Happy end-of-Summer, y’all!!! Take that however you wish, but I for one am super-psyched for the Fall….fuck this crazy heat, fuck Summer woes, fuck Shania Twain, and fuck you too! Being a good sport n all, I’m prepared to enjoy one last wave of Summer and then let’s move on to the uber-beautiful Autumnal glaze…

HAVING SAID THAT, not all of us have even experienced the “Summer” yet.

Out west in NorCal Country, our Bay Area Brethren are just now gearing up for their Summer, which pretty much starts around now/early September, and you know what that means? More crackheads! More BBQs! More casual sex! More crackheads!

And so, in honor of our besties out westies, I present to you a few smatterings of tings to get your Bay Area Summer in gear…

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Seattle’s Akimbo seem like they should be easy to classify, but many subtle elements of various aggressive sub-genres find their way into the band’s crushing sound and offer inviting ears a few curve-balls along the way. Guitarist Aaron Walters [one of ELEVEN axe-slingers over the band's career (!)] claims in the below interview that the explanation started out as “Black Sabbath meets Black Flag meets The Melvins”, which is pretty spot-on in representing the stony thump-grooves/rawkish punk asthetic/noiseful attributes, but I feel compelled to throw a couple more names in the hat, most notably Motorhead (so many parts are teeming with Lemmy’s uptempo forward-thrusting momentum) and local angular heart-core heros Botch [whose bassist Brian Cook went on to pummel in MS faves These Arms Are Snakes (RIP) and space-proggateers Russian Circles]. Bluesy, fuzzed-out Zeppelin-y jamouts meld with abrasive sludge to forge a style that is instantly familiar but somehow unexpectedly original in the songwriting.

These daze Akimbo has refined their sound and create a more soothing heavy-scape, as exemplified by their most recent 2008 album Jersey Shores, “a concept album inspired by a series of mysterious shark attacks which occurred on the beaches of New Jersey in 1916. This latest effort showed a substantial deviation in style from previous recordings, which can be attributed in part to Aaron Walters’ contributions as a guitarist/writer.” (Wiki) Original founding members Jon Weisnewski (bass, vocals) and Nat Damm (drums) continue to sustain a furious and punishing rhythm section while exploring new textures throughout.

Funny that they released this album the year before another Jersey Shore became such a huge worldwide phenomenon — I’m sure Akimbo has been hearing all about that for quite some time now, probably both to their amusement and chagrin.

Speaking of which, have you seen poof’d tanster tits Snooki get punched in the face from last season? Now that’s metal.

Visit Akimbo on Everyone’sSpace

Read previous Akimbo posts by Vince and moi, and Christopher Roddy’s review of Jersey Shores

Let’s all sludge past the, whatchamacallit……oh yeah, jumpppp, for more Akimbo live videos and an interview.

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Nocturno reluctantly welcomed us into Hair Metal Week kicking and screaming, so this sappy finale is largely for him.  And those of you who like cheese.  A lot.

There’s been a lot of talk this week about what kind of sound does or does not make a band “glam” or “hair metal” or whatever the hell else you want to call it, but it’s also important to mention that for many of us the stinky cheese factor plays a huge role as well. So many of the bands in question were SO over-the-top ridiculous in their lyrics/music/attitude/wardrobe/etc. that it’s often unpossible to think about hair metal without associating how cheesy it all is.  Granted, this trend started in the 80s, so ample fromage is to be expected, but at the end of the day, doesn’t the corniness help define the genre itself?  Unless if some of you actually think that hair metal is unironically “cool”, which is okay I guess — we’re all entitled to our opinions, even if they’re wrong.

Regardless of where your tastes lie, we should all be able to agree that nowhere does the cheese fly nearly as much as in the power ballads of yesteryear…

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Pull my finger and I’ll take you on a journey to musical parody of the highest order……if you or your gay boyfriend have never sat down and watched the movie This is Spinal Tap straight through you are surely missing out, but bear in mind one of the key components in truly grasping the brilliance of this film is to be emotionally connected to this thing we call rock n’ roll. Sure, I suppose plenty of fuddy-duddies out there will cavort a chuckle or two regardless, but anyone who does or ever has has taken rock music seriously with a capital Ssssssss will find this shit unbearably uproarious…

After the jump, a collection of Tap classics and the trailer for the “documentary” itself…

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Ever wonder where that sick band Torche came from?

