome Home Records)

Your Black Star

Sound from the GroundThe songs on Your Black Stars Soundfrom the Ground have a different soundfrom one another, but they all have thesame cohesive feel. The songs sound tex-tured and atmospheric. Strings is by farthe best and most original track on thealbum. (Wonka Vision)

Tahiti 80

Photo Credits:Cover: Ryan RussellPg 4-5: Will HoughPg 14: Suicide Squeeze RecordsPg 16: Ryan RussellPg 17: UnknownPg 18: Unknown - Press PhotoPg 21: Unknown - Press Photo

Pg 23: UnknownPg 24: Unknown - Press PhotoPg 29: Chrissy PiperPg 31: Megan HolmesPg 33: Mark DawurskPg 35: Will HoughPg 37: Provided by RobinPg 39: Adam BubolzPgs 40-43: Will HoughPg 44: Unknown - Press PhotoPg 45: Unknown - Press PhotoPg 46: Unknown - Press PhotoPg 47: Unknown - Press PhotoPg 48: Joe WigdahlPg 49: Unknown - Press Photo


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The PlasticConstellationsCrusadesLP

STNNNGFake FakeCD, LP

COMING SOONMirah & ft(The Shadow Government)

Signal To TrustGolden Armour CD

Yellow Swans& Devillocksplit 7

PO BOX 8886 MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 55408www.modern-radio.com

MODERN RADIO


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manual dexterity music zine winter 2006/07

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