Your Music Magazine July Issue # 70

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BROOKDALE LODGE

Eat, Drink, Dance, Sleep! 9/4

SUNDAY Drink of the month: MIDORI MARGARITA MONDAY BUD PITCHERS $7

TUESDAY OPEN MIC ESDAY WEDN OKE A KAR JO / W THURSDAY LIVE MUSIC FRIDAY LIVE MUSIC SATURDAY LIVE MUSIC Ask about special room rates the night of the show!

7/17 Folkyeah Presents: Graveyard, Hot Lunch, Serpico 7/18 Amnesia 7/24 Lyon Ent. Presents: Agent Orange, DI, Sad Boy Sinister, Crooked as Fuck, Abusement Park 7/25 The Realization Tour Featuring: Sugar For A Dime, Realization, Para La Gente, & Vibrant EYEris 7/31 Archer, Mordor, Isolation Factor, Heroshima 8/01 Lodge-a-palooza w/ Honest Mistake, The Devil Himself, Who’s Holdin’, Cylinder, 3upFront, + 8/7 The Midtones, Thrive 8/8 Phat Chants, Audacity 8/9 Folkyeah Presents: 8/17 Heavy Hills, Purple Mercy, Purple Rhinestone Eagle 8/22 John Sotter Acoustic Warrior 8/27 Folkyeah Presents: 8/28 Fire Whiskey, For Booking Call The Devil Himself Hans (831) 212-3961 9/4 Meldrum

The Lodge at The Brookdale Inn & Spa




YOUR MUSIC MAGAZINE STAFF Mike Lyon *Editor In Chief - (831) 477-0503

mikelyon@yourmusicmagazine.com

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LYON ENTERTAINMENT STAFF Booking *Jon Becker a.k.a. Hans Groper (831) 212-3961 Video/Online Media *Dan “the Man” Lopez Ticket Sales *Charon Garing, Kyle Cavanaugh

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Jake Student *Ad Sales (Online,Print, Live Event) (831) 477-0503 jakestudent@yourmusicmagazine.com Jessica Ashley Skelton *Managing Editor Jessica@yourmusicmagazine.com Itay K *Layout/Design/Staff Writer itay@yourmusicmagazine.com Vincente *Editor vincente@yourmusicmagazine.com Ashley Lyon * Assistant Editor Brian Crabtree * Intern brian@yourmusicmagazine.com

Contributing Writers: Mat Weir, Kevin Madness, Itay K, Tracy Forsyth-Lundy, Numerous, Dave Pirtle, Brian Crabtree, Barb Rocks, Darien Lomeli, John Lewis, Maxwell Barna, Holly English, Jon Hermison, Kimberly Johnson

Contributing Photographers: Alan Ralph, D.J.Dougherty, Caroline Reid, Chris Pollard, Brian Crabtree, Ron Arcaroli

E L B A T F O NTS E T N O C

Your Music Magazine 1515 Capitola Rd. Unit: M Santa Cruz, CA 95062 (831) 477-0503 Web Site Vista Media VMAgency.com Jake Student

www.yourmusicmagazine.com myspace.com/yourmusicmagazine myspace.com/yourmusicmagbooking twitter.com/yourmusicmag Copyright 2009 Lyon Entertainment Publishing. Your Music Magazine is a registered trademark owned by Mike Lyon. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced in any manner or form without prior written consent of the publisher. Lyon Entertainment and the Your Music Magazine staff is not responsible for claims made by advertisers. Your Music Magazine is published monthly by Lyon Entertainment. ISSUE #70 JULY 2009

Pg.8 Warped Tour Review Pg.9 Less Than Jake Pg.10 Civet Pg.12 Jeffree Star Pg.14 Street Sweeper Social Club Pg.18 MC to Emcee w/ Bukue One Pg.20 CD Reviews Pg.26 Dead Kennedy’s Pg.28 Fire Whiskey Pg.30 Norcal Metal Report Pg.32 Warped Tour Centerfold Pg.36 Monterey YMO Gold Winners- Wasted Noise Pg.38 Monterey YMO Silver Winners- Mnemonic Device Pg.39 Monterey YMO Bronze Winners- The Rugers

Pg.40 San Jose YMO Calendar Pg.41 3upFront Pg.42 Echoes of Fear Pg.43 Fasten Pg.44 A Thousand Kingdoms Pg.45 SJ YMO Finalists: Modern Ruinz Pg.46 SJ YMO Finalists: Mukagee Pg.47 YMO 2009 Calendar Pg.50 Monterey YMO Winners Pg.53 Dirty Penny Pg.54 POS -Warped Tour interview Pg.55 More Warped Tour Photos Pg.58 Concert Calendar Pg.64 SF YMO Concert Calendar


By: Mat Weir Aaaahh, yes, the Van’s Warped Tour…the summer long festival celebrating music, youth culture and debauchery. First, I want to thank YMM for sending me. When I was an underage sprite I dreamed about being able to interview bands on the tour. The whole day I was like a kid with ADD. It was an uncannily clear and sunny San Francisco day when my girlfriend and I found ourselves wandering on Pier 30/32 through the crowds of punk, emo and hardcore kids with the horrible realization that we were getting old. With Warped in its 15th year, the tour has finally caught up in age with most of it’s attendees. And for me, that meant wondering where all the myspace bands came from and why it’s all of a sudden cool again to wear neon 80’s gear. My assignment was to cover the tour and get as many interviews as possible, but only two of the bands I was interested in were doing interviews, so most of the day was spent enjoying the privileges of being over 21 and mixing it up with the people to get their opinions of the day which ranged from “Oh my god it’s, like, sooo rad!” to “There are goddamn animals, everywhere!” And yes, while there were some bands there with crazy technical guitar skills, double bass drums and guys in make-up who can scream like Beelzebub, I’m a firm believer in rock ‘n roll and punk rock. So with the exception of two bands, if you wanted to find me, you would’ve looked at the Old School stage (convenientally located next to the beer area, talk about Vans knowing their audience) which hailed such bands as Duane Peter’s Gunfight, TSOL, and the Adolescents. I had seen TSOL and the Adolescents before, and impressively, both bands were on top of their game: moving the crowds into a furious circle pit with every song. But it was Gunfight that really caught my attention. Duane Peter’s is still alive and kicking, fueled by rock ‘n roll and ready to crash into anything that gets in his way. And they had more energy than most of the younger bands there; all of the guys were running around the stage, screaming for blood and posing for pics when my girl raised her camera. Rock is about being true, and you knew these guys weren’t lying when they sang, “Opium for days.”

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Interview by: Itay K Lets start with some introductions...who are you? I’m Chris from the band Less Than Jake...and this is Your Music Magazine. What do you play in the band? I play guitar and sing. How are you enjoying the second day of Warped Tour? Second day is good so far...can’t complain. Haven’t had heat stroke yet, so that’s good. What are some of the bands that you’ve been meeting out here? Well, it is only the second day, and we have quite a few bands that are friends and have played together for a couple of years. The NOFX guys, Bad Religion… a lot of familiar faces. What’s it like for LTJ out on Warped tour? You guys had a huge crowed out there... Yeah, it’s chaotic out here, but it’s fun. This is like our twelfth or thirteenth year with the tour. Being invited back and playing for younger crowds, is good. There are probably kids out here that are just now listening to you for the first time? Some don’t even know our band. It’s cool. A band like ours is not really on the radio or TV. We try to get as much exposure as other bands. You have to come out and play a show like this one just so kids know who you are. How difficult is it to be an independent group on it’s own label? It’s great. You know, the major labels didn’t ever touch our tours, our shows, or our merchandise. They also didn’t tell us when to tour. So basically we’re still doing the same

thing; except, now we’re funding our own records. We still live on tour, spending six or seven months on the road, so it’s good. Tell me about the 7” box-set you released earlier this year...Why vinyl? It’s the idea that people just want something they can hold on to. In these days of downloading music, some people want the art and vinyl and we do it for our collector fans. How do you promote something like a 7” box-set in the digital age? Just like any other band; Internet, Myspace, Facebook pages. Staying in touch with fans is a big part of it. Being independent we have to hire our own publicists, so we hire a guy to get us interviews an such, but other than that you know. Do you think you would ever release other bands’ stuff on your label? We’ve talked about working with other bands, but right now we’re just slowly getting all of the rights back for our own stuff from the major labels. You guys have played the tour for years... what’s your favorite venue on Warped Tour? The West Coast is always great. You guys are crazy... Denver is nice. Florida where we’re from is nice... New York. Every day is good, except when it’s 112 degrees in Phoenix. Are there any plans for a new record? We’re always writing new songs, but I don’t know about the studio anytime soon. We’re going on some other tours later this year, but I don’t know 9 about going back into the studio.


By: Mat Weir One of the bands I wanted to see that wasn’t at the Old School stage, was the femme fatale sound of Civet. Hailing from the City of Angels, Civet has been building a reputation for themselves through constant touring and two albums, the most recent being 2008’s Hell Hath No Fury. This was my third time seeing them, and each time just gets better and better. These ladies play tough and fast, so make sure you’re going to see them for the right reasons. If you think they’re just eye candy, you’ll be walking away with a stiletto enema, guaranteed. I know I wouldn’t mess with them. Luckily, they were nice enough to grant my ADD inner-child an interview after their set. You guys put on a great show today. We came in right as you were starting... Liza: Nice, so you got to see the full set then, good.

Liza, I know you started working for Altitude TV? Lisa: Yeah, but it’s just for money (laughs). The band is the one love of my life.

So, you’re going on tour with Social Distortion and the Strangers soon? Liza: Yes, it’s like a dream tour. Suzie: Totally, we’re really big fans of theirs.

And I know that sometimes all of you model for various clothing companies... Lisa: Yeah, we do a lot of modeling, individually. Suzie: We try to make sure anything we do on the side is also related to Civet. Any exposure we get that works for the band is the best; this is our home. Jacquie: Yeah, we would never stray too far. Lisa: Plus, we’re doing so well right now as a band there’s no need for musical side projects. We’re pretty busy! Jacquie: Really busy! Lisa: There’s just no time for them.

What else do you dream about as a kid when you’re learning to play, right? So what got you ladies into rock ‘n roll? Liza: We didn’t want to do ballet. We were always kind of bad girls who were into music, so we were just growing up that way. Jacquie: Always an outsider. (laughs) Suzie: And you know, when you’re growing up, you see somebody cool and you think, “I wanna be cool too, what’s this punk rock?” And it just felt good. Of course, that’s who you are, right? Jacquie: Yeah, it was just natural.

Alright, well Roxy, a quick question for you: How do you like being in the band? Roxy: It’s awesome! It’s everything I ever wanted from a band (Jacquie, Suzie and Lisa simultaneously break out in “Aaawwws”). Jacquie: Well, we love having you.

So what else is coming up for you guys? You have the tour going on, the album is already out, any plans for another video? Liza: Well, we already have a video for “Son of a Bitch” off of Hell Hath No Fury. We might do a low budget, second video but we already have “the big one.” We’ll probably start writing for the new album and hopefully start recording by the beginning of next year.

Anything for the fans? What can they do to help out? LIsa: Come to shows, buy merch. Jacquie: T-shirts! Suzie: Come up afterwards and say hi, we love meeting fans. Plus, you can print up flyers for shows and help pass them out. You know, do the DIY thing. Lisa: There’s always stuff to do. They can bring sunscreen.

