News, reviews, interviews. http://www.nadamucho.com 2008-07-06T13:55:32+01:00 text/html 2008-07-02T13:59:44+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/reviews/album_reviews/excerpts_from_a_drunken_memoir_masquerading_as_a_review_of_the_roots_listening_party.html Excerpts from a Drunken Memoir Masquerading as a Review of the Roots' Listening Party for their new CD, Rising Down, at Neumo's on June 5, 2008 ...After we stumbled out of the Rendezvous into the backseat of the cab, I punched in the number for The Trucks' promotions pimp down in Portland, an avowed connoisseur of all things sexy and Scottish, and handed the phone to Kevin. While he purred to her in his Glaswegian brogue, I pulled my finished review of the listening party we were supposedly en route to from my jacket pocket and squinted at what I'd scribbled during Anita Goodmann's show. Not too awful, considering that it was more of a rambling love letter to my various demons and indiscretions than an imagined account of the events about to unfold at Neumo's. text/html 2008-06-24T14:25:57+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/columns/conflict_of_interest/we_made_a_cd_sounds_from_the_seattle_underground_release_imminent.html Global Seepej Records and NadaMucho.com began within a year of each other in the mid 90s, but it wasn't until 2003 that the two independent organizations crossed paths. Nada High Potentate Matt Ashworth received the debut At the Spine album, The Curriculum is Never Neutral, at his basement office in Kent, Washington and quickly invited the band to play New Music Monday, a weekly showcase for emerging local bands. Within months, Ashworth and ATS front man and Global Seepej head Mike Toschi formed an informal partnership based on their shared love of music and community. After discussing the idea for a few years, Ashworth caught Toschi on the phone drinking enough free beer to agree to put out the compilation. Songs from the Seattle Underground is the first recorded manifestation of that partnership. text/html 2008-06-10T02:33:14+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/reviews/movie_reviews/stay_metal_chris_klepac_on_heavy_metal_in_baghdad.html Heavy Metal in Baghdad (http://www.heavymetalinbaghdad.com/) is a wakeup call for musicians, music fans, and Americans of all kinds who have grown numb to the terrible news coming out of Iraq. There have been so many powerful Iraq documentaries of late (Taxi To the Dark Side, Standard Operating Procedure, Body of War) that it's hard to imagine being deeply affected by one more, and even harder to look forward to the experience. However, anyone who loves bands or has ever been in one should consider this film required viewing. Acrassicauda (Latin for black scorpion ) is a heavy metal band made up of four friends from Baghdad who love Metallica, Slayer, and the release that comes from rocking out. The folks at Vice magazine became aware of them in 2003 and began to follow the band's progress, filming them in Baghdad and eventually Syria. Heavy Metal in Baghdad is built from four years of footage of Acrassicauda rehearsing, recording, performing, and simply trying... text/html 2008-06-05T17:33:44+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/reviews/album_reviews/vacillating_meter_-_local_band_with_terrible_name_makes_solid_debut.html Indecisive Rhythm Tales from the Dumpster [May 2008; Self Release] Indecisive Rhythm is the brainchild of Amy Mustoe, who has been working the Seattle scene for more than five years with various incarnations of her power pop trio. The band’s sound (lovingly referred to as ‘dumpster pop’) has undergone a series of changes over the years, but with its current and longest-standing line-up, IR seems ready to prove itself as one of Seattle’s best performing acts. text/html 2008-05-22T16:54:59+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/live/music/folklife_preview_orkestar_zirkoniums_balkan_brass.html We can assume that many unusual and surprising things happened on Capitol Hill last Halloween. Even if bombs had dropped from the sky, though, it probably could not have overshadowed Orkestar Zirkonium (http://www.orkestarzirkonium.com/), a 14-piece brass marching band, playing the strange, sad, yet frenetic music of Southeast Europe’s Roma to people out in the streets that night. Marching down 12th Avenue from Cal Anderson Park, the percussion rattling and the tuba adding inertia with syncopated bass lines, the band paused outside True Value Hardware, had “a rousing time” in The Wild Rose, the famous Capitol Hill lesbian bar, and stormed