One of the few joys I've had, and trust me there are very few, in writing about local music over the past few years has been pretty much anything having to do with House Of Tinnitus. Terrific fliers, great band descriptions (Ex: [His] sound will crush you to the ground and you will beg for your fucking shitty life!), and one of the most consistent places to experience noise and related genres minus the detached academic attitude that I've all-too-often experienced at similar places in other cities. It's always more about having a good time than anything else, and a lot of the consistency is owed to proprietor Rob Buttrum's willingness to never compromise his aesthetic approach towards the aforementioned fliers, use of language, and the artists that he books at H.O.T.
It was for these reasons that I was glad to hear that Buttrum was starting up a label with Andrew Haas, a fellow member of his electronic ensemble, Lychgate. The label, After Death Records, will be releasing limited-edition runs on cassette by extreme electronic artists, that in most cases, have played at House Of Tinnitus. Judging by some previews of the cassette packaging, as well as the music contained therein, it's safe to assume that After Death Records will be the best way to own a tangible document of one of the area's most brutal artistic entities.
When did the original idea for the label first come up? Was it immediately decided that it would be a tape label, or did that decision come later?
We first met at Rob's house at a show in the beginning of 2007. We fast became good friends and after hanging out for quite a bit got to talking. Rob wanted to take things to the next level and we both mentioned starting a label. What seemed like a passing comment quickly turned serious when we both knew we wanted to really do it. We figured all the networking through House of Tinnitus could be put to good use and a label was the perfect outlet for it. From the get go we agreed "NO CDRS". CDRs feel cheap and crappy. Tape is a tradition in noise and industrial culture and we felt it was the best format to put out the music we loved. We plan on doing vinyl when we have the resources.
So far, it looks like most of the bands on the upcoming releases have played Tinnitus, with Vestigial Limb being the only exception. Has that made things fairly easy when it comes to communicating with the artists? Are there some people you're interested in doing releases for that haven't played Tinnitus, and if so, who?
Of course House of Tinnitus has opened up various avenues to us. Approaching a friend or acquaintance is easier than approaching a stranger. It's definitely made things more casual. Now that the ball has been rolling since October we've started to get people who have never been to Denton interested in doing releases with us. Definately wanting to work with people from all around the world who will probably NEVER come to Denton. Who, specifically? The possibilities are endless.
Basically, we wanted to put out Texas noise for the first three tapes. We felt there was a lot of stuff going on in Texas that's not getting noticed in the noise scene but definately has merit. Ryan Talley of Ashes has absolutely ripped every time he's come through H.O.T. and we felt he just wasn't getting the exposure he deserves. We plan on releasing one local act in every batch of three tapes we do. It's our love for the local stuff that really got us wanting to start this project. Andy (O'Sullivan) from Goat and Richard Ramirez from Werewolf Jerusalem are both noise artists who have longevity and respect. They have been more than kind and patient with us in doing this first batch as well as being extremely helpful.
The artwork looks very uniform and thematic, same font and layout etc. Do you want to keep the visual theme permanent, or do see it as a possibility that it could change at some point? Do the artists turn in visuals, or do you guys take care of every aspect of the design? What are some of your visual influences?
It could always change, yes. Right now we wanted a uniform aesthetic, something to tie it all together. We like things that stay static but parts are always changing, like the covers. We do all of the artwork and would prefer to keep it that way. It's our visual interpretation of the artists' statement. It also makes the relationship more symbiotic and personal.
Was the overall amount of work more preparing the releases more or less than you thought it would be? What has been the most challenging aspect so far?
Hmm... It's all been a learn as you go process to be honest. What we thought would be done in a couple months has taken much longer.. The second batch will take half the amount of time since we know exactly what to do. There have been so many different aspects we have had to tap into to bring it all together. It's been a lot of work, but of course it's also been a lot of fun.
Are there any labels you feel especially influenced by?
Heavy Psych | Husk Records | 905 Tapes have all been labels we've felt put out great releases that come to mind. There are a ton of great DIY labels around that garner respect. The main influence has been the music.