How is the Hellcat Record label treating you? Jacquie: Amazing! Suzie: It’s the best record company and family we could work for. Roxy: They really take care of us. Good to hear, I talk to a lot of bands who feel they don’t get enough attention. Liza: Really? I think Hellcat does a great job. We love our publicist! We feel like a priority now.

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So, I want to ask about side project.



By: Mat Weir Another band we really enjoyed on that hot day was the one and only celebutante, Jeffree Star. If you haven’t heard, Star is the newest dance sensation sweeping the internet, but he’s not settling for just 15 minutes, sorry Andy. With catchy beats and sexual lyrics that straddle the line between funny and fucked up, the best way to describe his music is “razor blade pop.” Not to be pushed in the background, Star is the whole diva package complete with Ecstasy bright hair and make-up skills that put most women to shame. I was able to steal a couple minutes of his time afterwards for a chat. First off, good job up there. You guys were killing it. Thank you. I am the whore of Warped Tour. So that leads into one of my questions: How would you describe yourself and your music? Describe my music, or me as a person? Both. Well my music is like the first time you lose your virginity. It’s both exciting and scary. Me as a person, you better watch out! I’m dangerous. Hopefully your music is less bloody than the first time, right? Exactly. So I have to ask, how did you learn to do your make-up so well? I just taught myself. My mom used to be a model, so I’d steal her make-up and just try it out. My girlfriend loves it! She’s all about Jeffree Star Oh yeah? Nice. So what’s coming up for you? You just did a new album, right? Yes, it comes out September 1st 12

and it’s called Beauty Killer. It’s really cool; very different from my old rap stuff. This is more of a huge block of electronic stuff. Nice, so some more dance numbers? Exactly! I’m taking myself more serious now. So what are you looking forward to getting out of the Warped Tour experience? Well yesterday was the first day and I’ve already had a straight guy, naked, in the back lounge. So, hopefully at least one of those per day. You’ve got to get the straight guys, right? Yeah, I don’t want no homos. And, you know, I just like hanging out with all my friends here. That’ll be really cool. So there you have it, my Warped Tour experience minus all the booze, people and sun. All in all it was a great day that left me reminiscing about the time in my life when nothing else mattered but the music that fueled my soul and made me who I am today. And I feel damn sorry for anyone who has no idea what I’m talking about.


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By: Itay K

How did Street Sweeper Social Club come about? Tom and I have been working together since 2003 - since the ‘Tell Us The Truth Tour’. After Audioslave broke up he came to me and said: “We’re in a band and it’s called Street Sweeper Social Club. It’s gonna be anthems for the revolution.” He gave me a cassette tape with 26 different riffs on it and told me to start writing. So basically, thats how we got started. So he really gave you a cassette tape? A cassette tape, yeah! And I had to go around and try to figure out how to get a cassette player. I went to BestBuy and Target, none of those places had one... I even asked the local dope dealer - he had to have some stolen ones or something - and he was like: “Come on man, we don’t even steel those.”. I finally found one a Radio Shack. After listening to the tape and getting frustrated over and over I found someone that had a cassette player that could record onto CD, so I cheated and did that.

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What’s it like playing with this group? How is it different from

The Coup? You know, it’s kinda like just another niche. When The Coup plays, and it’s usually to a crowd thats like the home team, we’re not necessarily trying to convince anyone of anything. We just finished playing this NIN/ Janes Addiction tour where our mission everyday was to recruit people into fans, so that was different. Also, this band is a lot louder and more on the rock side. Is Galactic’s Stanton Moore part of the touring band? Stanton Moore recorded the drum tracks. He hasn’t been on tour with us since he’s got like 50,000 projects going on, but he definitely is one of the reasons that the record sounds as funky as it does. He brought a lot to the project to have it sound the way that it does. What’s it like seeing yourself on MTV finally? I can’t afford a TV, so I don’t know, Ha ha... No I don’t have cable cause I’ll be watching TV too much if I did, but its great to have a video on there - to know its on there. That is a means for people to get it out to all those folks. Although, not as many people are watching


MTV anymore, so its different than 10 years ago, but is it great to have their support. The song is on various radio stations, things like that. So you know, I’ve been doing it for a while now so its amazing for this to happen at this point in my career. This is the largest exposure I’ve ever had, and usually it goes the other way around. What’s the significance of the band’s name? So, a Street Sweeper is a machine gun that instead of bullets, shoots shotgun shells. It’s a very deadly weapon, and probably the only automatic weapon that the NRA agrees with banning. So that all goes along with the idea that our music is the weapon - just like on the logo. Then the Social Club part is because we’re not a band, we’re a club. We’re just the music makers in the club and everyone who listens is a member. What’s the band’s message? The message is the same as it ever was... I’m saying the same thing in Street Sweeper Social Club that I’ve always been saying, which is that we’re the ones that are gonna change the way things are. Not waiting for anyone else, not waiting for the right movement or organization to come along. You are the one that has to join some organization that’s around you and start making things change.

Do you think with the current state of affairs, that people have become more politically active? Well, I will say that everyone is a lot more aware of things going on in the world than they were say, ten years ago. What, with 9/11 - even with the campaign that went on for Obama. There are people that are at least paying attention to mainstream news which doesn’t say a whole lot, but definitely is a change from before. I think that with how drastic the situation is for people - with how many people are under-payed, unemployed, homeless or couch surfing, I think everyone is wishing that their world was different. The thing that I think needs to happen to make things change is for people to meet power where it’s at, and that’s where you work and that has to do with where the wealth is distributed. We need people to form and join unions and make this militant and radical to redistribute the wealth. Are there any plans for a headlining tour anytime soon? Yeah, or maybe a co-headlining tour - we’re gonna’ be doing that in the fall and the winter. And we’ll be hitting up the festivals in August, like Outside Lands in SF.

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Bukue One is a perfect hybrid between a self-motivated man of business and a deeply inspired creatively drawn artist. In today’s day and age, if you want to make it as a musician, you need the drive to make it happen on your own without a major record label holding your hand the whole way, Bukue is a clear example of how that can accomplished. I believe he said it best in one of his lyrics “… man this had to happen – Bukue One now I’m bookin AND rappin”. Bukue and I sat down at the new skatepark in Santa Cruz before his show at The Catalyst and this is what was on his mind. You were rippin it up out there (at the skatepark), how long you been skating for? I’ve been skating since 1987, so 22 years of skateboarding. I got into graffiti in ‘91, got into the business after that then got into rapping about ’97. Rapping is one of the last things I’ve focused on other than bowling. Bowling’s a new thing for me, I’ve been bowling since ’98, it’s low impact so it’s really good on old knees (laughs). After Intromission you’ve had a couple different albums, where you at now? After “Intromission” I just wanted to do some fun projects, I’m really into reggae and dancehall so I did a whole project where I took 18 of my tracks and did them over roots rhythm and reggae dancehall…I called that “Hustlin like Raindrops”. I’m also really into 80’s freestyle and electro, so I did this whole thing where I rapped over all my favorite 80’s music…that’s called “Laser Rays” and that was the last 18

thing I did. I’m working on a new project now, not sure what it’s gonna be called. I wanna get it out for free, go do a tour where I just hit the skateparks, hang out with the kids and skate with them, give away some product with the companies I work with, and then give everybody a CD at the end of the day. We’re trying to change the game up, leave the typical mode of the industry behind and go directly to the consumer. Yeah, one thing I’ve been noticing right now is that anyone who wants to get serious with the business right now has to develop a core relationship with your audience. It’s about the live experience, once the whole downloading thing came about and starting causing issues with the record label, it was actually to our benefit even though it seem like our detriment at first. Now, a lot of the control and the power is out of the record label’s hand, it’s back


in the artists hands. Now the artist has to actually work though, but it’s yours. There’s no relationship better than the one with the artist and the fan, touring and working that angle. So now we’re doing that and just staying in the trenches. Del’s the type of cat that’s always been around and relative to his fans, which part of the reason why he’s had such longevity is because the fans relate to him. They don’t like Del for just one song or one album, they like Del for Del…just everything he goes through. With my stuff, I’m at the skatepark and I’m perceived as a skater, unless I say something no one really knows about the shows. I skate like a skateboarder, if I’m painting I paint like a graffiti writer. To me, that loyalty of real commitment to the arts and the culture brings a loyalty and a family fanbase that’s deeper than just a good rapper and the fans he has.


Rancid Let The Dominoes Fall Epitaph From 1995 to 2000, Rancid was the epitome of Punk, at least in the minds of those who knew what the fuck was going on. Their records “…And Out Come the Wolves,” “Life Won’t Wait” and “Rancid (2000)” are arguably the best three consecutive records a band of their genre had released, each vastly different musically, but united by a common ethic. The foundation of that ethic: a streetwise storytelling of life’s adventures with a strong sense of friendship, mental toughness and a shitload of soul. We’ve been waiting too long for “Let the Dominoes Fall;” it’s been six years since the uncharacteristically average “Indestructible” was released and generally discarded. During that time singer Tim Armstrong kept busy with better-than-average side projects and Rancid saw its singular changing of staff when drummer Brett Reed left the band in 2006 and was replaced by Branden Steineckert (formerly of The Used.) Let the Dominoes Fall is loaded with strong hooks: powerful, resolving sing-alongs that give the record a comfortable, palatable feel. The co-action between Steineckert and bass-God Matt Freeman is fierce and adds a new dynamic to the band. The focus is decidedly punk with dirty-sounding rocksteady and acoustic tracks interspersed throughout. What’s most striking here, though, is the overt lyrical application of current events. We’re hearing Tim Armstrong sing about the corporate pummeling of the workingman, kids going over to fight in the Middle East and even explicit mention of the Wall Street bail out. This is unusual. Rancid’s songs have always been stories about people, places and history that, when considered, could imply their opinion on a specific subject, but on this record, it’s non-metaphorical. Compare with me old lyrics to new. Old lyric: “I didn’t trust him, because he smiled at me first, just like the wolf before he bites me.” That could describe almost any relationship humans have and empowers the listener to apply it to his own body of knowledge. New lyric: “The wall street bailout is crooked and stacked. The burdens gonna end up on the workin’ man’s back.” Alright, so now I know how they feel about a specific political issue. Where is the

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story? Where is the metaphor? Where is the mystery? According to my scorecard, Let the Dominoes Fall has five great songs, five good songs, nine average tracks and two or three awkward and unnatural sounding moments (see Lars and Matt’s cooked-up raps on “I Ain’t Worried” (reminiscent of Dee Dee Ramone’s terrible foray into 80’s hip hop) and Freeman’s confounding “Boom-shaka-lakalaka-laka-laka-laka-laka-boom!” on “L.A. River.”) Punk rockers just don’t get better with age, a sad fact that’s constantly reproved. I dare you to find me the exception. But I wonder if, as fans, we owe these once-great bands the respect of paying attention to their new work? I think we do. So I’ll file this disc on the dark end of my music library between Flogging Molly’s Float and The Clash’s Combat Rock. - Kevin Madness