At the heart of that crunchy uptempo feel-good Florida trio (once-quartet) is a man by the name of Steve Brooks on guitar and vocals, who also had a hand in creating another energetic & anthemic Florida stoner doom relic by the name of Floor.

Floor went through several lineup changes through its on again-off again tempestuous run from 1992 to 2004, but the constant of Brooks kept the sound grounded (mostly) in a pretty distinguishable style that puts the vigorously vibrant energy of each song in the foreground and drops hooks aplenty.

And yes, in case you’re wondering, Floor got a hell of a lot sludgier and heavier than Torche typically does.

The band has reunited for a few shows in support of their recently-released massively-sized box set, pictured below (ten 12″ LPs, one 7″ EP, 8 CDs, 32-page booklet…..take that, LoG!) called Below and Beyond, which you can order right here.

They played Chicago last Tuesday and Philly last night (sorry for the late notice!), and are going to rock the fuck out of Brooklyn tonight at Club Europa…

Visit Floor on OurSpace

-KW

There are sooooooooooooooo many choice Hendrix cuts that picking just one to post is no easy feat. But I have managed to choose a rare live version of a classic that first stirred my soul way back in 7th grade, and still does it for me to this day…

BONUS VIDEO: JIMI & STEVIE WONDER (on drumz!) JAMMING IN THE STUDIO!!!!!

-KW

WUT WUT

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Until last year, I had no idea what a frickin Juggalo was. And I’m still pretty goddamn perplexed by the whole scene…..whwhwhwhy???

I always knew that the Insane Clown Posse existed but (for obvious reasons) avoided their klown-a-verse like a 3-ring plague. And now that I’ve finally heard their “music” I can wholeheartedly say that they are straight-up terrible — I can only imagine how retarded the fans who are buying this po-dunk rap shtick must be. Yeah I said it, no secret how awful this ICP nonsense is…….COME ON!!!!!!

And yet I can’t help but ponder that if this world was a just place, the most appropriate soundtrack for a band with demented circus leanings should be BUNGLE.

Next year marks the 20th anniversary of that first amazing Mr. Bungle album, and it still sounds as revolutionary and fresh as ever. Required listening for Mike Patton fans.

The entire Mr. Bungle debut album after the jump.  Bigtop this, bitches.

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When I was stuck on a mandatory extended vacation in Amsterdam a few weeks ago, I puffed my fair share of you-know-what and sought out plenty of live music.  But one of my favorite bands I saw was a random, unexpected one….Wooden Shjips from San Francisco just happened to be psychedelically rockin it one night at the Paradiso after the bands I was there to see, and they did not disappoint.

All the ridonkulous weed & hash may have helped a bit too.

Check out Wooden Shjips on MySpace and their Aquarius Records page.

-KW

Ginger Baker, that is…

RARE LIVE FOOTAGE AFTER THE JUMMMMMMMP…….

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Sacramento’s Times of Desperation are a frenetic, thunderous two-piece who pummel and destroy.

I have had the good fortune of crossing paths with their live shows a couple times before in Seattle, and each time it was both difficult to make sense of what the fuck was happening and impossible to not drop one’s jaw to the floor…..there is so much fury and contained chaos in every epic song, and while that can be a bit much for some, it truly has to be seen to be believed.

I suspect some of you may scoff at the boomy, shite-quality recordings up on the band’s MySpace page, but if you can look past that there are many insane musical things happening for your listening pleasure.

-KW

For a long time, outside of some dazzling old-school stuff, I became pretty resistant to the “art” of speed shredding…..obvs it’s impressive when a musician can wail and zip around the fretboard, but that rarely exemplifies SOUL, which is crucial for speaking to this guy’s musical heart.

Having said thaaat, I’ve recently re-opened up a bit to maniac shredders, even love me some young tigers to death. DEATH!!!!!!!!!!

But the below guys border on rishdickulous…..unless if you’re just entertaining the fam at jome — what’s the point?

Tiago Della Vega shreds on MySpace…..eh

-KW

This manaical Mextremist metal band (originally co-formed by Dino from Fear Factory) of marauding drug traffickers on the run from the FBI, forced to conceal their identities (as legend goes), scares me!!

But you’re a tough guy, right?

So then why haven’t you purchased tickets yet to catch a rare opportunity of these guys playing live?? Oh, you don’t live in a city they are planning on decimating?

Get in your car, on a train, plane, spaceship……just make sure you bring yr blade, holmes.