down the aisles of QFC before the night was over. “You can imagine what people thought,” said Kevin Hinshaw, clarinetist and founding member. “Not just a 14-piece marching band, but 40 strange people following us—who then paraded through the produce aisle and back out the door.” text/html 2008-05-15T22:39:05+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/reviews/album_reviews/tax_-_some_gypsy_folk_to_buy_with_your_stimulus_check.html Aranos (http://brainwashed.com/aranos/) - Tax Pieros 2007 Capitalism. The word provokes serious political debate. The kind that is best avoided in the company of surly foreign nationals at your local watering hole. Nevertheless, the topic has made for some great anti-establishment songwriting, even if it is hackneyed and polemic these days. Or is it? It's safe to say that 21st Century America wasn't deceived (http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6107) for the first time when the phrase fuzzy math driveled from our fearless leaders' lips in 2000. See, today's free market economy has plenty of new virtues. Like rewarding corporate America for disguising our sweatshop textile dependency with arrogant globalization tactics. Like utilizing today's trade programs to exploit cheap labor abroad. Meanwhile, tell folks in Detroit that unemployment is better now (http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=108 subsecID=900003 contentID=253800) than in the 1980s and you might find yourself walking away backwards...very slowly. text/html 2008-05-13T01:38:13+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/reviews/album_reviews/the_celebrity_orphans.html The Celebrity Orphans - The Celebrity Orphans Self Released (2008) If sex came in tubes of toothpaste, The Celebrity Orphans (http://www.myspace.com/thecelebrityorphans)squeeze out 39 minutes worth on their new self-titled album. Up-tempo rocksters like Hello, You Got Nothin, and Let Me Tell You are ferociously danceable with BC Campbell (http://www.bccampbellmusic.com/) and company telling the entire world just who's doing the messin' around now. Take a listen to slinky Hello and you can imagine mister broken-heart deciding he was done being the victim: notify my next of kin...cause you and me are gonna sin. Or take the delta-bluesy Let Me Tell You where BC announces, Listen my pretty to my little ditty cuz what do you got to lose? Slow burners like Broken Night and I Need You (with beautiful, haunting back-up vocals from... text/html 2008-05-13T01:26:31+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/reviews/album_reviews/tapes_n_tapes_sophomore_release_nestles_nicely_in_modern_indie_category.html Tapes n' Tapes - Walk it Off Beggars Xl Recording (2008) The buzz around Tapes n' Tapes (http://www.tapesntapes.com/) is that they were one of the first blog bands brought to real world fame by an enthusiastic Internet campaign. The truth is that they are just some nice boys who met at Minnesota's Carleton College and put out a couple of albums of catchy indie rock that is somehow both austere and funky. 2005's The Loon introduced a mix of earnest, slightly goofy confusion and tight, ornate rock songs that hearkened back to Spoon, The Feelies, and The Pixies. Their second LP, Walk It Off, is more lush but hardly more subdued. text/html 2008-05-02T00:22:06+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/reviews/album_reviews/back_to_the_future_black_mountain_revive_stoner_rock_release_album_of_the_year.html Black Mountain- In the Future Jagjaguwar Records (http://www.jagjaguwar.com/) (2008) If you would have told me six months ago that I’d spend the first half of 2008 gushing over a record steeped in the classic rock sounds of the 70s I would have probably scoffed pretentiously and muttered something about the forthcoming Magnetic Fields album. Enter In the Future: the sophomore release from Canadian retro-rock revivalists Black Mountain (http://www.blackmountainarmy.com/). Ten perfectly executed tracks of booming, intricate rock and spooky folk woven in to a flawless tapestry of awesomeness. text/html 2008-04-22T02:16:43+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/reviews/album_reviews/the_beltholes_-_probably_stuck_gum_under_your_desk_in_high_school.html The Beltholes (http://www.thebeltholes.com/) For Whom the Beltholes Burn Burn Burn Records (2007) By Red Lehman I had no idea how to start this review. I considered an analogy to being “on the last belt hole” after eating too much turkey or mentioning that the album has a sample of “Stayin’ Alive,” mentions Eddie and the Cruisers and ends with the word “cocaine” and a cat’s meow. None of these sounded opener-worthy. Thankfully, when the band took the stage during a recent Tractor Tavern appearance, guitarist Kurt Bloch summed it up nicely: “If the last song wasn’t your thing, then your song is coming up next.” text/html 2008-04-17T00:53:28+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/features/peep_p-town_yo/peep_p-town_a_quick_look_at_the_portland_music_scene.html Derby Derby (http://www.myspace.com/derbyrock) has spent the past four years in virtual training, preparing and patiently waiting their turn to fight for the prize and win the girl. However some have wondered if Derby is ever going to really reach their moment of truth. Well, dear Derbsters, your time has come! By the time their new record, Posters Fade, hits iPods and record stores this summer, you'd better take cover and try to catch one last glimpse of the Derby rocket as it blasts off. text/html 2008-04-15T13:09:04+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/features/promote_this_beeyatch/promote_this_-_a_kid_named_paul_on_a_kid_named_thompson.html A Kid Named Thompson I Want To Wake Up Self-released, 2007 A Kid Named Thompson (http://www.myspace.com/akidnamedthompson) brings to the collective rock table a uniquely Texas-punk meets emo-core CD that delivers the goods. I Want to Wake Up features quality production and thoughtful lyrics backed by a three piece that sounds like they’ve been around, although I suspect these Texas kids are new to the rock game. The lyrics have the polish that reflects the agility of an Xbox generation eager to add to the already crowded room that holds Emo bands in the highest regard. I distinctly hear the talent and agility, but I also hear reflections of Sunny Day Real Estate arm wrestling with Motion City Soundtrack in the back-stage parking lot at a Van’s Warped Tour show in SoCal.... text/html 2008-04-08T01:54:49+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/reviews/album_reviews/the_pack_a.d._-__two_rugged_cowgirls_make_their_mark_on_rock-n-roll.html The Pack A.D. - Tintype 2007 Mint Records The Pack A.D. (http://www.myspace.com/thepackad) is a duo from British Columbia championing the old-skool sound. Each track on their 2007 release Tintype, on Vancouver's Mint Records (http://www.mintrecords.com/), is a blast of raw emotion and minimalist technique. Maya Miller Becky Black, drums and guitar/vocals respectively, have managed to bring together a unique vision for the tried-and-true duo-rock approach (White Stripes, Black Keys, The Shotgun). They keep it simple and maintain a blues ethos that could be traced straight back to the likes of Robert Johnson by way of Howlin Wolf, Etta James, Tammy Wynette, and Chan Marshall. text/html 2008-03-30T19:38:54+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/live/music/dropkick_murphys_bring_out_andy_bookwalter’s_secret_skinhead.html Dropkick Murphys at Showbox Sodo (http://www.showboxonline.com/newwebsite/fullcalendar.html) February 28, 2008 Dropkick Murphys (http://www.dropkickmurphys.com) are the greatest band in the world, and I’ll stab anyone who says otherwise. Lumped in with plenty of great-but-inferior street punk bands like The Swingin’ Utters, Flogging Molly and The Bouncing Souls, DKM remind me what punk rock meant before my life crushed my delicate spirit. I was a small town teenage slacker in the early 80’s, and punk promised me a community and an escape from suburban mediocrity. Punk then broke that promise, as will any subculture based on teen angst and beer. After a few years of watching one dive punk bar after another become condos and parking lots, I got bitter. Then one day I heard “Cadence To Arms,” the opening shot from DKM’s Do or Die and it all came back to me. text/html 2008-03-24T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/live/music/south_by_southwest_diary_day_3_-_ecstatically_peaceful.html SXSW - Day 3 Recap Friday, March 14 It's Friday morning and the bloody marys are flowing like mountain spring water at the Red Eyed Fly. We show up as the club doors open and start chugging the vegetable-fortified beverages, a plastic cup in each free hand. Eight essential vitamins plus vodka, what more could you ask for? The Magic Bullets, hailing from San Francisco, take the stage. There's nothing new about their sound, but the gangly lead singer (whose wingspan might rival Kevin Garnett's) does a nice job of captivating the crowd by swaying back and forth like an alder tree in a windstorm. text/html 2008-03-26T02:11:50+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/live/music/wig_fits_all_heads_celebrates_birth_of_3-headed_hydra_baby.html