Two Cow Garage Speaking in Cursive Suburban Home “Waking up to cassette tapes and ashtrays/all filled up from the night before/ smoke-filled lungs and tapes full of songs/and a stranger lying on the floor.” These are the lyrics that start off the first track of Two Cow Garage’s fourth full-length album “Speaking In Cursive.” And judging from the sound of lead singer Micah Schnabel’s voice, that — or at least waking up with smoke-filled lungs — is exactly what happened to him before recording the vocals on this album. From the beginning to the end Schnabel’s amazing whiskey-voice takes the listener on a journey through many aspects of life, including love and heartbreak (“Skinny Legged Girl”). However, Schnabel is not the only one singing; there are a couple of songs, including “Swallowed By The Sea,” on which bassist Shane Sweeney sings the lead. Aside from Schnabel and Sweeney, the members of this Ohio-based rock band are Chris Flint on guitar, Andy Schell on keyboard and Cody Smith on drums. Not to in any way undermine the talent of these musicians but, it must be said that the sound of Two Cow Garage is fairly simple — a sound that Schnabel’s voice and the brilliant lyrics complement perfectly. That this is a great album much because of the lyrics becomes especially evident on “Sadie Mae,” a song that tells the story of a girl who lost her life too soon. Another great track is “Folk Singer’s Heart,” which deals with the troubles of being young: “Don’t you ever make the mistake/of thinking of the past as the good old days/it’s a son of a bitch being young.” Also, it deals with the sometimes harsh reality of growing up a little sooner than one is willing to. For those who enjoy great lyrics this is an album you should not miss out on. - Anna-Maria Kostovska


Goatwhore

Victims of Circumstance

Carving Out the Eyes of God

Roll the Dice Financial Records

Metal Blade With a name like Goatwhore, it has to be good. I’ve thought about it for hours now and this name could only be referencing one of two things: a prostitute that in some way resembles a goat or an actual goat that has sex for money. The later would imply that said goat is having sex with humans, since other goats don’t have money. It is a designation that is vile, confusing and probably offensive to both goat and whores. What’s most confounding, however, is how a band with such a name has such excellent taste musically. Carving Out the Eyes of God a cohesive, well-paced cultivation of dark metal music. It is neither precise nor sloppy; it’s right in the middle where this kind of record should be. The bane of too many death and black metal bands is to be entirely dominated by guitar or vocals, but Goatwhore gives everything a turn: a muted guitar riff will set the tone then drop back as the vocal comes in. The drums beat with a lot of character, at times sounding brutal, at times desperate to keep up. All together, it sounds organic and genuine. Let’s evaluate the lyrical content: Blasphemy…check. Violence…check. Evil spirits…check. Mutilation… check. Yes, this is, without a doubt, a black metal album. While Carving Out the Eyes Of God’s best quality is it’s consistency, a few tracks stand out as more intense full of life. My favorites are “Apocalyptic Havoc” and “In Legions, I am Wars of Wrath.” Beware of track 10, with a title too long for me to type; it sounds a lot like music to put on when your playing Dungeons and Dragons in your creepy neighbor’s basement. Isn’t the strangest and most indulgent song always the last track, bands must assume that the only people listening at that point are superfans or people strung out on meth…which is true most of the time. - Kevin Madness

The new album by Victims Of Circumstance presents a fresh wave of ska talent. Their second album “Roll The Dice” drops August 25, 2009 on Financial Records with a “Super Size Summer Ska Spectacular” in Clearwater, Florida. The new album is produced by Big D and Steve Foote, the Kids Table bass player, and takes ska in a variety of different directions with influences from punk, pop, and rock in their music. The album is being released after the recent tour of the Southeast (with label mates Crisis In Hollywood), and the group is preparing for the big show at “Super Size Summer Ska Spectacular” that brings together the best of Florida’ s ska community. The new album is jam packed with fifteen tracks that take you on a ride into the world of Victims of Circumstance, and as the album title “Roll the Dice” implies, every track is a new ride to be taken. If you are looking for some new ska inspiration, check this band out. –Brian Crabtree

Heroshima Through Hell & High Water Process Records Newly signed Heroshima offers their debut album “Through Hell & High Water” on Process records. After signing on March 9th with Process records they wasted no time at Castle Ultimate Studios in Oakland, where Zach Ohren recorded, mixed, and remastered the ten hard-hitting tracks that bring the listener ‘Through Hell & High Water’. The music is definitely hardcore/metal from the first cut (War Child) to the last track (Who’s The Man?). I believe after hearing tracks like Hold My Beer & Watch This and Trophy Whores the answer to the question posed by the last track is “HEROSHIMA!!!”, a band deserving of their name ‘cause the whole album blows you away. The new disc Includes lyrics which are written by the two vocalists Travis Levitre & Josh Hudkins; they are quite clever. I also enjoyed how they thanked cheap beer, marijuana, and the Midwest. So if you’re looking for a thrashing good time pick up “Through Hell & High Water” and you won’t be disappointed. -Hans Groper

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Rancid Let The Dominoes Fall Epitaph From 1995 to 2000, Rancid was the epitome of Punk, at least in the minds of those who knew what the fuck was going on. Their records “…And Out Come the Wolves,” “Life Won’t Wait” and “Rancid (2000)” are arguably the best three consecutive records a band of their genre had released, each vastly different musically, but united by a common ethic. The foundation of that ethic: a streetwise storytelling of life’s adventures with a strong sense of friendship, mental toughness and a shitload of soul. We’ve been waiting too long for “Let the Dominoes Fall;” it’s been six years since the uncharacteristically No Comply average “Indestructible” was released and generally Frontside Backside discarded. During that time singer Tim Armstrong kept busy with better-than-average side projects and Rancid saw its singular changing of staff when drummer Brett Reed band and was replaced Coming outleft of the Yuba Cityin in2006 Northern California, by (formerly The Used.) No Branden Comply Steineckert is a band of skater ofpunks. Their Let the Dominoes Fall is loaded with strong hooks: album “Frontside Backside” is a fast mix of punk powerful, resolving sing-alongs that give the record a rock and skating culture. Backside” comfortable, palatable feel. “Frontside The co-action between was recorded Pus Cavern in Sacramento, Steineckert and at bass-God Matt Freeman is fierce and adds a new dynamic to the band. Recording The focus California, mixed at Southgate is decidedlyand punk with dirty-sounding rocksteady Company, mastered at MonsterLab Audio and acoustic tracks interspersed throughout. in What’s Sacramento. The album draw obvious most striking here, though, is the overt influence from the lives events. of the We’re band hearing members lyrical application of current Tim from theirsing non-mainstream attitudes to of their Armstrong about the corporate pummeling the workingman, kids going over to fighttheir in thesongs, Middle East skating references throughout the and even explicit mention the Wallwithout Street bail out. group continues to rock of together selling This is unusual. Rancid’s songs have always been out. The bands references in songs like Derby stories about people, places and history that, when Park referscould to theimply localtheir Santa Cruzonskate park considered, opinion a specific found onbutthe where the band used subject, onWestside this record, it’s non-metaphorical. Compare me old lyrics todays. new. Old didn’t to skate with in their younger Thelyric: fast“I pace trust him, because he smiled me first, justwanting like the of the album’s eight tracksatleaves you wolf before he bites me.” That could describe almost more from this rockin punk band. Check this out any relationship humans have and empowers the on theirtoMyspace for listener apply it to atmyspace.com/hubrock3 his own body of knowledge. New information album, show and dates, and lyric: “The wallabout streetthe bailout is crooked stacked. The gonna–Brian end upCrabtree on the workin’ man’s bandburdens information. back.” Alright, so now I know how they feel about a specific political issue. Where is the

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story? Where is the metaphor? Where is the mystery? According to my scorecard, Let the Dominoes Fall has five great songs, five good songs, nine average tracks and two or three awkward and unnatural sounding moments (see Lars and Matt’s cooked-up raps on “I Ain’t Worried” (reminiscent of Dee Dee Ramone’s terrible foray into 80’s hip hop) and Freeman’s confounding “Boom-shaka-lakalaka-laka-laka-laka-laka-boom!” on “L.A. River.”) Punk rockers just don’t get better with age, a sad fact that’s constantly reproved. I dare you to find me the exception. But I wonder if, as fans, we owe these once-great bands the respect of paying attention to their new work? I think we do. So I’ll file this disc on the dark end of my music library between Flogging Molly’s Float and The Clash’s Combat Rock. - Kevin Madness

Upcoming:

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Music Festivals & Events: Two Cow Garage Speaking in * California WorldFest* Cursive Grass Valley, CA July 16-19 Suburban Home www.worldfest.com “Waking

up

to

*Gathering ofcassette the Vibes* tapes and filled up Bridgeport, CTashtrays/all July 23-26 from the night before/ www.gatheringofthevibes.com smoke-filled lungs and

tapes full of songs/and a stranger lying on the floor.” These are the lyrics that start off the first track of Two *Sonoma County Sustainability Fair* Cow Garage’s fourth full-length album “Speaking In Cursive.” And judging from the sound of lead singer Micah Schnabel’s voice, that — or at least waking up with smoke-filled lungs — is exactly what happened to him before recording the vocals on this album. From the beginning to the end Schnabel’s amazing * 30th Annual Beach Festival* whiskey-voice takesLong the listener on Blues a journey through many aspects of life, including love and heartbreak (“Skinny Legged Girl”). However, Schnabel is not the only one singing; there are a couple of songs, including “Swallowed By The Sea,” on which bassist Shane Sweeney sings the lead. *Telluride Bluesand and BrewstheFestival* Aside from Schnabel Sweeney, members of this Ohio-based rock band are Chris Flint on guitar, Andy Schell on keyboard and Cody Smith on drums. Not to in any way undermine the talent of these musicians but, it must be said that the sound of Two Cow Garage is fairly simple — a sound that Schnabel’s voice and the brilliant lyrics complement perfectly. That this is a great album much because of the lyrics becomes especially evident on “Sadie Mae,” a song that tells the story of a girl who lost her life too soon. Another great track is “Folk Singer’s Heart,” which deals with the troubles of being young: “Don’t you ever make the mistake/of thinking of the past as the good old days/it’s a son of a bitch being young.” Also, it deals with the sometimes harsh reality of growing up a little sooner than one is willing to. For those who enjoy great lyrics this is an album you should not miss Interviews out on. Live Concerts -& Anna-Maria Kostovska

CA July 28- Aug 9 www.sonomacountyfair.com CA Sept 5-6 www.jazzandblues.org

Telluride, CO Sept 18-20 www.tellurideblues.com

*Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival* Oct 10-11 joshuatreemusicfestival.com

*Fox Theatre- Boulder, CO* www.foxtheatre.com

Sierra Center Stage From The California Foothills

www.sierranevada.com


GOLD COAST TATTOO

www.GoldCoastTattoo.com

639 Lighthouse Ave Monterey, CA 93940 (831) 642-9404




So, I recently saw you guys at Harmony Festival. How was that? For the people that are into that I guess it was good. I have a bunch of friends that go and enjoy it a lot. Not my cup of tea though. So what’s new with Dead Kennedys these days? We’re kind of moving on to other things. We haven’t really been touring much. Our last tour was a year ago. Basically, Skip and I have been working on songs that we hope to record this fall. So is there going to be a new Dead Kennedys album soon? It’s probably not gonna be a Dead Kennedys album, though we’ll still have that sound. We actually played two of the songs at Harmony Festival, I don’t know if you noticed. No, actually. Well, I guess that’s a good thing. We got there and there were about 20 people in the crowd and I was going ‘oh god, do these people know what they’re doing?’ Then we started playing and it all filled up so that was good. We played two of the songs, one during the set and one during the encore. People reacted to them really well. One song’s called “Area 51”,

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By: Itay K Photos: Caroline Reid and the other one, “You Are Such a Dick”. We hope to have those recorded in the fall when we open up for the Butthole Surfers. Their guitar player Paul Leary is a record producer and he’s agreed to produce the record. It’s exciting. How’s the creative process with Skip and the band? I really enjoy it. He’s a really well-read person, so the lyrics are interesting and have some depth to them. On stage he rocks out and really gets the audience going. For the new songs we’re trying to stay away from journalism, which gets out of date and try making the songs more poetic, but still have the personal politics as well. Politicians are just a bunch of people acting like assholes. Do you feel that the political messages in older DK songs are as relevant today? Some are and some aren’t. Some songs are still relevant. Maybe not so much now that Obama is President, but for sure when George W. was President a short 6 months ago. The song “Bleed For Me” is about the war for oil and it’s also about torture. A lot of these songs were written when Reagan was President and I’ve got to say, under Bush it got much worse. He’s made the United States much more insecure.