I know that Tinnitus itself has avoided media attention for the most part, but do you feel differently about the label getting attention or is it all the same to you? Has the feeling about the attention been that you just couldn't care less, or that the writers will just get everything wrong? That's certainly an understandable concern.
While we may be associated, After Death Records has been its' own animal. House of Tinnitus hasn't been avoiding the media... If anything, Rob's just being selective.
It's nice to be getting press this early in the stage, but it's not something we take too seriously.
Will these available online or at shows only? Have you made any distribution plans? Do you plan on keeping any at local record stores?
They will be available at shows and online. For the release party the artists' will be selling their copies. Most likely we'll have a spot set up at H.O.T. during future shows. As far as local record stores go we haven't really considered that. Distribution is iffy right now since we're doing such limited releases but working with other small labels/distros is an open possibility.
What was the process for dubbing the tapes? How hard is it to find tape dubbing equipment for large quantities? Where did you look for yours?
Tape duplicators are pretty easy to find for sale because to the mainstream the format is 'outdated.' We have a duplicator that makes 4x copies at 16x the speed so it's pretty simple.
You've stated that you'll primarily focus on extreme electronic music. Can you think of anyone that you would consider breaking that focus for? Or do you feel more like you could release a hundred different volumes before you would even consider messing with the format?
It's always possible we could release something non-electronic, but right now we are content with the format. If we released something else it'd most likely be in the extreme vein. There is a lot of exciting stuff going on right now in the genre.
After Death Records is having their first record release party at House of Tinnitus, this Saturday, February 21. The artists from their first three releases will be performing, along with eight other acts, including Akkolyte, T.E.F., and Snowstorm.
My introduction to Curtis Mayfield is one of those indelible memories of youth that I recall every time I hear his music. I'll never forget watching Superfly on late night tv and seeing Curtis and his band playing live during the nightclub scenes. It was like watching Rock n Roll High School without knowing who the Ramones were... fucking spellbinding!
Having fronted the Impressions throughout the 60s, Mayfield was an established and well respected musician/songwriter by the time he released this album, his solo debut. This record represents a huge step forward in an already successful career, giving a funkier sound to the socially conscious soul of his former group.
Punk Bunny | Andrew Burntette (The Lounge) It would be hard for Punk Bunny to top the show they played on Friday night; the lineup, the setting, the crowd, even the music between acts was so appropriate, it bordered on being absurd. Not to mention the fact that much of it was willfully absurd. Punk Bunny was even more of a spectacle this time around, with prepared videos accompanying their songs, and choreographed dance moves by three men in lingerie. Even the most hardened punk rocker I know had to crack a smile.
The Lounge on a Monday night is certainly the opposite of Mabel Peabody's on a Friday, but I don't know of a group more capable of having a good time in spite of the weeknight odds. Opening act Andrew Burnette is a touring member of Punk Bunny, but the self-described "electronic softcore" of which his solo project consists is undoubtedly more of a subtle ride.
Almost NSFW.... 80's Belgian acid house videos are almost ALL like this:
SHOWS OF NOTE THIS WEEK
WED: Lykke Li/Sarah Jaffe (Granada) WED: Lost Generation with Akkolyte (the Lounge) THU: ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead/Funeral Party/Midnight Masses (the Granada) SAT: Daniel Francis Doyle/Farah/Rival Gang/Drug Mountain/Orange Coax (Chat Room) SAT: After Death Records Release Party (House of Tinnitus) SAT: Negaduck/Division of Power/Rocket for Ethiopia, Electric Vengeance/Scoff (Exploding House)
Darktown Strutters | Rival Gang | Punk Bunny | Pocket Change (Mable Peabody's) In what has become a semi-traditional lineup, Punk Bunny teams up with Rival Gang to present an explicit journey into proving how far a group is able take playfully wielding sex and sexuality like a weapon; basically forcing the crowd to stand aghast, often gasping like they were just hit with a cum-filled grenade. Add the further discomfort of confrontational performance artists Pocket Change with the cocky, "Night Porter" perversions of Darktown Strutters, and you have a very potent antidote to cure you from the feigned sentiments and overbooked dinner reservations of tomorrow night. This self-described "Gay Prom Bloodbath" also features a kissing booth. Or maybe it was a photo booth, I can't remember. A dunking booth? In any event, get soaked.
