Bomb the Music Industry

I've harped on and on about this band before and not just because of this awesome fan-made music video:

Or because every release they've ever done is available for free download on their website.

Or because they follow the Fugazi DIY method, cheap all-ages shows.

That all adds up, but I love them because of their goddamn fun punk and ska. Just listening to them makes you think a show would be ridiculous amounts of fun.

But that DIY methodology meant that there was probably no chance of them coming over. And then today I heard some news that made me go straight out and change my underpants twice over, because I was just that goddamn excited. Heck, as I type this now I'm smiling like a fool. 

Yes, they are coming down under. And playing with the Smith St Band. In what basically amounts to a small room. Between the Walls. On the 1st of March. I'm so goddamn excited about this. I've got goosebumps right now. I went to buy tickets the second this got announced, but they're not out yet. But never fear, I've been checking every 30 minutes or so.

I can't wait. I'll be there, probably camera in hand and still skanking like an idiot.

Free Music Friday 35!

Today's free music friday is inspired by Adam Collins, the rad dude who drums, amongst other things, for a band named Japan For. He asked me the other day for some new ska recommendations. I must admit, I was stuck for a while.

Ska is my favourite genre. Well it was, but it's taken a back seat lately for no apparent reason. Sure I still listen to it, but I don't go and actively search for it like I used to. Luckily he rekindled my yearning for it, in conjunction with the radio station 4ZZZ.

You see, just the other day I was blaring 4ZZZ while driving around doing chores and they had a visting Sydney band do an acoustic set. And that set was awesome acoustic ska.

Further investigation, and hastily written notes on my hand while driving, lead me to find out this band was called Steppin' Razor, a punk-ska-reggae band from down south. And although they aren't as active these days, they have released every song they've ever done for free on their website. You can get it all by clicking right here.

If you're a fan of Rancid, Operation Ivy, Star Fucking Hipsters or anything of that vein, I don't see any reason why you wouldn't love this as well.

Sublime (with Rome)

To me, Sublime was the soundtrack of my mid-teens, spent lounging around with my birthday buddy Tom, taking our guitars everywhere just playing music and wasting time. To this day, their reggae-ska-punk sound is my perfect summer album.

Of course, the whole Bradley Nowell death thing (RIP) happened before my time, so I never got to see them live. Over the last few years the rest of the band (who are extremely musically-gifted) have formed with a new lead singer (named Rome) to live out the Sublime legend, as well as record a new album, under the name of Sublime With Rome.

I understand what they are doing and it's still pretty good. But it will just never be the same as the original Sublime. Bradley Nowell is just one of those enigmatic people whose struggles and outlook on live is what made the music.

That being said, the new reincarnation of Sublime will be coming to Australia (for the first time in any form of the band) and it will be the only opportunity I will ever get to see these songs live.

April 5, HiFi, 18+

Moldova

Did you watch Eurovision the other weekend? I somehow got suckered into watching it. In between watching the AFL of course. And amongst the 90s boy band wannabes, there was nestled this nugget of gold:

Moldovan ska. MOLDOVAN FUCKIN' SKA. I'm a man who likes ska, and I've got a lot of ska from European countries, but none from Moldova. Look at their hats. AND IS THAT A CLARINET SOLO ON A UNICYCLE?!

Really, there's nothing about that video which doesn't pique my musical interest.

I would like to say I did the research, but no, the girl did, and she found that they are called Zdob si Zdub and they've actually been on Eurovision before. I wish I could link you to their albums (they've got a lot of gypsy influence in them and it's fun and dancey) but I can't. So instead, here's their website where you can get some of their music.

Review: Streetlight Manifesto/The Gun Runners/Chris Duke & the Royals, The Zoo, April 1 2011

Ska fans in Brisbane don't often get a chance to see their favourite music genre, so when a night like last night comes around, all the chequered and brightly coloured clothing you can hope for gets together. When it happens in the Zoo and it's an acclaimed international ska band, you know it's going to be hot, sweaty and full of skanking.

It was.

When I climbed the stairs, Sydney band Chris Duke & The Royals were taking the stage. The best way to describe them would be to call them "Australia's Less Than Jake. With a cute girl on trumpet."

They had a very fun and upbeat skapunk sound that was just like the mighty Less Than Jake. They even did silly covers, much like Less Than Jake have been doing lately, with an awesome version of the Lion King's I Just Can't Wait To Be King. And the crowd loved it. Even though it was early in the night and no one really knew the band well, there was a large crowd of people skanking it up in front of the stage.

And let's not forget, they had a very cute band member. Who could blow a mean trumpet.

As the next band started setting up, I was a little confused. They looked like a bunch of hardcore dudes. They were wearing hardcore bands' merch. They were soundchecking metal riffs. But when they started, it was just good punk (with some hardcore tendencies). And within seconds they were really getting into it.