Thug out to Brujeria on TheirSpace

-KW

Instrumetal proggateers East of the Wall want another round of meat.

And that’s not just because they are a bunch of raging h-moes who love sausage; this undeniably impressive outfit from smelly NJ have so much happening on their musical plate that they simply cannot be sated by one serving.

Fanciful guitars dancing fluidly together, nimble basswork that isn’t afraid to get high, sharp anchored drumming that glues the whole thing together…..this band was somehow not on my radar until the recent South by South Drunk debacle, but rest assured from this point forward I’m extremely eager to see where these uber-creative folk take their powerful sound.

Plenty more tracks from these meat-hungry maniacs on their MySpace page…

And don’t forget to check out their prior group The Postman Syndrome (which is about to release a previously unavailable album, whoahhhhhh)

-KW

I don’t know what the weather is like where you are, but here in New York, it’s “Time to build an ark”-type rain. I don’t think I’ll be venturing outside much. Which means lots and lots of time to smoke.

So what song better to smoke to than “Dopesmoker,” which a) has the activity right there in the title, b) is the greatest middle finger ever held up by an artist to a major record label,  and c) is over an hour long and will therefore still be playing by the time I need a refresher? Sure, it’s a little cliché, but some things are clichés for a reason, y’know?

Here’s part one. Parts two through seven are after the jump.

-AR

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Get yr swirl on kiiiiiiid…

(and yr whirl too)

-KW

I’m not puffing today, but this band makes me feel like I’m high anyway.  Check em out on MySpace, with or without ganja…

-KW

Maybe your betrothed decided to leave you behind this Valentine’s Day and run off to Europe or Egypt or wherever on their own adventure sans YOU ……..maybe you’re lying next to yr esweetie right now locked in loving embrace/fellatio……..maybe you have no significant other and you’re sitting by yourself concocting a heartattack pizza on the Domino’s website……… Whatever the case may be in this crazy mixed-up world of ours, rest assured your naughty Uncle Kip has selected a few tunes to get the blood flowing in the right direction:

BLACK MOUNTAIN — “Don’t Run Our Hearts Around” from Black Mountain (2005)………a stonery reminder to take care of those vulnerable hearts you love to toy with

MY BLOODY VALENTINE — “Only Shallow” from Loveless (1991)…………seminal shoegazers encourage only the shallowest of romantic encounters

LAMB OF GOD — “Beating on Death’s Door” from Sacrament (2006)…………….the proof is in the banana pudding lyrics (“Be careful what you wish for….you whore….She’s all yours now, so deal with it”) — Randy done had his girlfriend stoled? I have always been struck by the unexpected raw emotion in this song and continue hoping that LoG will someday once again open up like this.

Have a METAL St. Valentine’s Day, wherever you are…

-KW

-KW

Silver pants aside, Trans Am’s music (the early stuff in particular) carved an original and challenging sound from the get-go……the band somehow merged punkish sensibilities with electronic soundscapes with unexpected chops, and the result was a unique, forward-thinking stylistic adventure.

But it’s hard to accurately analyze these guys based on just one album; they’ve been around for so long now that it seems essential to note the various shifts and phases their sound has gone through. From the polished freight train self-titled debut powerhouse to the stripped-down might of The Surveillance to the dynamic ebb-and-flow of Surrender to the Night to the electroclash assault of Red Line to the vocoder-iffic travels of Futureworld and beyond…..Trans Am’s sound has (or had, up til a couple albums ago) consistently evolved leaps and bounds with each offering, a trait I for one almost always value in and of itself.

Some of you may disagree, but I personally think that the band’s recent efforts have fallen a bit short given the incredible foundation they had established. I guess we’re all entitled to our opinions, even if they’re wrong.

TRANS AM — “Ballbados” from Trans Am (1996)

TRANS AM — “American Kooter” from Trans Am (1996)

TRANS AM — “Love Commander” from Surrender to the Night (1997)

TRANS AM — “Carboforce” from Surrender to the Night (1997)

TRANS AM — “Surrender to the Night” from Surrender to the Night (1997)

TRANS AM — “Armed Response” from The Surveillance (1998)

TRANS AM – “Futureworld” from Futureworld (1999)

TRANS AM – “Cocaine Computer” from Futureworld (1999)

TRANS AM — “I Want it All” from Red Line (2000)

TRANS AM — “Village in Bubbles” from Red Line (2000)

TRANS AM – “Play in the Summer” from Red Line (2000)

-KW