Friday the 13th Masquerade Formal with Vega | Schwa | The Famousish | TOMMYL33JON3Z (Backyard Beach Bar) This is the first event put together by new party planning crew Etc., Etc!, and it will take place at Backyard Beach Bar, deep in the East Side of Dallas at 7530 E. Grand Ave. They say black and white casual attire and masks are REQUIRED dress, but I'm not really sure how strict that requirement actually is. Either way, you'll see some great DJ performances I'm sure, and if you pay the cover to get into the party, it will get you FREE BOOZE at the official after party, which takes place at 5523 East Side Dr. in Dallas.
Dropdead | hatred surge | kill the client | hercules | unit 21 (1919 Hemphill) Dropdead formed almost twenty years ago, thus making them the kind of band that has been around long enough to have their own little culture around it, making them both a deity-like reference point for the group's followers, and a punchline for the many detractors of this particular sect of hardcore. I think they're vicious enough to lay waste to any of the uptight misgivings one might have about going to a punk show. After hearing an unbelievably pretentious interview with Andrew Bird on NPR, I'm ready to do just that. As for being face-to-face with Kill The Client when they take the floor, I might hide behind the bleachers.
Bangs | Females | YeahDef | Vega | Heartstring Stranglers (Hailey's) Pre valentine's dance party with some of Denton's most popular DJs that will probably be packed to the gills. Vega is listed as playing this show AND the masquerade party in Dallas tonight, so I'm guessing he's either doing double duty or there will be at least one set of Vega fans that will cry right into their XLR8Rs before the night is through. We'll keep you posted.
Greg Ginn (Club Dada) Former Black Flag and SST Records founder Greg Ginn lives in Taylor, TX these days, which is bizarre in and of itself, but the fact that he'll be fronting his new jam band at Club Dada this evening, Greg Ginn and the Taylor Texas Corrugators ,is even stranger. Let me repeat: This is the founder of Black fucking Flag, and also a guy who ran a label that once released music by Sonic Youth AND Dinosaur Jr. Jam Band. Cry. I don't know what to say.
Ghostcar | Jack with One Eye | The Frenz (the Lounge) This show will serve as Jack with One Eye's CD release show, and will also give the excellent Ghostcar a chance to showcase their stellar new material, some of which you can hear on their Myspace page.
Happy Bullets Video Shoot (Space) the Happy Bullets will be shooting a video for their song "Fuck Yeah I'm in Love with You" in which they'll ask as many couples as possible to make out on camera at the same time during the filming, meaning that you probably shouldn't show up to this alone unless you want to feel like a loser. King Bucks and Giggle Party will be playing as well, and things get started at 8pm.
SATURDAY
Hands Up Valentines Party with The Party (the Loft)
ADD: Treasure Fingers | Keith P (Lizard Lounge) You guys know Keith P already, and with his appearances on the Edge Club and this headlining gig at one of Dallas' largest staple dance clubs (seriously, has ANYTHING been open longer than the Lizard Lounge?), apparently a lot of other people know him too. Treasure Fingers spin and remix very poppy, disco leaning house and if you're in the mood for that sort of thing, its quite good.
Agnostic Front | The Mongoloids | Hit and Run | Preacher | Broadsiders (Lola's) Reputable first wave, New York based American hardcore band Agnostic Front comes to Lola's tonight (strange place for THIS show, don't you think?) for a set of what I assume will be their usual metal/punk/thrash hybrid that pretty much bores the shit out of me. Not to generalize too much, but most of the more popular early NYC hardcore stuff comes off as bone-headed and ridiculous to me most of the time, especially once many of these bands start to cross over into metal and tough guy garbage. Seeing the film American Hardcore only cemented this view in my mind. Not that there weren't ANY good punk bands from NY at the time, I just couldn't think of anything else to say about Agnostic Front that hasn't already been said about any of these kinds of bands. Sowwy.