Punk jumps were most definitely the flavour of the evening for the Gun Runners.


And karate.


There were a lot of shouted and gang vocals.





One of the guitarists also looked like Jason "Dizzy" Gillespie.


All in all though, they were a great punk band. The crowd, despite being there for ska, really enjoyed this fast punk as well. There was a lot of moshing and even a circle pit to their self-proclaimed "circle pit" song. The Gun Runners' first Brisbane show ever showed how good this punk band is. Definitely one of my favourite Australian bands now just after one night.

An absolute buttload of microphones were then set up on stage, at all different heights. This obviously meant that Streetlight Manifesto, with their massive brass section, were hitting the stage. If you've never seen Streetlight before, you're missing out. The band consists of 4 brass musicians, an excellent guitarist/vocalist, an absolutely talented bass player and a crazy drummer. All up, they are amazing musicians putting together long and epical ska songs.

The band opened up with Mephisto's Cafe and then played over an hour of songs mainly from two albums: Everything Goes Numb and Somewhere in the Between. The highlight for me was their mix of Point/Counterpoint and Keasbey Nights.


The beauty of Streetlight Manifesto is the layering of the songs. All but the drummer sing, generally at different points in the songs providing depth to the vocals, as well as multiple vocal tracks. All of the brass section very rarely play together, rather they play separate melodies that add up to the sum total of awesome.

And they have as much fun playing as the crowd has singing along. And when it comes to sing alongs, not many bands do it better than Streetlight Manifesto. Every few minutes the crowd would get together, punch their hands in their air and yell out a lyric.







After wrapping it up, to the boos of the very full Zoo crowd, they came back for a two-song encore. The first song was their only song from their new album, 99 Songs of the Revolution Volume 1. The album is a cover album, and they played NOFX's Linoleum. I'm starting to lose count of the number of bands I've seen cover this song live now, but at least they made it their own, making it a very ska number. After this, they wrapped up their 80 minute set with the song Somewhere in the Between. The band then stuck around at the end shaking hands and just being friendly.

Also, the crazy saxophonist posed for every camera that was pointed at him.


Streetlight Manifesto are one of those must-see live bands. They put on an incredible show and it's impossible not to have fun. Their last tour a few years ago saw them play to a fairly empty Tempo Bar (Bar 388 was it's name then). It's good to see them pull a much larger crowd now, without losing any of that musical magic.

Streetlight Manifesto

So I blogged about it in a rush earlier in the day, but here's the real deal now. Streetlight Manifesto.

I know a lot of you find ska a laughing matter and don't take the genre seriously. Which is understandable, there's a lot of silliness that goes on in the genre. But that's the beauty of it. It's fun as all hell. And when you throw in some absolutely amazing musicians you get a band that is as good as Streetlight Manifesto.

Streetlight has about seven people in their band, all absolutely talented. It's ridiculous. Never in the history of ska will you hear the layers and intricacies of music that you will in Streetlight. Normally you get horns playing the token part between words, all playing the same melody. Not in Streetlight. The horn section itself consists of 3 to 4 musicians all playing different and intricate parts that works together to make some beautiful, beautiful sounds. And when I play it to my more classical trained muso friends, they occasionally point out the fact that there's some very, very classical pieces woven in.

Enough fan boy gushing. They're about to embark on a world tour, and we get the last week of it in Australia.
April 1st. The Zoo. If you like any sort of punk (not even ska) check out their album Somewhere in the Between. It's just brilliant.

Website
MySpace

Streetlight Manifesto

It's not often I get the scoop on a concert announcement, but I somehow stumbled across this one. My favourite ska band of all time, Streetlight Manifesto, is playing the Zoo, April 1st next year. It could be an April Fools joke, but there's also a date for Perth on April 2.

Mar 31, 2011 Auckland, New Zealand Kings Arms
Apr 1, 2011 Brisbane, Australia The Zoo
Apr 2, 2011 Perth, Australia Rosemount Hotel
Apr 3, 2011 Adelaide, Australia Enigma Bar
Apr 6, 2011 Sydney, Australia The Gaelic Hotel
Apr 8, 2011 Newcastle, Australia Cambridge Hotel

Full blog post to follow after work and when I stop screaming like a little Japanese school girl in excitement.

MySpace: www.myspace.com/streetlightmanifesto

Free Music Friday 4! (THE BUMPER HOLY-CRAP-THAT'S A LOT OF MUSIC EDITION)

This week's free music Friday comes courtesy of Kasun, he reminded me just how much I used to love this band. Introducing, Bomb the Music Industry!

