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Showing posts from December, 2016

Dropkick Murphys: 'We Aren�t Doctors, But We Can Play Music and Deliver a Message of HopeThrough Our Songs'

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Much of the band's latest music directly addresses the causes closest to them including the rampant opioid epidemic ravaging New England and the recent presidential election Dropkicks Murphys are a rare breed. Boston�s pride, the Celtic punk rockers are kicking off their third decade as a band, with their famous flame of passion showing no sign of dwindling to a flicker. It�s burning more fiercely than ever, frontman Al Barr and guitarist Tim Brennan tell me, as we slump into leather sofas surrounded by guitars in London�s Gibson Studios. It�s impossible to separate this six-piece from their fans, so much so that new song �Blood� from their upcoming ninth album 11 Short Stories of Pain and Glory is a homage to the mutual respect and dedication they share. Unlike many contemporary bands, the Dropkicks do not rely on radio airplay to get their music heard. They have shifted over four million albums globally, fan favorite � Rose Tattoo � has racked up over 24 million hit...

In Defense of Underground Music and Arts Venues

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Every city needs an underground. The first music event I attended after moving to Los Angeles took place in a warehouse. It was a psychedelic trance party thrown by a crew called Sixth Sense. The location was somewhere in pregentrification Hollywood, when many of its commercial districts were virtually derelict. Outside was an urban wasteland, but inside the party was filled with color, sound and life: loud, pulsating music, black lights, people in hippie/raver attire � phat pants, dreadlocks, fluorescent sneakers, T-shirts with mandalas printed on them. I made a lot of new friends and danced my ass off. It was fantastic. In the years since � more years than I care to admit � I've probably attended hundreds of other underground events in various locales, from warehouses and lofts to deserts and forests. One event took place after hours in a gym, with a boxing ring doubling as a dance floor. Another happened at a paintball park. Soundstages, ranches, decrepit theaters, ...

Shows - All Things Hard, Harsh & Heavy - North Carolina

This is a list of all heavy shows, and events, across North Carolina. The list spans from Wilmington to Asheville, and includes music ranging from punk to hardcore, metal to metalcore, grind to doom and goth to industrial.  We're hoping to bring more awareness to the scene, and share the events that are taking place across  the  our great state of North Carolina! Please feel free to share and spread the word!  Dec 29 - Rotton, Baasthyrian, Throne Of Bolts, KRVSADE, / The Milestone, Charlotte   Dec 30 - New Year�s Eve Punk Rock pregame: Born Again Heathens, 49 / Short, Raw Dog / The Maywood, Raleigh   Dec 31 - New Year�s Eve Show: Datura, Arghast, Horseskull / The Maywood , Raleigh                           - New Year�s Eve Show: AuxiliA, No Anger Control, Green Fiend, Kairos, No Power No      Crown, Violent Go...

Rise Above: Will Donald Trump's America Trigger a Punk Protest Renaissance?

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The underground hardcore punk movement � led by the likes of Black Flag, MDC and Minor Threat � flourished during the height of Reagan�s presidency in the 80s. Composite: Getty Images & Malcolm Rivera Since the election, the Kominas have been getting the same curious request. The east coast punk band keeps being asked, by film-makers and documentarians, for a Donald Trump protest song. �People just assume we have an anti-Trump song already recorded,� says Basim Usmani, the group�s bassist. In the weeks preceding and following the election, musicians, fans and critics have discussed and debated the idea that Trump�s impending presidency could inspire a new movement of politically charged protest music. So it�s no surprise that the Kominas, a South Asian American band whose discography includes provocative statements like Sharia Law in the USA, would be called upon for a musical reaction to the president-elect. �It�s been hard to deal with,� says Usmani, whose band recentl...

A Piece of New York City Punk History Just Sold for $30,000 at Auction

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One lucky (and, apparently, either very dedicated or ultra rich) punk fan got their hands on a priceless piece of punk New York history after going to Sotheby's "A Rock & Roll Anthology: From Folk to Fury" auction on Saturday. Any true punk fan knows about the CBGB, a club at 315 Bowery in Manhattan that changed the future of music. Former manager Drew Bushong got himself $30,000 for the awning: a piece of the '70s and '80s New York City music scene with one of the original awnings at the club, emblazoned with CBGB OMFUG ("Other Music for Uplifting Gormandizers") and the address of the club. As Sotheby's notes on its blog about the awning: "[CBGB] quickly became the world's most celebrated venue and "underground" rock scene, welcoming legendary acts such as the New York Dolls, Blondie, the Ramones, Patti Smith, the Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, the Cramps, the Dead Boys, the Misfits, the Voidoids, the Runaways and...