Damaged Good$/Billingham's Defense System (Fallout Lounge) Should be quite the packed hipster who's who over at Fallout tonight as local hip hop sensations Damaged Good$ are welcomed back home after a touring stint in Europe. The group's performance will occur around midnight (sandwiched between DJ sets from BDS), and although live performances at Fallout are typically sub-par as far as sound and line of sight goes, Damaged Good$ are just the kind of house party favorite that makes these kinds of shows worth going to anyway. Oh, it's also free.
Top Notch with Sober (The Cavern) The new weekly residency for Sober, a guy who will be performing in the midst of several huge nationally buzzed about acts (including Vivian Girls and White Denim) at the 3rd annual Gorilla Vs. Booze SXSW Day Show. And according to the man himself, dude can mix.... ;-)
Sun Club w/ guest DJ Shane English (Rubber Gloves) Hey guys, do you need a break from listening to some dude "spin" a 15 year old Australian's cover of a Teenagers song directly from some shitty Myspace page? Check out Sun Club, then, for some choice disco and house cuts that don't involve force feeding of the latest "blog house" hits. Shane English will be guesting tonight, and we're hoping he spins another crate digger's delight of an acid house set, similar to what we've heard from him before. However, he could be up to anything, really-- early synth/cold, industrial, whatever. Highly recommended.
Riverboat Gamblers (Vickery Park) Did this band used to be good earlier in the decade when they lived in Denton or something? Because listening to their Myspace page recently made me wonder how anyone other than 14 year old mall punk virgins could actually listen to this bullshit. This concert is FREE, but as we like to say around here, sometimes free ain't free, you know?
There are more shows listed on the show calendar for tonight, and we're starting to add a lot of new upcoming stuff as well, so check in over there.
THURSDAY Artist talk with Florencia Levy (Centraltrak)6pm Levy is an artist in residence at Centraltrak, and she will talk about her Commute Portraits, taken in DFW in the summer of 2008.
Artist talk with Rosemary Meza-DePlas and Janet Chaffee (CADD Art Lab)7pm In conjunction with the Drawing In exhibit up right now.
Well in case you aren't willing or able to make it down to Austin for SXSW this year, it turns out you'll have a chance to see an impressive number of great SXSW bands in Denton at one of the many house show hotspots that have decided to team up together to put on HXHF, or House by House Fest. Take a look at these impressive line ups, many of which will appear before SXSW actually begins, and then ask yourself why you weren't cool enough to think of this:
Wed. March 18th 7PM @ Bunker Hill Box Elders/The Weakends/Frustrations/Bass Drum Of Death/Outer Spacists
Sat. March 14th 8PM @ Muscle Beach The Shivers/Weird Weeds/Shiny Around The Edges/Champagne Kickoff
The houses ask that you please donate $5 per show. Seems like a pretty good deal to me. We'll have more on this soon, but something tells me you better get to that Panhandle show pretty damn early....
Loney Dear | Sunnybrook | Matthew And The Arrogant Sea (Hailey's) Hey, go listen to "Airport Surroundings" on Loney Dear's page. Shit sounds just like the refraining melody to Nate Dogg's vocal parts on "Regulate." That's probably the best thing I can say about Loney Dear. That, and he used to be a professional cyclist, which is a fun fact, but doesn't really help me out when I have to sit through someone's music. His page says he's influenced by "early U2." Hmm. I think even "Numb" is better than this. Sunnybrook and MATAS open and we really wanted to review MATAS' album last year, it's just one of those things that got away from us. We still might, just because.
Big Elf | Wanz Dover | Jason Cohen (The Lounge) Big Elf has to be one of the most over-the-top prog geek groups I've heard in a long time. It's too much, really. Makes Christopher Guest seem like Michael Stipe.Parade Of Flesh booked Big Elf, by the way.
