Archives: May 2020
Sharkanoid
In late April, Sharkanoid released their second album, titled Deathbox. The band’s primary members are singer/guitarist Dan Potthast, (MU330) and singer/bassist Rick Johnson, (Mustard Plug). Several other musicians also appeared on Deathbox, including drummer Ted Moll, (MU330). We recently spoke with Potthast and talked about the collaboration process for this record. We also discussed the inspiration for some of the songs and how the current political climate was a major influence. Additionally, we conversed about the album’s title, how the pandemic is impacting the band’s future plans and more.
Continue Reading…
The Blind Staggers – “Party Friends”
In early February, The Blind Staggers released their latest album, Doing Alright… Considering. We’re premiering the video for one of the record’s songs above, called “Party Friends.” When addressing the video’s concept, singer Laura Zielinski said “We were all just missing getting together, having band practice and playing shows. We wanted to do something fun while we are all stuck at home on lockdown and get a few good laughs in.” Within weeks of the album’s release, the current pandemic began to take shape and the band’s touring plans had to be shelved. In spite of this, guitarist/singer Damien Christian Wilburn remains optimistic, explaining “I’m stoked that we were all able to shoot this from our homes and create something while not being able to get together in person. Everything is very heavy right now. If you’re not stressed, you’re at least bored. We just hoped to entertain some people and maybe make some folks smile.”
In many ways, the song “Party Friends” is representative of the album as a whole. “It sums up what this record is about for me,” Wilburn said. “There were a lot of personal things going on within the band during the writing of this album. Laura and Tony, (guitarist Tony Lee) got married and moved to Denver. I had quit drinking and working at the bar I called home for ten years. So, there was a lot of uncertainty. Change was coming, but there was a strong desire to hold on to what matters – good times with good friends.” Zielinski added, “It seemed like a fitting tune for the time and for us as a band right now. We’re all getting older and priorities are changing, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know how to have a good time. Because believe me, we do. And that’s a lot of what this new album is about.”
Compared to their previous work, Doing Alright… Considering is arguably The Blind Staggers’ strongest material to date. “We feel it’s the best record we’ve put out. We’ve grown as band and as musicians over the last ten years. This record leans much more rock ‘n’ roll than it does country/Americana, which was a conscious choice as much as a natural progression,” Wilburn said. He continued, “We decided that we can basically write whatever we want because it will always sound like ‘us,’ so everything became more open. Lyrically it’s very much in the same vein as our previous albums. It’s still about dealing with our lives and the choices we’ve made, for better or worse. We’re just the people sitting next to you at the bar with a couple stories to tell. Always have been.” Check out the video for “Party Friends” above and visit Bandcamp to purchase the album.
Follow The Blind Staggers on Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify
Sam Russo – Back to the Party
Red Scare – Release Date: 3/27/20
Solo folk/punker Sam Russo returns with his third full-length, Back to the Party, from Red Scare Industries. It’s been five years since we’ve heard new music from Sam and the title has me wondering if it’s a double entendre. Is this a return or does he have his back turned? Eagerly listening, Russo introduces himself gradually, with a somber cello at first, a building electric guitar and then switches to his trusty rhythmic acoustic chords. He contends with his own stagnation and breaks through his familiar parameters to reach for something more. But it isn’t always easy or feasible, and “The Window” successfully conveys this. It is only appropriate that this melodic song, laden with hooks, is the album’s highlighted single via music video.
Russo visits familiar motifs to his songwriting such as reconciliation and leaving, in “Good and Gone.” At his August 29th show at the GMan Tavern in Chicago, he laughingly clarified that the line, “and you can tell Ray I said fuck you / He can stick his job up his ass,” is not in fact about Ray Carlisle from Teenage Bottlerocket. His sincerity is cut with a crass brazenness, making sure the most serious of songs remain unpretentious and honest. “Darkness” serves as something of an interlude; the album’s shortest song with no chorus. Almost dreamlike, Russo laments in solitude, but not just physically. Rather, he recalls drowning as your friends surround you, and none of them notice. This is a sobering track of solemnity; evocative and deeply personal.
I believe one of the greatest songwriting talents a musician is capable of is the ability to vividly walk the listener through a lived scenario, so that we may experience it with every bit of detail as they did. Russo surrenders to that honest candor and achieves this. In “Anne,” the protagonist takes off on a train and the listener is taken on a lonesome, teary-eyed walk up the station’s stairs, feeling the freezing weather and chilling winds – a complement to the profoundly emotional lyrics. Who the hell is she? The second single is the album’s closer, “The Basement.” Russo ebbs and flows as he emotes, trading off between softly and loudly, and channeling a pop punk energy thus far unique to his songwriting style.
Back to the Party is an empath’s breath of fresh air. Russo delves deep into himself and does not wrap it up with a bow. Alas, I’m left wondering about the double entendre.
– Jason Duarte
Nos Da
In late March, Nos Da released their self-titled debut album via Recess Records. The band’s lineup is comprised of singer/guitarist Isaac Thotz, (The Arrivals/Treasure Fleet) bassist/singer Jamie Morrison, (Pale Angels) and drummer Mike “Jimmy” Felix, (Toys That Kill). Since making the record, they’ve added Victoria Yarnish on Moog and Jacob Gaxiola on guitar. We recently caught up with Thotz and talked about how the band got together and how the album was made. We also discussed what some of the songs are about, their tentative plans for the future and more.
Continue Reading…PEEL – No Pain
Last month, Chicago’s PEEL released their fourth album, called No Pain. They also recently debuted a video for one of the record’s songs, “Ballad of Dougie Ramone.” In terms of the video’s concept, the band drew inspiration from British television shows like The Old Grey Whistle Test and Top of the Pops. When asked about his thoughts as to how the video turned out, singer/guitarist Kyle Hickey said “The video is a pretty accurate portrayal of catching a bit of one of our shows, but from a safe distance like behind the splash wall at Sea World.”
PEEL recorded No Pain at Jamdek Recording Studio with Doug Malone, where they also made their last album. When speaking about their experience in the studio, singer/guitarist Pete Mueller said “We tracked all the songs in a day and a half, did most of the lead vocals the last half of the second day and then the third day, as I remember it, was just getting drunk and laying down auxiliary percussion, guitar solo harmonies, screams and feedback.” He continued, “We usually work pretty fast and this album was no different. Doug has a super laid-back attitude, which extends to his studio and it made working on this album a goddamn delight.”
Compared to their previous work, No Pain is likely PEEL’s fastest record yet. It also illustrates the band’s relaxed approach. “I think this is the album where we let go of whatever final shred of caring was left in us. And I mean that in a good way. If we thought of something funny in the studio to do on a song, we just did it to make each other laugh, and most of that ended up on the album,” Mueller said. Check out the video for “Ballad of Dougie Ramone” above and listen to No Pain in its entirety below.
Follow Us
-