The Wig Fits All Heads Bday Bash! With: Shim, Das Llamas, Birdmonster, Hockey March 28, 2008 High Dive - Seattle Local wordsmith shop The Wig Fits All Heads (http://www.myspace.com/thewigfitsallheads) celebrates its fourth year of existence with commensurrate shows, including this Friday's gig at The High Dive (http://www.highdiveseattle.com) with local heavies Shim (http://www.myspace.com/shim), Das Llamas (http://www.myspace.com/dasllamas), Birdmonster (http://www.myspace.com/birdmonster), and Hockey (http://www.myspace.com/hockey). But what is The Wig? It's the lively and growing three-headed baby of Seattle University alum Ashley Graham. Head No.1: A Seattle-based website featuring writing about music -- interviews, live reviews, album reviews, previews, occasional rants. Sorta like a little place you already know and love (http://www.nadamucho.com). Head No.2: Concert promoter (http://www.thewigfitsallheads.com) booking local bands (and the occasional out-of-stater) at venues about the city. Head No. 3: Indie pr firm (http://www.wigpr.com/) working with bands deserving of love and devotion. Bands like Shim, Das Llamas, Birdmonster, and Hockey. text/html 2008-03-22T22:01:32+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/live/music/south_by_southwest_diary_day_2_-_presented_by_cocker_spaniels__state_farm_insurance.html SXSW – Day 2 Recap Thursday, March 13 Today begins with breakfast tacos at Mi Madres. (Don’t worry, it’s a restaurant – I’m not going to spend the entire festival hanging out with my parents.) Friends from the Pacific Northwest have swooped into town and we spend our morning pouring over an 85-page Excel spreadsheet prepared by my pal Jessica. It’s color-coded to indicate free shows, free food, free alcohol, and performer importance. This document would cost well over $100 to print at Kinkos. We map out a loose itinerary for the day, then mount borrowed bicycles, and like a Super Special Olympics racing team, rumble awkwardly down the road towards 6th street. My bike, a baby blue Free Spirit, has a flat tire; only I don’t know it, yet. text/html 2008-03-20T01:07:11+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/live/music/south_by_southwest_diary_day_1_-_lou_reed_black_angels__john_grisham.html SXSW – Day 1 Recap Wednesday, March 12 You know you are headed for South by Southwest when someone boards the plane with a mandolin case and a megaphone. Look to the overhead compartments and you’ll find so many instruments, you’d think they decided to build a Guitar Center with wings. I’m half expecting to find an aspiring shredder coiled up in the bathroom playing Stairway to Heaven through a Peavey practice amp. My friends, we are on our way to SXSW! text/html 2008-03-18T12:01:33+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/reviews/album_reviews/balls_of_fury_oswald_effect’s_debut_hums_with_effective_rock.html The Oswald Effect Battle Hymns of the Fifth Column [Self Released; 2007] The Oswald Effect capture a broad range of influences and come out the other end with a unique blend of cool on their self-released debut LP Battle Hymns of the Fifth Column. The album is a dark jest at the power of money and the corruption of humanity, on which T.O.E. tackle a bizarre array of grim topics – from incest to assassination – in an eleven-song tongue twister. T.O.E.’s sound is rich with the warm crunch of loudly ringing guitars. Heath Bauer’s vocals are insanely raw at times, swinging from crawling word play into jaguar screams at the drop of a sixteenth note. text/html 2008-03-09T00:17:40+01:00 http://www.nadamucho.com http://www.nadamucho.com/reviews/album_reviews/louder_than_love_trip_like_animals_debut_impresses.html Trip Like Animals- Trip Like Animals Self-Released (2007) Let me just come right out and say it: I like Trip Like Animals (http://www.myspace.com/triplikeanimals). After seeing the band perform at a NadaMucho New Music Monday in January, I promptly bought the CD. I expect great things from this band. This is the stuff that only the gods can foresee and to which the rest of us mortals can only bear witness. If this band can own the stage (as they seem capable) and go the distance, we’ll all be watching them on SNL someday – cheering from our couches saying “I saw them when!” Let’s get to the CD. It is a good demo/EP. I like it. Not nearly as great as seeing the band live, but the recording reveals the core of what the band is doing: interesting and effective stream-of-conscience lyrics over a solid back drop from the power trio...