Jessie Mayeux/Taylor Rea/Robbi K/JT Mudd (The Cavern) If anyone has links for any of these artists, please let us know.
So lately we've been thinking about the way we do things around here and actually taking the time to listen to our audience for a change: we know it can be kind of a drag to wait until 5 o'clock to see our It List every day, especially if you'd like to, you know, make plans to go see a show and need a little more advance than we've been able to give you lately. And while we can't promise that we'll be able to post It Lists earlier every single day, we are going to make a few changes that will allow us to post lists at 3 or 4 in the afternoon as opposed to 5 or 530 from now on. So that's the first thing we're going to do to make you people happy.
Next, even though we don't plan to change the content of the It Lists all that much, we do feel that it might be important to give you guys a more comprehensive look at upcoming shows, including shows that will occur a few weeks in advance, without having to write about all of them. Furthermore, we receive dozens of email and Myspace messages every week from people telling us about their shows, and unfortunately, we sometimes overlook these messages completely by accident, resulting in shows being left off our lists, and occasionally, a few hurt feelings to go along with it :-(. So we wanted to do something that would help us with both of these issues, which is why we are introducing the We Shot J.R. Show Calendar.
If you click on the link above, you'll find the simple beginnings of what the show calendar will become. We'll be adding all different kinds of shows to this list in the next few days, including some of the bigger shows that might be happening months down the road. The show list features all the usual show info you'll find in other places (time, place, cover, venue, bands, etc.), as well as links to bands' Myspace pages and venue websites (all of this will develop over the next few days, so please be patient). And perhaps the best part, especially for bands, booking agents and venue operators, is the "add show" feature in the top left corner of the calendar-- you can click on that and submit information about an upcoming show of your choice using a very simple form-- there's even a space for you to include a line up list with hotlinks to Myspace pages, and you'll also be able to describe the bands, copy and paste short press releases, and share any other information you'd like to provide about the show in the "description" section. As long as your information is legit, we'll add the show to the calendar without considering whether or not we personally like the bands involved. If it's a real show, we'll add it to our calendar ASAP. This doesn't mean we'll talk about everything on the calendar in the It Lists, but the information will be there for all to see in that section.
Essentially, this will be the best way to alert our staff about an upcoming show, and it will also be a great resource for readers too. Give it a try... we think you'll like it.
And PS-- if you have any technical problems, please email richardsonheights@weshotjr.com to let us know. We'd also like to thank RH for all the hard work and long hours spent making this thing a reality.
Cattle Decapitation | Psyopus | Book of Black Earth | Gigan (The Lounge) Cattle Decapitation seemed much more brutal when I first heard them about a decade ago. Everyone loves them live so maybe this is one worth going to since I have never actually seen them. Of all the groups here, Gigan seems to be the most interestingly acrobatic with shrieking, squeaking, high-pitched little guitar parts that sometimes sound like Human Remains, another group that stood out from a lot of the monotonously similar extreme music from the era in which they existed.
DeVotchKa | Crooked Fingers (House of Blues) Apparently there is some controversy surrounding the term "Gypsy Punk" being used to describe bands like DeVotchKa, because it's exploitative of the Eastern European sounds and culture from which they siphon. I don't think that it exploits this culture as much as it provides an easy sonic stencil that these groups can just unimaginatively fill in.
As for Crooked Fingers, man, where to begin? I have asked so many Archers Of Loaf | Erich Bachman | CF fans to explain the appeal to me. Play me a Youtube clip, make me a mix-cd, anything. And every time, it's just embarrassing. I went back and watched some old clips of Archers of Loaf today, followed by a sampling of his solo work on Saddle Creek, topped off by my actual bad memory of seeing Crooked Fingers open for Jonathan Richman, and I still just can't comprehend the cult following these projects. To be fair, I get a lot of weird looks when people go through my music collection, so...