Apart from having an awesome name they also have awesome song names, such as:

• "I'm Too Cooooool For Music"
• Never Trust a Man Without a Horribly Embarassing Secret
• Showerbeers!
• Side Projects are Never Successful

Their style is a mish-mash of punk, ska and hardcore punk. They will play anything that they feel like and they'll always do it having fun. Hell, their first music video was an acoustic style of mainstream radio alternative rock song.

These guys are also the epitome of independent, DIY punk. They play shows for less than $10. They record and put everything out themselves. They probably even make their own goddamn merch. And the best part is, they've always released their music for free. Every song ever. On their website: http://bombthemusicindustry.tumblr.com/ Just scroll halfway down and every album is on the left.

Their live show is crazy fun. They got voted best live act at The Fest this year. And if you don't know the Fest, well check this out: http://www.thefestfl.com/ So many bands I've been hyping lately. I wish I was in Florida for it.

Blowhard best of!

Brisbane's best ska band of the last few decades, without fail, has been Blowhard. Not that there's much competition.

On November 9 they will be releasing their best of compilation, with 34 awesome ska tracks. As part of the launch, they will be playing a show at the Jubilee on November 13,featuring bands such as Ringpull, Fun With Explosives and Vaginabillies! Go local ska!

Reel Big Fish/The Aquabats

It's not often we get a ska show coming through town, so when we do, I have to cherish it. I get out all my chequered clothing and get my skank on. Even if, like this tour, it's Reel Big Fish coming out to flog the dead horse that is their back catalogue.

Don't get me wrong, everyone probably knows of the ska that is Reel Big Fish. And they have some great songs, generally about drinking and girlfriends. They are a great party band with a tight live show, and it's great to go see with a few drinks for a good time. They've just put out no new material in the last 4 years, instead releasing live albums and what seems to be the same songs recorded over and over again.

But the reason I'll probably go to this show, is the Aquabats:

A ska/pop-punk band comprising of superheroes who are trying to save the world from lame music (and bad fashion, if you watch the video above)! I missed them at Soundwave this year to go see A Wilhelm Scream, so I am looking forward to finally catching their live show.

The biggest ska show of 2010 is happening December 2nd at the Tivoli. 18+. It's an excellent dance floor there, so bring your best skanking shoes and baggy trousers.

The Real Deal/Dan Potthast tour

The Real Deal hail from the great snowy north of Canada, and proclaim themselves as Party Punk... think a bit of ska, a bit of skate punk and sounding a lot like Goldfinger.

They put out a pretty solid album last year called Fun, which pretty much explains what they are all about. It must be doing ok for them, because they are deciding to tour down under, bringing out American Dan Potthast with them.

Dan was originally the lead singer of ska band Mu330, but now he goes around doing his style of acoustic punk and ska. Just him and his guitar. I saw him open a few years ago for Streetlight Manifesto, and although people were talking over him, he put on an amazing show. I never knew ska could sound so good with just an acoustic guitar.

Catch them at the Jubille Hotel on November 11th, 18+.

The Real Deal
Dan

Soundwave 2011

Soundwave has to be one of my favourite festivals. Ever since it's inception back in the day (07) I've gone to everyone in Brisbane and even to other cities. It combines a lot of the genres I love in punk, metal, hardcore and alternative rock. It also helps bring out bands you don't get to always see in Australia.

It's pretty much hit the big time now and the organisers have started leaking out bands one at a time on Triple J's Full Metal Racket and Short Fast Loud. As of now, the bands announced have yet to get me overly excited like every year before. They are:

Kylesa
The Blackout
The Ataris
Trash Talk
All That Remains
Less than Jake
Veara
There for Tomorrow
Mad Caddies
A Skylit Drive
The Sword
Asking Alexandria

I find myself asking "who?" with half of this line up. Not to mention the fact that two of these bands have already played the Soundwave festival before. I'm excited by Less than Jake and Mad Caddies, as I have an excessive obsession with Ska. Less Than Jake missed Brisbane last time they were here, due to bad flights. I'm also excited by the thrash hardcore of Trash Talk who didn't come on the last Boys of Summer tour like they were supposed to.

I'm hoping that there are some way better bands on the upcoming announcement, or I may not go next year. I hate putting up with festival crowds for some mediocre genre-copying bands.

Oh, and AJ (the organiser), if you some how read this, get Primus on it. You've been promising it for way too long now.

The Brisbane leg of the tour is the 26th of February next year. No venue announcement yet.

Bedouin Soundclash

Today's slightly-different-band-you've-probably-never-heard-of- but-are-still-coming-to-do-a-headline-tour-of-Australia-is Bedouin Soundclash.


These Canadians combine dub and reggae, with a sound that has elements of ska in it. It's upbeat and cheerful. I saw them play a few songs at Soundwave '09 not knowing who they were, and I found myself tapping my foot along and enjoying it immensely.

They are playing October 15 at the Zoo, 18+.

MySpace