Despite all their talk, he put out so much hate and resentment in the Muslim world. I saw some poll that said that 70% of the Muslim world hates us. He went over there acting like a cowboy and it just made them madder. So we’ll be dealing with the fallout of that for the next 20 years. The war in Iraq was really a waste in strategy, I mean, Al Queda is still around. The economic thing of lowering taxes for 8 years put is in the biggest recession we’ve been in since the 1930’s. It’s just astonishing. The fact that they actually did torture, which doesn’t really work. I mean, Saddam Hussein used torture, but he didn’t use it to get information, he used torture to terrorize the populous. If you torture somebody and let them go they will tell people about it and it will terrify people into staying in line. When you torture someone, you have no idea if it is reliable or not. It was very scary, and it’s still kinda scary. People are not giving Obama much of a chance. He’s been in office for 6 months and people expect everything to be perfect. Ya know, Bush took 8 years to screw up the country. The Bush Administration talks about how their methods worked. It’s like, wait a minute, the biggest terrorist attack happened on their watch. You can’t start at 9/12 and say look we’ve prevented terrorism. You have to count 9/11 and there were memos before. They were so worried about going after Saddam that they got blind-sided. It’s just ridiculous the way the Media just runs

with whatever the politicians say. That’s why I get my news from The Daily Show, personally. That’s very good, and Stephen Colbert. They report the same news but kind of cut through the hypocrisy. I agree with you, it’s kind of sad that two comedy programs give you a better overview of what’s going on unlike Fox News and CNN. Tell me a little bit about “Milking The Sacred Cow”, I know it was released a couple of years ago now. Basically, the way music is distributed has changed. People mostly now get downloads. CD’s are going the way of cassettes and vinyl records which are very expensive to make these days, plus you need oil to make them. We’ve had “Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death” out for a number of years which is basically a collection of singles, and “Milking The Sacred Cow” is a bunch of singles and some of the better songs from the LP’s. Then we added two live songs as a bonus. Then, instead of putting it at the regular CD price, we priced it at $10.00. You can get it for that price at a store or online. We mainly did it for the fans. Let me just add if I can, about my solo project. I am finishing up an ambient CD. Two of my tracks are available on my myspace at: www.myspace.com/ eastbayray1. It’s just a little ambient music, a little Brian Eno I guess... It should be out by the end of the Summer.

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If you’re like me and can never stay in one place for too long, you know how difficult it is trying to find music that captures the freedom of the open road. I’ll usually grab the Rolling Stones, Against Me! and now, Fire Whiskey. This “band of drunken angels playing renegade anthems” has the most potential for success than I’ve heard in years and have quickly made their way to my “all-time top favorite bands” list. By blending drums (Sean James), bass (Nate Kotila) with an electric guitar (Johnny Oliveria) and a constant, acoustic guitar (Gavi Gallardo) leading the way, all topped off with harmonica; Fire Whiskey creates a musical dichotomy that few bands have accomplished, let alone understood. Their music is like Johnny Cash and Billy Bragg giving some punk an old school ass beating and then taking him out for a beer. It’s cliché to say that a band gives their all at shows, but after seeing these guys close to a dozen times, I have yet to walk away wondering “what happened.” Plus, they actually care about their fans. I’ve known these guys to pay for people to get into their shows, and you might even catch them in the parking lot afterwards, playing an extra set for anyone who wants to hear. Seeing them live means walking into a room of old friends, whether you know anyone or not. From the moment they step up to the mic, the audience becomes one giant community: all singing, dancing and shaking their beers high in the air. It’s no longer a rock show, but a lesson in camaraderie. 2008 saw the release of their first LP, Hold Fast, and the first words of the album are “Just one more shot” which I think highlights Fire Whiskey’s ethic quite nicely: just one more. Just one more shot, one more show, one more love, one more toke, one more song and one more friend. These guys are the real thing, through and through. Not to mention class acts; the following interview was actually the second one we did after the first tape broke. So if you’re lucky enough to see them play, make sure to buy them just one more round. I know I owe it to them.

Interview By: Mat Weir So when will the new album be dropping? Gavi: July or August. It’s called Santa Cruz and will be dropping like it’s hot! This album has a lot do with friendship. It seems like these days people are afraid to go outside and view the world because there’s so much shit and so many egos out there it’s hard to find your group of friends and just be happy being you. It’s also more upbeat; there’s more of a message to this one than the last. Johnny: The first one was “Oh, let’s skateboard and sing about girls,” and the new one is more, “Alright guys, let’s go out there and have a good time.” Gavi: It’s party music. Sean: For party people. And, we already have a handful of more new songs that are almost done. Gavi: Number 3! Album number three is coming soon! Tell me about the summer tour. Sean: In July we are going down to L.A. and San Diego , then coming back up with a show or two in L.A. before coming home. Gavi: And we’re going up north to Arcaida. Sean: Yeah, we’re still working on all of that. In September we’ll be playing around Sacramento and Tahoe. Gavi: If you come to our shows, you should expect to be on level with us. Johnny: Yeah, we don’t like playing on stages. Gavi: We’ll usually hop down from a stage and set up on the floor to be part of the crowd. Nate: We pretty much want people screaming and spitting in our faces just as much as we scream and spit in yours. (chuckles) Better yet, come and give us a hug while we play. It’s all good. Sean: Right now we’re shopping for labels and that is a slow process. Basically we’re just waiting for the new album to be done. That way, we can start setting meetings and talk with labels we feel we’d be good on. Johnny: We want one that will support us on and off tour. How did you get started? Gavi: Me and Johnny met from buying weed and skating together. It started as two acoustic guitars with screaming. That was Two If By Sea. Sean: One night I called Johnny and told him I wanted to play some acoustic punk and he was all about it. Gavi: Johnny and I had recorded this first, tiny little 3 or 4 song EP on a laptop in a bathroom. So he gave it to Sean who loved it. He was on it right away. Sean: We kept going as Two If By Sea and just evolved from there. Gavi: We even recorded an album, “Swimmin’ With Older Women.” But we didn’t have a bass player and we knew we needed one. Sean: So we called Nate. Now Nate, Johnny and I all knew each other because we had been in this band, Mad At Me, which. . . Nate: Never left my garage. Gavi: So now it’s just Mad At Me, plus Gavi (laughs). But once we got together as a four piece, it really clicked. Our personalities just work well, we all get along. We’re never too one-sided about things and always lenient to other’s thoughts on what they wanted. Then, out of nowhere, we get kicked out of this practice space we had and were without one for six months. So we did all these acoustic practices in 28


the garage and played electric shows. It actually ended up working out pretty well. Sean: Now we finally have a practice space. Nate’s parents-thank them very much, they’re one of our biggest fans. They let us practice in the garage for a couple of months; which definitely helped in writing this last album and even a bunch of the new songs

.

Was practicing acoustically beneficial? Sean: We really worked on dynamics that way. It really tightens the feel of certain songs. Nate: It helps with the singing because we spend so much time singing without amplification so when we have it, we just go at the top of our lungs. Sean: I can’t really do too much or else it gets too loud, so I play on my knee. You do what you have to. There are some nights when Gavi can barely sing, or another one of us might be tired. We might not be feeling it, but you’ve got to put it out there. Gavi: Even if you’re bad at something, but you have a lot of energy and it looks like you’re having fun, everyone thinks, “Hey, at least it looks like they’re rocking.” Musical influences? Nate: I like anything that doesn’t sound terrible. Sean: Everything. I’m not really into hip-hop, but these guys seem to put it on all the damn time! Gavi: If you listen to our shit, you can tell that I’m rapping half the time. I might be screaming, but I’m rapping. Johnny: Punk, folk, blues. Gavi: There’s definitely some metal riffs in there too. Sean: Yeah, it all just gets mixed in. Nate listens to tons of pop music. Nate: I listen to any music. Often I’ll say I hate a certain

genre of music, like I kind of hate reggae and jazz, but I still kinda like some reggae and jazz. Sean: Oh, he likes them. Gavi: I’m a big Dylan fan. Sean: But the greatest thing is just putting on Johnny Cash, any time of the day. So what do you do in your free time? Sean: We’ll always be at friend’s parties. Johnny: Between working full-time, doing the band, having a girlfriend and living life, time gets occupied pretty easily. Gavi: What’s a girlfriend? Someone tell me what that means. Nate: You’ve got to sleep with her for a while without sleeping with other people. Gavi: Yeah. . .that’s gross. (laughs) You’ll find me drinking under a bridge or playing on the streets. So what’s the future hold? Nate: Taking over the world. Sean: We’re just trying to make this a full-time thing. If we can do this everyday and get paid for it, that’s the dream. Gavi: Or maybe we’ll open up a sweatshop. We just want to write good tunes that can be put into anything. You know, stuff for movies too. We have a lot of friends that make films. Songs that can relate to anything. Nate: Yeah, everyone’s depressed now. We’ve got to go make them happy. Last words? Sean: To our fans, thank you. We couldn’t play as many shows as we do without people coming out. Nate: We love you. Johnny: Have fun. Gavi: You ain’t shit without your friends.


death of room these days is the The big elephant in the since such a big fuss was made Michael Jackson (ironic phant Man skeleton). Truth be Ele over him owning the I was never a fan of his music s. told, I could care les re impressionable days. He was even in my younger, mo t clogged my MTV as a kid and tha always just this guy re Motley Crue and RATT videos. kept me from seeing mo e, himself forbid, I hope Lemmy com If the day should ever ly earned it. atment, as he’s certain Important tre r sta e sam the s get ore “M the h wit on way, port. With that out of the of the NorCal Metal Re Than ‘Thriller’” edition

By Dave Pirtle After several months of auditions, Hatchet is once again a full functional unit with the additions of vocalist Eric Lundgren and bassist Ryan King. Throughout the process, the band has been hard at work on new material with approximately half an album completed. With plans in place to record two new tracks this month, keep an ear on their MySpace page for an early taste. They will also be announcing some live dates in the near future, including a full U.S. tour.