Hey guys, this is the first post from our newest writer and good friend, a young lady who happens to be the newly famous anonymous writer and founder of Sorry-mom, a nasty little website that some people think is the most important 3rd wave feminist blog to come out in like the past month, at least. Our pal will be writing regular posts for us concerning some of the more interesting things she encounters in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and below is her first little piece about the recent wave of, uh, Wavves shows in NYC this past weekend. She kind of has a shitty, know-it-all attitude, so don't cry about it. --SR
Nathan Williams is one grumpy little turd. It's his fourth New York show in 48 hrs and after what we're sure was a few nights heavy on beer and light on sleep, his throat is killing him and his speaking voice is reduced to not much more than a croaky whisper. However, I can imagine why else he might be grumpy: The New York fucking Times was at his packed show the previous night, Pitchfork is this close to licking his dick, little art school girls everywhere are sweating his shitty haircut (big time) and here he is in the basement of an Upper West Side coffee house (which, for the record, did not sell coffee) in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. What the hell are we doing here? Despite the shitty locale and the bands showing up a tad late, the tiny room is packed with Columbia students and hungover Brooklyn kids who made the hour + trek to see Nodzzz, Woods and Wavves play. By the time Wavves went on, the audience was shiftless but eerily quiet, standing awkwardly close to each other and whispering after being directed by show booker/Dad-figure Todd P to move closer to the encyclopedia-sized stage. Despite his drummer going missing for the first half of his first song, which he ultimately cut short half-way through due to his tired voice struggling to maintain his trademark hooting, Williams quickly perked back up, bopping enthusiastically through about a half dozen songs. Though he winced dramatically between songs and inexplicably deep throated his Corona instead of letting the bottle's opening meet his mouth like any regular human would (seriously. What?), no one seemed to notice when he tore through crowd favorites "Wavves," "California Goth" and "No Hope Kids" - the diminutive Williams even obliged when Dad P encouraged him to do an encore –after yelling out 3 song titles he had already performed, woops!
Photo of Nathan Williams at Market Hotel show by Joe Perez
According to back of the jacket, this record is “a collection of ritualistic space chants, battle hymns and stellar songs of praise as used by the family clan of Hawkwind on their epic journey to the fabled land of Thorasin.” Even Astal, High Priestess of Xenon Mentet 12753 had this to say about it : “La beslas pan hrak lelo hrakasosas kamavor na.”
This is Hawkwind’s third album, but the first featuring the ‘classic’ lineup with the new rhythm section of Lemmy on bass and Simon King on drums. This change seemed to make the jazz influence of the previous records a little less obvious while emphasizing the driving rock aspect of the group’s sound. Recordings of a few shows from the tour supporting this album resulted in Hawkwind’s masterpiece, and arguably the greatest live album ever, 1973’s double lp Space Ritual.
I recommend bong rips and excessive volume, as I’ve yet to find a person that didn’t dig this record under these circumstances!
As we inch closer and closer to SXSW, those of us who are hosting day parties and participating in other festival related activities tend to receive a lot of "pitches" from a lot of PR agents concerning why such and such band should join our "totally rad" day show line up. I can think of one band that certainly will NOT be permitted to play a "chill" acoustic set at our show, even if they happen to be kinda cute. My fave is "Alex." Who's yours?
I know this came out decades ago in "cool music blogger time" and DL said it sucked the other day and shit, but it was one of my favorite pop singles from all of last year, so watch it again, Todd P:
SHOWS OF NOTE THIS WEEK
TUE: Cattle Decapitation/Psyopus/Book of Black Earth/Gigan (The Lounge) TUE: Devotchka/Crooked Fingers (House of Blues) TUE: Yes (House of Blues) WED: Loney, Dear/Matthew and the Arrogant Sea/Sunnybrook (Hailey's) FRI: Darktown Strutters/Rival Gang/Punk Bunny (Mable Peabody's) FRI: Dropdead/hatred surge/kill the client/hercules/unit 21 (1919 Hemphill) FRI: Gregg Ginn (Club Dada) SAT: Hands Up Valentines Party with The Party (the Loft) SAT: Red Faced Laughter/Holy Wave (the Knight House)