Mike Patton forms Metal Supergroup with Dave Lombardo

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Faith No More frontman Mike Patton, who has one of rock�s most versatile voices, said on Monday that he was forming a new metal supergroup with Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. Patton wrote on Facebook that the supergroup called Dead Cross will release an album next year. The 48-year-old Patton has a vocal range of six octaves � one of the greatest of any living singer, even in opera. Faith No More, with its hard-edged rock and elements of funk and hip-hop, was at the vanguard of the alternative music boom starting in the late 1980s and returned in 2015 with its first album in nearly two decades. The Cuban-born Lombardo often figures on lists of metal�s top drummers. He is best known for Slayer, a macabre thrash metal band, and has also played with Suicidal Tendencies and Misfits. Lombardo and Patton previously joined forces for another supergroup called Fantomas. They will be joined in Dead Cross by guitarist Michael Crain and bassist and vocalist Justin Pearson, who have both p...

First Embedded Anti-Theft Device For Musical Instruments To Be Introduced AT NAMM 2017

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GearSecure , a newly launched company from Los Angeles, California, will introduce at NAMM 2017 patented technology designed to be the first embedded anti-theft device for musical instruments and other assorted gear. The technology provides a bridge between RFID and GPS technology providing help in instant recovery of lost or stolen gear. Demonstrations and inquiries can be made by visiting Hall D, Booth 2382. The company's stated goal is "the end of lost or stolen." The company was started by Adam Mandel, one of the producers of the long-running live music show Ultimate Jam Night. Mandel has enlisted the core team of musicians and others that turned Ultimate Jam Night into an internationally known program. That team includes Quiet Riot bassist Chuck Wright; drummer Matt Starr who has played with Ace Frehley and Mr. Big; Walter Ino of Survivor; Ira Black of Attika 7 and Westfield Massacre; and other musicians including Alex Kane of LSD and Antiproduct, and indep...

Myanmar Heavy Metal Crashes into the Open

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Half a century of repressive military rule virtually silenced Myanmar�s heavy metal scene, but a growing coterie of die-hard metal-heads say the aggressive, rasping music gives them a unique release in a nation still struggling to come to terms with its own dark history A young head banger displays his tattoos last month at a heavy metal gig in Yangon. Moshing and sweating, the crowd of headbangers scream their angst into the sultry Yangon night, a rare glimpse of a defiant musical subculture now crashing into the open � though sex, drugs and religion remain off the song sheet. Half a century of repressive military rule virtually silenced Myanmar�s heavy metal scene and today its musicians are still shunned by most people in the conservative Buddhist country. But a growing coterie of die-hard metal-heads say the aggressive, rasping music gives them a unique release in a nation still struggling to come to terms with its own dark history. �Listening to metal is the fucking b...

Billy Don Burns Set To Release Brand New Album - Graveyard In Montgomery

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� � � Every CD order will put you in the drawing to win the original art for the album cover. This only lasts for two weeks, up until the release of the album on Dec. 16th 2016. To be eligible, pre-order now. If you order one cd, its one entry. Two cd's equals two entries, etc. This does not apply to buying digital downloads though. The drawing for the winner will be held after the weekend Dec. 16th. � � � Order your copy now "I was on my way to do some gigs in Alabama and Florida, heading down I-65 through Montgomery. Once again I was telling myself, �Don�t stop at Hank�s grave.� After so many trips there over the years, I had the itch to stop in once again. Twenty times, at a minimum is how many times I have walked into that graveyard. While driving, I keep telling myself, �Don�t stop, This is crazy.� Then before I could even change my mind, I rolled right on into Montgomery, made the turn and there I sat in front of his grave. It was one hell of a storm going on. Lightning...

A Collision of Quilting and Rock Music

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Faith Salie introduces us to the work of a music-loving artist on what you might call the FRINGE: �I like this machine,� said quilter Ben Venom , �because once it gets going, I liken it to shooting a machine gun.  When it�s at full throttle, like R-R-R-R-R!� Sit down with Venom in his studio in San Francisco�s Haight-Ashbury, and it doesn�t take long to realize he isn�t quite like other quilters. �There�s a right way, there�s a wrong way, and there�s the way I just decided to do it -- which is my way,� he said. �You know, I�ll listen to music or try to watch movies, but ultimately the noise of the machine kind of drowns a lot out. Because my head�s right in it. So pretty much my world is right around here .� His world is filled with arresting images on quilts. �Every Tear Drop,� a quilt by by Ben Venom. His quilts sell for thousands of dollars, have been exhibited around the world, and have names like Aces High and Iron Fist, which refers to a Motorhead song. And then the...