Dekapitator

The bad news is Nihlotep is no longer working with guitarist Invisarium, but will continue on as

Just over a year has passed since Dekapitator was seen live on stage. Now it has been announced that the crusty thrash warriors are calling it quits. Since forming in 1996, the band released two albums (1999’s cult classic We Will Destroy, You Will Obey and 2007’s The Storm Before the Calm), played countless shows and drank twice as many beers while keeping the classic thrash alive here in the Bay Area and beyond. They will be missed, but at least we will always have “HAUNTED BY EVAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!” as a battle cry. Machine Called Man has announced the addition of Mark Schlageter as their new vocalist. Many of you may remember him as one of the guitarists for the long defunct Reaction 31, or perhaps as vocalist for Scripted, which also featured fellow ex-Reaction 31 guitarist Trance Kelley on bass. The band states “Mark brings his own unique talents and style into Machine Called Man and adds the variety, vocal hooks and low-end grunt that we’ve been looking for.” Once again firing on all cylinders, the band is ready to complete the writing and pre-production for their next fulllength release, which will also mark the recording debut of new members Ramon Ochoa (drums) and Elena Luciano (bass).

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Hatchet a three-piece while searching for a new guitarist and possibly a bassist “or other instrumentalist,” The good news is, their debut album, Surrogate Panoptic Quantal Regality, is available now. You can pick it up at a live show or . . . well, that seems to be about it. I’m sure if you drop them a nice enough e-mail they’d be happy to fill you in on anything I was not able to dig up on my own. They may be gone, but Light This City continues to make news. Their debut album The Hero Cycle, originally released on Reflections of Ruin


Records, will be reissued through Prosthetic Records. Slated for an August 18th release, the reissue will include revised artwork and liner. The band garnered a respectable following through some high-profile tours and increasing critical acclaim for each release, so this will give those folks the chance to own what was a sign

coming up. First is the much-anticipated Carbon reunion show on August 6th at Fremont’s Mojo Lounge. The next night, they play the main stage of the East Bay Express “Best of the East Bay” party at the Oakland Museum. Looking farther ahead, they will be opening for Otep at Voodoo Lounge in San Jose on September 3rd along with Mudface and RU36. Advance tickets for the latter show can be obtained by contacting mysticrage@mysticrage.com. Alright, fans, that does it for me this month. As always, be sure to send your comments, news, and insults to norcalmetal@ksjs.org. You geekier types can consider this a more elaborate form of “tweeting,” but that is one part of the social nitwitting phenomenon that I do not partake in.

Light This City of things to come from a bunch of high school kids. One week later, guitarist Ben Murray’s Creator-Destructor Records will release Until We Surrender, the debut album from his new project with LTC vocalist Laura Nichols, Heartsounds. One big change: Nichols trades her microphone for a guitar, and Murray handles the vocals (along with all other instruments, including guitar). Oh, and Heartsounds is a punk rock band, which has only alienated a handful of fans so far. Kebert Xela is a culmination of band members from three of Northern California’s heaviest hitting bands (including Graven Image and THEND), with a lineup consisting of guitarist Mike Hicks, bassist Adam Roethlisberger, drummer Aaron Gruen, and vocalist Aaron Hannah. Musically, the band is defined by low, heavy grooves and death vocals that recall their past projects while sounding brutally fresh; on a higher level, they define themselves by their hard work ethic and determination. Check them out for yourself at http://www.myspace.com/ kebertxelametal. PDR is a shredding metal trio with two releases under their belt (The Keeper and PDR) and a third on the way. They’re not quite like any instrumental group I’ve heard before, which either means they’re really good or I’m really deprived. I’m leaning towards the former. In either case, though, their music is better heard than read about, so head over to their MySpace page for a sampling. If you like what you hear, you can support the band by picking up the aforementioned releases at CDBaby.com - just search for Patryk deRosa. Mystic Rage has a number of high-profile gigs

NORCAL UNLEASHED

Top 10 Playlist for period 5/28 – 7/2 (NorCal Unleashed airs on 90.5 FM KSJS on Thursday nights from 11pm-midnight. Contact madman@ksjs.org for information on how to submit your music for airplay) 1. Taunted - Bleeding Black 2. Dreams of the Fall - Wings of Innocence 3. Zed - Demo 4. Falling To Pieces - Awaken The Weak 5. PDR - The Keeper 6. Arcane Dimension - In Ecstasy & Sorrow 7. A Thousand Kingdoms - Demo 8. Geryon - Aspirations of a Great Demise 9. Bomb & Scary - Black Wishing Well 10. Slough Feg - Ape Uprising!! QUICK BITS: Taunted is searching for both a second guitarist and a new, permanent bassist following the dismissal of Jason Silva . . . Echoes Of Fear has completed recording their forthcoming full-length, The Forgotten Past . . . Exodus frontman Rob Dukes has formed a new, New York-based punk/crossover project dubbed Generation Kill . . . just a reminder that the new EP from Falling to Pieces, Awaken the Weak, is now available . . . oh, and so is Portals, the new album from Arsonists Get All the Girls . . . and for the trifecta, Becoming’s long overdue Sonic Revelations should be available by the time you read this . . . what the hell, one more can’t hurt - later this month, Death Angel will release the Sonic German Beatdown DVD, featuring two full-length shows and a bonus live CD.

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GOLD COAST TATTOO

www.GoldCoastTattoo.com

639 Lighthouse Ave Monterey, CA 93940 (831) 642-9404



YOUR MUSIC OLYMPICKS-LIVE PERFORMANCE EVENT

M O N T E R E Y

GOLD COAST TATTOO

Interview & Photos by: Brian Crabtree 7/7/09

Wasted Noise took the GOLD at the Monterey 2009 Your Music Magazine Band Olympicks. Dominating the live performance event on June 26th at the New Planet Gemini, Wasted Noise walked away with $1000 cash from YYM, an $800 gift certificate from Wise Music of Salinas, $500 towards Indigital Recording Studios of Santa Cruz, and an artist service package from Noisy Planet. Congratulations to Wasted Noise, all other winners, and competitors of the 2009 Your Music Magazine Monterey YMO Events.

*Milo “Rube Boy” Zavala Lead Vocals- Short Mic’s *Abraham “ El Camaron Pelon” Zavala- Lead Drums- Pearl Set Hector Hurtado- Rhythm Guitar- Fender Mony Lugan (The Brassmatic’s) Trombone -San Jose Flea Market Daniel Miltz (The Brassmatic’s) – Trumpet Hank Macias- Bass- LTD Ruben Macias- Lead Guitar- LTD ESP YMM: You were the winners of the 2009 Your Music Olympicks Monterey Finals, June 26 at the New Planet Gemini. How was the YMO show to Wasted Noise? Hector: We had a good time. Mony: Yeah. Good bands, good music, and good competition. YMM: What are you going to do with the prizes you won at the Monterey “Live Performance” event? Mony: It’s gone. We all have bills to pay. Abraham: It already went to our urinary tract. Hank: Some of us smoked it. YMM: What are some of the plans or future goals of Wasted Noise? Hank: As many shows as possible. Mony: Get out there, keep going. Hank: Play as many venues as possible. YMM: What do you think of the music scene in Salinas and Monterey? Mony: Salinas music scene is growing, but it is still in the growing stage. There are a couple venues,


YOUR MUSIC OLYMPICKS-LIVE PERFORMANCE EVENT

but there is more music than venues. Hank: We need more venues out this way, that’s for sure. Mony: There is a bunch of talent in all of the 831. The scene is like a flower. Someone needs to water it, so it can grow. It really does want to. Ruben: We have to go out of town a lot to get shows. YMM: Where would you like to see the band performing? Band: Everywhere. YMM: Are your guys in the studio or doing any recording? Hank: Yeah we’re in the studio. D-minor

Studios. Hector: Shout out to Andrew. YMM: Any prospects on when that will be out? Abraham: You will know when we know. Mony: It is a secret.

M O N T E R E Y

myspace.com/wastednoise Upcoming shows: 8/15/2009 8:00 PM at SHERWOOD HALL /community arts fest 7/18/2009 8:00 PM at HOWIE & SONS

GOLD COAST TATTOO


YOUR MUSIC OLYMPICKS-LIVE PERFORMANCE EVENT

M O N T E R E Y

YOUR MUSIC OLYMPICKS MONTEREY SILVER WINNERS MNEMONIC DEVICE Brian Crabtree: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers your current stats. Hey I’m Justin. I’m on vocals. I’ve been using Shure mics for about 7 years now. I’m influenced by Phil Anselmo, Max Cavalera, Billy from S.O.D., Zack De La Rocha and countless others. I’m Steve, I play guitar. I run through Marshall Amps and Boss pedals. I play on Gibson Les Paul’s and SG’s. My influences are Dime Bag, Paul Gilbert, Dave Mustaine, and some Pat Travers. I’ve been playing for 15 years. My name’s Becky. I play guitar. I play on an ESP Ltd deluxe and a Gibson SG. I use a Marshall Avt 150 with a Crate cab. My major influences right now are Opeth, ISIS, and Mastodon. I’ve been playing for 5 years.

GOLD COAST TATTOO

I’m the Bass man Dru. I’ve been playing for 8 years. I slap down on a neck through Spector using a GK cab and an Ampeg head. I love Les Claypool, Getty Lee, Stanly Clark, Marcuss Miller, Justin Chancler, Jon Paul Jones, and Flea. “High” my name is Jon. I’m the drummer. Ive been drumming for 8 years now. I beat down on Mapex Saturn Series Drums with Evans heads while swinging Vic Firth sticks at Zildjian and Sabian cymbals, simultaneously kicking the DW 9000’s. I listen to Russian Circles, Mastodon, Red Sparrows, ISIS, Opeth, and some Helms Alee right now. Jeeya! Brian: How do you describe the sound of MNEMONIC DEVICE? In Mnemonic Device we like to create more than one theme in our songs. We try and bring atmosphere and a sense of a story to our progression. We rely on Becky’s songwriting, and since Steve has joined the band we have a new sense on the big picture. Jonny adds the dynamics while Dru’s bass licks are a welcoming flavor that keeps the music moving. Justin’s lyric concepts and jolting screams might make any sucker who’s willing to fall in line rise up ready to revolt and say, “fuck it all.” Brian: Do you have any materials (CD’s/EP’s) out? We just finished an EP that will be available in August. Brian: Last words to the fans? Thank you to all the people who have shown interest in the band. If you’re a fan of Mnemonic Device we are a fan of you. Please keep the different local scenes alive and attend any local acts that you can.

myspace.com/mnemonicdevice


YOUR MUSIC OLYMPICKS-LIVE PERFORMANCE EVENT Photos & Interview by: Brian Crabtree

The Rugers broke through and won the Bronze Metal in this year’s Monterey Your Music Olympicks. This is the The Rugers first year as a band, so claiming the Bronze Metal was no small feat by any means. Their close ties with the Monterey scene has proved successful for them already, keep an eye out for these motivated & talented musicians.

Akio: Drums- $100 garage sale drum set Jose: Rhythm Guitar-Epiphone Les PaulFender Amp Miguel: Lead Guitar- Gretch and Fender StratFender Hot Rod Amp Eddie: Vocals- my mouth Paul: Bass-LTD viper-Line 6 Low Down Amp YMM: So how long have the Rugers been around? Miguel: Probably close to a year. YMM: Where do you mostly perform? Down in Monterey? Miguel: I would say that we are a Monterey local band. Eddie: Yeah Monterey, but our sounds come from all different places. YMM: Do the Rugers have any CD’s or material out? Jose: We have a demo with four songs. Miguel: Yeah we have the demo, but our album should be ready to come out. We already recorded the album, so I would say that it should be out in the next few months. YMM: Did you go into the studio to record that? Miguel: We got help. People have heard the demo and want to help us record the album. YMM: Are you talking about individual people or label people? Miguel: It has mostly been individual people that are working on building up their studios, so we are looking for any free studio time that we can get. YMM: Is there any studio that you have been working with in particular? Jose: Sand City Gary, reel to reel. Old school shit. Eddie: We put it on a reel, and it sounded good. YMM: Where can people get that demo from you? Miguel: They could hit us up on the Myspace. Jose: Ruger like the gun. YMM: So, is there a favorite venue that you guys have played? Jose: We would have liked to play Monterey Live, but it closed down. Eddie: Yeah I was thinking about the Moss Landing Inn, I like the dive bar scene. But we will play anywhere. YMM: So what is a dream venue that you want to get to? Eddie: The Fillmore for me. YMM: Any last words: Eddie: Go out there and look for our shit. You might like it. Miguel: Just check the Rugers out. You will like it. Eddie: Later. Contact: www.myspace.com/therugers

M O N T E R E Y

GOLD COAST TATTOO



Photos & Interview by: Brian Crabtree Dave “Money”Guitarist-Fender Head- 4/12 Stack Adam Pierce- vocals- cordless sm58, sm58’s, and a couple pg58’s (all weapons) Jake Whitelaw- Drums- Gretsch drum kit – Purewood Walnut setup Josh Fish – BassGibson Thunderbird YMM: So you guys just had a show up a Brookdale Lodge, how was that? Adam: I thought it was a sick show. I had a lot fun. There was this awesome younger band, Almost Chaos. These young dude that just ripped. Jake: I think that they are like fifteen. Dave: Killer band. Jake: Up in the mountains they have a really nice venue, with capacity around four hundred. Adam: The “Haunted” Brookdale Lodge, so that is pretty cool. Jake: I got a little drunk. Adam: Got a little Roberto. Jake: Roberto is my alter ego. YMM: So what is going on with 3up Front? Jake: We are about to go back in the studio, for our new album. I think the title is a work in progress. Dave: “3 in the Stink” is one that has been passed around. Adam: We are working on the name. YMM: Any release date for this new album? Adam: Sometime in ‘10. I would say by beginning or end of summer. YMM: In talking about music in general, how do you feel about the Santa Cruz music scene? Jake: It’s killer. Adam: It’s killer, but has died off since the rock radio stations have disappeared. But there are good shows, good fan base, and we got bro’s that get a little crazy. Jake: You have to promote the shows, doing hand flyers, etc. Josh: Keep the scene alive. YMM: In line with that, what do you think it takes to make it in the music scene today? Jake: I say ask us in five years, and we’ll tell you. Josh: Practice makes perfect.

it not no Jake: Do it because you love it, because you feel like you have to or something. Dave: And not care what people think. I think a lot of people pick up on that when you’re on stage. Some bands are uncomfortable and staged, 3up Front displays the opposite of that. We care less about what happens on stage. That is why some people like us I guess. Jake: And not just change to what is popular too. Dave: We are not going to have the hair with the hair spray. Emo hair cuts and shit just because that is what is being blasted by the labels. Adam: Don’t feel bad to tell people to fuck off, if they need it. YMM: Any upcoming shows? Dave: We are going to be playing in Sacramento on the 24th at an undisclosed location. That is going to come out in the next week. Our next show (July 25th) is going to be with Fear, DI, Agent Orange, and Total Chaos at the Kennel Club in Sacramento with all the old punk rock bands. It is an all ages show. Josh: We have Chris-a-palooza this weekend. Jake: R.I.P. Adam: Well Dave here has been doing most of our booking, but yeah we have Vegas coming up, Anaheim, Gilman in Berkley, Modesto. You need to check us out at www.3upFront.com- click the tour bus, it will take you to all of our shows. Check us out at myspace.com/3upfrontmusicthat will have all the shows. Google 3upFront and you will find twenty pages on us. YMM: Last words? Jake: Stay sexy. Dave: We love you. Adam: I do want to give a shout out to: Fringe Clothing, Your Music Magazine- you rock! You always do us good. Dave: Big Mike. Adam: The Mikes and B, Numerous, Indigital Studios, Skate Works is about to be hooking us up. Blink Media partners.com. Josh: Local Bands: Honest Mistake, The Devil Himself, Who’s Holdin, My Stupid Brother, Hate For State.


YOUR MUSIC OLYMPICKS-VIDEO BLOG INTERVIEWS

S A N J O S E

Photos by: Brian Crabtree Interview by: Mike Garing Alvin Gatewood-Guitar- Ax (Halo/Jackson/ Carvin) - Mesa Boogie Amp/ Digital effects Brian – Guitar- Zero control, Down Factor Melissa Evett- VocalsOrion Mente- Drums- Tama Star Maple Zildjian Dave Hammerstone- Bass- Ampeg ESP YMM: How long have you been playing as a band? Melissa: About a year and a half. I joined the band in February ‘08. YMM: How did you come up with Echoes of Fear? Brian: Wasn’t taken. YMM: What did you draw this out of a hat? Melissa: It was either that or out of the garbage. Dave: We were brainstorming with a list of names on a board. We were like let’s put that there, and that sounds cool. We were like, we like this. It worked out. Sounded good, heard it, and that was it. Melissa: Catchy. YMM: What is status of the current music scene in San Jose right now? Alvin: I think it is picking up. Melissa: I think it is seasonal. It used to be constant. There was always something going on. That is how I met these guys like eight to ten years ago. It seemed to go void for awhile, but I think it is starting to come back with a new sound. YMM: Yeah, I think that has a lot to do with the twenty to twenty-eight year olds that are now finding more distractions. Video games are dominant than they used to be; why go out to shows when you can sit at home and play rock band? Dave: Or sit at home and play Halo instead of going to shows. Brian: Or I can play that song on a real guitar. Alvin: There is also a lack of facilities these days. A lot of the clubs that were open ten years ago have been shut down. Dave: It hurt when the Cactus Club closed. That was the place to go for metal. Melissa: That is when it all started, when the Cactus Club closed down. Alvin. That whole tour circlet is done and gone away. Things have changed. Dave: It is coming back though. A lot of promoters and bookers now seem to care more about the bands. It is working out well. YMM: I had a question specific to Melissa. What exactly is www.metaladies.com? Melissa: Actually, Alvin found out about that for me. It is a site for women in metal who play instruments and sing. There are a couple photographers that go out and cover women in the metal scene. I actually just signed up last month. Alvin: Femmetalform.com is another good one. Melissa: I think that metal-ladies is international, the creator is in Spain. Alvin: Fem-metal is out of the UK. YMM: Last words? Band: Keep supporting local music, local metal, and live musicians. Melissa: It is better that American Idol!

www.echoesoffear.net


YOUR MUSIC OLYMPICKS-VIDEO BLOG INTERVIEWS

Thur, July 2nd, 2009 @ Voodoo Lounge Interview: Brian Crabtree Photos: Mike Garing

Allen Cotton: Guitar/Vocals/ songwriter- Fender 94 Mexican Strat- Hughes & Kettner Cabinet. Matt Sprugasci: Bass- 5-string Ibanez SR550- SWR Bass Cab. Justin Shrimp: Drums- Sonor Force 2001. Adam Conarad: Keys/Backup Vocals-Yamaha P-85, Korg Triton LE. YMM: You want to tell me about your sound or style that make you different? Allen: It is really eclectic, but has its own genre: Alternative/ Pop-Rock. Justin: Dark Pop. YMM: What do you think of the music scene in San Jose? Justin: Crappy. Allen: There are not a lot of spots that are attracting the kids/ young adults to come out. YMM: So, a lot of it is that clubs are twenty-one and up? Allen: Yeah, there’s a lot of DJ’s. The music scene is difficult and competitive; hard to make a spark happen. Adam: We are going to start playing on Ice Cream trucks and stuff to get the kids to come out to the street. YMM: Any CD’s or material? Allen: We have a previous EP that we are working on. But that has been over two years now. We are working on a new project on the 19th. YMM: Is that EP for sale or download? Matt: It is in our trunks. Justin: You can go to our website or myspace. com/fasten Allen: The new project is going to include most of the stuff we play tonight. Stuff that includes Adam, who might have to depart, is driving us to get in the studio now. We want to keep it simplistic and easy for all ears. YMM: Any studio that you are working with in particular? Allen: We are working with Steve, he is over at CSU downtown. He used to be called Total Mix, but now he is called Total Frequency. YMM: Last words/ Contacts? Justin: Support your local bands. Adam: www.myspace.com/fasten

S A N J O S E


YOUR MUSIC OLYMPICKS-VIDEO BLOG INTERVIEWS

S A N J O S E

Photos & Interview by: Brian Crabtree @ The VooDoo Lounge 7/11/09

Ivan Torres - Vocals, Shure, Carvin Jason Wolfe - Guitar, Framus, Ibanez Toolio Alex Bo - Guitar, Diesel, ESP Marco Luzzi - Bass, Music Man Anthony Gullo - Drums , Pearl This lineup consists of 5 members of different successful bay area bands. This is ATK. Music is their life. YMM: How do you describe the sound of A Thousand Kingdoms? Straight in your face Metal. Think Lamb of God on steroids. Riffs with good solos. YMM: How was it competing in the San Jose Your Music Olympicks on June 25th at The VooDoo Lounge? We’re happy that this year’s preliminary round for us could be held at a good venue. The show had really good attendance. Unfortunately for us we ended up playing last, but probably fortunate for the other bands. We destroyed that place. YMM: What is the current music scene like in San Jose? All the scene needs here is for the bands to work together and lose the competitive attitude a bit. Think about this: if every member of every band in San Jose alone came out to shows, you would have sold out shows every night. It’s almost as if the 100 bands here are competing for the same 80 people that actually go to shows regularly. YMM: Do you have any materials (CD’s/ EP’s) out? And where can people get them? We just launched our online merchandise store. Check it out at www. athousandkingdoms.com. You can also stream a couple of our songs on Myspace. www.myspace.com/athousandkingdoms. YMM: Last words to the fans? ATK is the next big thing out of the Bay Area. Take a listen for yourself, and prepare to get your teeth kicked in.


YOUR MUSIC OLYMPICKS-VIDEO BLOG INTERVIEWS

SJYMO Fanalists! The VooDoo Lounge August 7th Photos & Interview by: Brian Crabtree Thursday June 25th, 2009 Voodoo Lounge Rob Hurtado - Bassist- Mesa BoogieVocals. Albert Bracamonte - Mesa Boogie - Jackson Soloist & 1961 Gibson SG, vocals. Sam Orozco II - Lead Vocals, Guitar- ESP Eclipse- Mesa Amp. Jimmy Orozco - Drums- Yamaha- Vader sticks, Vocals. YMM: Tell me a little bit about Modern Ruinz style and sound? Sam: It’s mixed up. Rob: I think there is such a wide range (of influences) among ourselves that shines through. When a puzzle goes together it takes different pieces to complement each aspect of the group: vocals and back up vocals make Modern Ruinz. Sam: We try to use different levels of harmonies vocal wise. Jimmy: Another thing is that we don’t like to be repetitive when writing songs. When we write songs it is always fresh and different. We try not to do the same thing over and over again. That is a big part of our music, I think. Albert: No matters what type of music you are into, we have a song for you. YMM: Do you guys have any CD’s or demos out? Albert: We are in the process of recording one. YMM: Where are you recording? Sam: I actually produce (music) for a living. I have a partner by the name of John and we cover all different types of music. John is our producer, so we are writing songs and getting ready to record. It should be out either by the end of this year or the beginning of next year- 2010. YMM: What do you think it takes to make it in the music scene today? Sam: Smarts. Smarts man. Using technology, music downloading like Itunes and things like that. The internet in general has given small bands a way to come up. People don’t need the old ways. Bands can book their own dates, play where they are popular. It takes a lot of leg work though. YMM: Would you say that you are on the more independent track? Do you feel that helps you play in San Jose? Jimmy: We like the freedom a lot. Albert: We try to take a different route most of the time. YMM: Last words? Rob: We our really excited to play in the Your Music Olympicks “Live Performance” Event here tonight at the Voodoo Lounge.

myspace.com/modernruinz

S A N J O S E


YOUR MUSIC OLYMPICKS-VIDEO BLOG INTERVIEWS

S A N J O S E

Mzao Waters (Mo): Lead Vocals Sennheiser and Shure microphones. I’ve been singing for about 15 years and it has been an amazing personal journey. I started out by taking vocal lessons and after about 3 lessons, my teacher told me that singing with a rasp in my voice was wrong, so I fired her and have been teaching myself to sing ever since. I focused most of my attention on singers that could sing with power and grit in their voice. I made it my mission to try and figure out how to get my voice to make that sound as well and practiced every day until my voice gave out. Tony Oliveri (Tony O.): Guitar/Backup Vocals Ibanez guitars, Mesa Boogie pre and power amps, Kustom, Crate, Shure mics. Anything and everything that has to do with music inspires and influences me. I can go from hardcore death metal one day to a classical mood the next. I think learning from everyone makes you a well-rounded musician and that’s all I could ever ask for. I’ve been playing and creating music for 20 years now. Dave Wilson (Ill Will): Bass Eden WT800 bass head two Eden 4x10 bass cabinets, Two Ibanez SG800 Bass guitars. My influences are Iron Maiden, King Diamond, Megadeth, Sevendust, Queensryche, Slayer, Death Angel, Metallica and far too many more to keep going. 20 years and counting. Ronny Johnston (RJ): Drums Pearl Masters Studio Birch, Sabian AAX & HH Cymbals and Vic Firth Sticks.

SJYMO Fanalists! The VooDoo Lounge August 7th

Bob Lemos (Bobzilla): Guitar Ibanez and Gibson guitars, Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier head, Mesa Boogie and Marshall cabs, and countless pedals. Influences: Randy Rhodes, Marty Friedman, many others.

Brian Crabtree: How do you describe the sound of Mukagee? Mo: Mukagee is a blend of metal and rock music. Our music revolves around heavy riffs combined with bass and drums that groove, topped off with powerful vocals. Tony O: I like to think of us as something a little different. Definitely metal influenced by hard rock with a heavy groove backbone along with vocals that the listener can understand. We often tell people “Mukagee… where hard rock and metal collide”. Ill Will: Groove metal; heavy guitar riffs, driving beats mixed with melodic vocal phrases delivered with strong presence. RJ: Hard rock meets heavy metal, groove vs. thrash. Brian: How was it competing in the Your Music Olympicks on July 2nd at The VooDoo Lounge? Mo: Competing July 2nd was pretty amazing. We made it our goal to take the stage by storm that night and that’s just what we did. Many people came up to me after the show to comment on how much fun they had both listening to and watching us perform. Mission accomplished! Tony O: We always have a blast when we hit the stage, and the show on July 2nd was no different. The energy was present throughout the night and a lot of our friends came out to see us. We made sure the crowd remembered us through our performance

and our music. Ill Will: We had a great time, and the show was well planned and executed. RJ: Awesome, since it was our second gig with the current line up, and even though I rolled a six (for the dice roll) and we went on after midnight, the crowd stuck it out and partied hard for us. Brian: What’s the music scene like in San Jose? Mo: Tough. Tony O: Being that a lot of venues are heading towards DJs and karaoke these days, I find it difficult to make a name with metal fans here in San Jose. I’ve heard metal is alive and well in Frisco and Sacramento, just to name a couple areas. Ill Will: Well we think it could better with more places to play, and more local and unsigned bands with their songs on the radio. It was once a great place to play and it will get there again. RJ: There have been some set backs to both the all ages and 21+ scenes over recent years, but I think things are on the rebound, not only club-wise, but scene-wise as well. Though sometimes you have to seek the good shows and groups out, they are out there, and there is still an abundant amount of talent that has not drifted away to the major markets.

myspace.com/mukagee


We’re halfway through the 2009 Your Music Olympicks event, and here’s what some of you have missed so far (and what’s coming up): The Santa Cruz YMO started on Friday, Feb. 27th and ended on Saturday, May 2nd at the Catalyst Finals. Congratulations to our winners (GoldMy Stupid Brother; Silver- Archer; Bronze- The Devil Himself) who received over $7000.00 in cash and prizes. The Monterey YMO started on Friday, May GOLD 29th and will ended with the Finals at the COAST New Planet Gemini on Friday, June 26th. TATTOO Congratulations to our winners (Gold- Wasted Noise; Silver- Mnemonic Device; Bronze- The Rugers) who received over $3000.00 in cash and prizes. The San Jose YMO starts on Saturday, June 20th and will end with the Finals at the Voodoo Lounge on Friday, August 7th. 2009 SJ YMO Finalists Beerijuana, Modern Ruinz, Mukagee, Left of Christ, plus 3 more to be announced (check YourMusicMagazine.com) will compete for over $5000 in cash and prizes. The San Francisco YMO will begin on Friday, August 28th and will end on Friday, Oct. 16th. Local SF bands will be competing for over $5000.00 in cash and prizes. The Sacramento YMO will begin on Friday, Oct. 16th and will end on Friday, Dec. 2nd. Local Sac bands will be competing for over $5000.00 in cash and prizes.




LYON ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS:

2009 BAND OLYMPICKS

MONTEREY “LIVE PERFORMANCE” EVENT WINNERS

WASTED NOISE GOLD WINNER

MNEMONIC DEVICE SILVER WINNER THE RUGERS BRONZE WINNER MONTEREY “BEST VOCALIST” EVENT WINNERS

MONTEREY “BEST GUITARIST” EVENT WINNERS

Aaron-PRIDE SUBJECT

Brian-THE DEAD RINGERS

GOLD WINNER

GOLD WINNER

Milo-WASTED NOISE

SILVER WINNER Drew-PRAETORIAN BRONZE WINNER

Mike-BLOOD PRINT SILVER WINNER Bill-PRIDE SUBJECT

BRONZE WINNER

MONTEREY “BEST BASSIST” EVENT WINNERS

MONTEREY “BEST DRUMMER” EVENT WINNERS

Scott-PRIDE SUBJECT

Tim-PRIDE SUBJECT

GOLD WINNER

GOLD WINNER

Zach-PARA LA GENTE

Jason-THE DEVIL HIMSELF

SILVER WINNER

SILVER WINNER

Vic-BLOOD PRINT

Bone Crusher-D-MINUS

BRONZE WINNER

BRONZE WINNER




words & photos by anna de maria It’s the one time of the year when Pryor, OK is world famous-

Rocklahoma. “Rocklahoma’s slogan is “It’s all about the party”; Jonny Prynce, Dirty Penny’s guitarist, said, “it’s the one weekend of the year where our fans just let it all hang out.” And that they did. Fans donning not much more than sweat, mardi gras beads, and a half-size guitar full of beer flocked from all over the world to Pryor for another year of unpredictable weather, Miller Light, and great rock and roll music. Over ninety bands played on four stages, among them RATT, Twisted Sister, Warrant, Skid Row, Great White, and Santa Cruz, CA’s own Dirty Penny. Rocklahoma holds a special place in the heart of Dirty Penny. “We were conceived in Santa Cruz and popped out at Rocklahoma,” Prynce said. Three years ago on July 15th, 2007, Dirty Penny earned their wings on the main stage at Rocklahoma. They’ve been flying ever since. “Rocklahoma was so important because it was the only festival bringing back this genre of music,” stated Binge Daniels, lead vocalist. Dirty Penny played Friday night of the festival on what was named “The Strip” stage, directly across from the main. After a quick handsin, the foursome took to the stage as fans packed into a sweltering hot tent chanting the bands coined phrase “DIRTY PENNY SUCKS, DIRTY PENNY SUCKS!” The lights went up, the crowd went ballistic and Dirty Penny opened with a high energy “Midnight Ride.” The crowd continued to fill the tent as they sang along, fist pumping the entire song. Despite the unbearable heat and rising temperatures in the tent, the crowd’s energy never let up. Women, men and children alike were singing their hearts out, word for word to the bands songs, cheering and chanting in between, decorated head-to-toe in Dirty Penny paraphernalia- home made or bought, waiving banners, flags or their own shirts. Daniels dubbed them the “best fucking fans of rock and roll” that night, and they certainly lived up to their title, bearing Dirty Penny “rocker skull” tattoos and having everything from their children to their cars signed by the band. Dirty Penny’s set continued as they played crowd favorites off their first album and introduced a few well received songs off their sophomore album, set to be released sometime in early September. The new album promises to be “meaner and dirtier” than the first. “Fans can expect some growth on this album,” Tyno Vincent, bassist, said, “this is us finding ourselves, our music.” “It’s more of us, rather than our influences,” Prynce followed. What’s next for Dirty Penny? Following the release of their album and some new merchandise, the band will be hitting the road for a national tour in the fall. There has been some talk of a co-headliner tour with another well-known rock band, not yet named, however the details have yet to be confirmed. For now, Friday night at “The Strip,” Dirty Penny left it all on stage, as they always do. There was definitely blood, definitely sweat, and perhaps a few tears from the ladies in the front row as a shirtless Binge sang the final song of their set.

binge

tyno

jonny

spanky


So I know it’s only the second day of Warped Tour, but how has it been so far? Day two and I don’t have any complaints. Had a good crowd yesterday, haven’t gone on today yet, but I imagine it’ll be good. Yesterday was great. A few hundred people out there, hopefully it’ll be the same for today. How does it feel to be the only hip-hop act out here on Warped Tour? It’s cool. I feel like I have to take a more underdog approach to everything. But at the same time it’s cool. Most of the other bands, the good bands at least, recognize the other good bands that are out here. Who are some of your favorite groups out here? Gallows, Bouncing Souls, who will be up in a little bit. Underoath is good. You know, the ones that set the level that everyone is going to be at for the next couple of years before it starts all over again. How did you even get on the Warped Tour? I don’t know. I used to come to the tour when I was younger. I saw you were out there with your skateboard Yeah, I skate, but don’t really do tricks anymore. I’m too old, but I can mess it up and have a good time. So your new album has been out for awhile… Since February. Are there plans for another one, are you in the studio? I’ve been on tour since Never Better came out, but I’ll be back in the studio and starting a new one probably early next year. What direction are you planning to go with the new record? I don’t know yet. I know that one of the things that I’ve found is that I took a risk on the last album and got a lot of good response from that. That makes me feel like the next time around I can go even farther out there if I want to. Can we expect a new Doom Tree album anytime soon? Yeah. After the last crew album, we all spilt up to do our solo stuff, but you can expect one soon - next year probably. Any last words? Check out myspace.com/pos. That’s me... I’m P.O.S. Check it out, listen to my music...and don’t take anything too seriously.

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Fri Aug 7th "Best of the East Bay" The Oakland Museum Oakland Fri Aug 21st Mystic Rage Kaos Gods Outlaw MCP and Wraitwall The Oakland Metro Operahouse Oakland Thurs Sept 3rd w/ OTEP Mudface The Voodoo Lounge San Jose Sat Sept 19th Dreamland Community Center Hayward Mystic Rage Contact Info www.mysticrage.com myspace.com/mysticrage mysticrage@mysticrage.com

510.278.9695

BOOK PRAETORIAN NOW!! CALL DREW FROM FSU PRODUCTIONS (831) 206-2146

Thurs Aug 6th w/CARBON Reunion Show Mojos Lounge Fremont

PHOTOS BY BRIAN CRABTREE

Sat July 25th w/Skinlab Motograter The Modesto Virtual Modesto

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/BANDPRAETORIAN

Mystic Rage Show Schedule


The h Parish

Publick House EVENTS CALENDAR 7/17 Phil Morris 7/18 Los Dryheavers vs. Here Kitty Kitty 7/24 Misery Mule 7/25 The Rhythm Method 7/26 The Wobblies Dun Bin Had 7/31 Beaver Fever 8/1 Toast the Wrap vs. Flat Out 8/13 Tyler Jakes and the Bootleggers 8/14 Noise Attack Chaser Final Summation 8/27 tikkilyches

Lunch and dinner: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. daily. Happy hour: 4-6 p.m. & 11 p.m.-Midnight *Monday - Saturday & all day Sunday.

841 Almar Ave. Santa Cruz, CA 95067 (831) 421-0507


San Francisco The Fillmore

7/20 Indigo Girls 7/21 Indigo Girls 7/23 De La Soul 7/28 Jarvis Cocker 7/30 Gomez 7/31 Gomez 8/07 Lucha VaVoom 8/08 Los Amigos Invisibles 8/15 Ivan Neville 8/19 Panda 8/20 Daughtry 8/21 Tracy Chapman 8/22 Tracy Chapman 8/23 The Matches 8/26 Dredg/RX Bandits

The Warfield

7/28 Jewel 7/30 N.E.R.D./Clipse 8/23 The Cult 9/02 Al Green

Santa Cruz The Parish Pub

7/18 Los Dryheavers vs. Here Kitty Kitty 7/24 Misery Mule 7/25 The Rhythm Method 7/26 The Wobblies/Dun Bin Had 7/31 Beaver Fever 8/1 Toast the Wrap vs. Flat Out 8/13 Tyler Jakes and the Bootleggers 8/14 Noise Attack/Chaser/Final Summation 8/27 tikkilyches

The Catalyst

7/23 Music for Animals 7/24 Gillian Welch 7/25 Hottub 7/28 Wailing Souls 7/30 Chris Pureka 7/31 Stellar Corpses 8/05 Katchafire 8/07 Johnny Winter 8/08 The Pack/Cataracs 8/14 The Expendables 8/15 The Expendables 8/16 Hatebreed 8/17 Xavier Rudd 8/19 Trevor Hall 8/20 The Pyrx Band 8/21 Slacktone 8/23 Forrest Day

Brookdale Lodge

7/17 Folkyeah Presents: Graveyard, Hot Lunch, Serpico 7/18 Amnesia 7/24 Padded Cell Productions Presents: Agent Orange, DI, Sad Boy Sinister, Crooked as Fuck, Abusement Park 7/25 The Realization Tour Featuring: Sugar For A Dime,

Realization, Para La Gente, & Numerous w/ Vibrant EYEris 7/31 Archer, Mordor, Isolation Factor, Heroshima 8/01 Lodge-a-palooza w/ Honest Mistake, The Devil Himself, Who’s Holdin’, Cylinder, 3upFront, +More tba 8/7 The Midtones, Thrive 8/8 Phat Chants, Audacity 8/9 Folkyeah Presents: 8/17 Heavy Hills, Purple Mercy, Purple Rhinestone Eagle 8/22 John Sotter Acoustic Warrior 8/27 Folkyeah Presents: 8/28 Fire Whiskey, The Devil Himself 9/4 Meldrum

Coasters Lounge 7/24 J Martin Band 7/26 Rockabilly Night 7/31 Nightlife 8/07 The Blackouts 8/14 The Peelers 8/21 B Movie Kings 8/28 J Martin Band

Britannia Arms 7/18 Isadoras Scarf 7/19 Almost Chaos 7/23 Larry Hosford 7/25 Whatever Fits 7/30 Larry Hosford

San Jose Barb Rocks

8/01 Britannia Arms Cupertino Realization/ACEs/Rey Resurreccion One Soul Project 8/15 Britannia Arms Cupertino Silent Sinner/Dimidium/Modern Ruinz Unconditional Thought Process 8/19 Voodoo Lounge Asiago/A Four Star Affair The Golden Hour/Two Left Feet 9/05 Britannia Arms Cupertino Northern Son/Company Car One Over Eight 9/26 Britannia Arms Cupertino Kaldera/Kinetik/Until We Sleep Anonymity?

Shoreline Amphitheatre 7/24 Slightly Stoopid/Snopp Dogg 7/25 No Doubt/Paramore 7/30 Crue Fest 2 8/01 The Fray 8/05 Phish 8/09 Nas/Damian Marley 8/12 Depeche Mode 8/16 Toby Keith 8/20 Vans Warped Tour 9/01 Nickelback/Hinder

Voodoo Lounge

7/21 The Boils/Tried & True 7/22 Berrijuana/Desecrater 7/23 Your Music Olympicks 7/24 Good Friday

0<;02?A 0.92;1.? 7/25 Soul Glo 7/28 Two Tone Tuesdays 7/29 Art & Soul 7/31 Bisonbc/Lazarus Ad 8/01 Music Machine 8/04 Two Tone Tuesdays 8/05 2nd & Bay/Red River Choir 8/06 Timeless 8/07 Your Music Olympicks Finals 8/08 Soul Glo 8/11 Two Tone Tuesdays 8/12 Art & Soul 8/14 Iron Maidens 8/15 Music Machine 8/18 Two Tone Tuesdays 8/19 Asiago/Second the Best 8/20 Bohemian Knuckleboogie 8/21 Blowfly 8/22 Soul Glo 8/23 Jason Boland 8/25 Deadbolt 8/26 David Allan Coe Band 8/27 David Allan Coe Band 8/28 DJ Goldenchyld

The Brit (Cupertino)

7/23 Scarlett LaRues Band 7/24 Mofo’s 7/25 Red Sunday 7/26 Jazz Jam 7/29 Open Mic Night 7/31 Dirty Thirty Party 8/01 Barb Rocks Presents 8/02 Dixieland Jazz 8/05 Open Mic Night 8/06 Chris Reed Productions 8/07 IHP Comedy 8/08 IHP Comedy 8/12 Open Mic Night 8/13 Dead Serious 8/14 Paradise City 8/15 Barb Rocks Presents 8/19 Open Mic Night 8/20 Chris Reed Productions 8/21 The Peelers 8/22 Dustonios Maximus 8/28 the Disractions 8/29 Barb Rocks Presents

Sacramento Club Retro

7/23 Afton Presents 7/24 Abandon Kansas 7/25 Stalking Distance 7/30 Afton Presents 8/01 Gorilla Productions 8/06 Afton Presents 8/15 Coolfield 8/28 Showbread 8/29 The Phenomenauts

The Boardwalk

7/31 Malcom Bliss 8/01 Machete 8/02 The Greenlight District 8/06 American Steel 8/07 Halestorm 8/08 Red Jumpsuit Apparatus 8/13 Rookie of the Year

8/14 Aroarah 8/15 E-40 8/17 Dredg 8/20 Jeffree Star 8/22 D12 8/27 Hello, Goodbye 8/28 Bleeding Through 8/29 Emmure

West Hollywood The Whisky

7/24 Vains of Jenna 7/25 Cruefest 7/27 John Carpenter 7/29 Hustler Hollywood 8/06 All Light Dies 8/07 The Orphics/Devil Himself 8/08 Tiffany Madadian 8/13 Nations Afire 8/14 Brian Head Welch 8/15 And She Whispered 8/17 SWAK 8/22 Wild Child 8/28 Obscured by Clouds 8/30 Blind Side

Key Club

8/01 Pato Baton 8/02 Dave Janssens 8/03 Steel Panther 8/05 Dwele 8/06 Ambrose 8/07 Gun Metal Groove 8/08 Lights 8/10 Steel Panther 8/13 Ivan Nevilles 8/17 Steel Panther 8/20 E-40 8/21 Subject to Change 8/22 A&R Connection 8/24 Steel Panther 8/25 Lee Scratch 8/26 Carnival 8/27 Casualties 8/29 Fat Joe

Monterey Planet Gemini

7/24 & 25 Paul Ogata & Scott Henry 7/31 & 8/1 Tommy Savitt & Jeremy Greenburg 8/7 & 8 Rene Hicks 8/14 &15 Mike Mancini & Suli McCullough

SNBC Events

*California WorldFest July 16-19 *Gathering of the Vibes July 23-26 *Sonoma County Sustainability Fair July 28- Aug 9 *30th Annual Long Beach Blues Festival Sept 5-6 *Telluride Blues and Brews Festival Sept 18-20 *Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival* Oct 10-11 * Fox Theatre- Boulder, CO


Upcoming: Sat Aug 1 @ Britannia Arms Cupertino Hip Hop Show with Realization, ACEs, Rey Resurreccion, One Soul Project Sat Aug 15 @ Britannia Arms - Cupertino Metal Show with Silent Sinner, Dimidium, Modern Ruinz,Unconditional Thought Process Wed Aug 19 @ VooDoo Lounge Asiago, A Four Star Affair, The Golden Hour, Two Left Feet Sat Aug 29 @ Britannia Arms - Cupertino *booking now* Sat Sept 5 @ Britannia Arms Cupertino Northern Son, Company Car, One Over Eight Sat Sept 26 @ Britannia Arms - Cupertino Kaldera, Kinetik, Until We Sleep, 多Anonymity? more shows to be announced soon!!

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Music Festivals & Events: * California WorldFest* Grass Valley, CA July 16-19 www.worldfest.com *Gathering of the Vibes* Bridgeport, CT July 23-26 www.gatheringofthevibes.com *Sonoma County Sustainability Fair*

CA July 28- Aug 9 www.sonomacountyfair.com * 30th Annual Long Beach Blues Festival*

CA Sept 5-6 www.jazzandblues.org *Telluride Blues and Brews Festival*

Telluride, CO Sept 18-20 www.tellurideblues.com *Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival* Oct 10-11 joshuatreemusicfestival.com

For Booking please send email to:

*Fox Theatre- Boulder, CO* www.foxtheatre.com

More info online: www.barbrocks.com www.myspace.com/barbrocks

Sierra Center Stage

barbrocks@gmail.com

Live Concerts & Interviews From The California Foothills

www.sierranevada.com





(831) 594-2879

$40/song



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