Rabbitfoot PR

2008-03-04T11:11:00.001-05:00

THIS WEDNESDAY COME TO THE OTTOBAR FOR A SPECIAL SXSW TOUR SEND OFF PARTY W/ A SPECIAL LIVE PERFORMANCE FROM MY FAVORITE DUDES NINJASONIK. THERE WILL BE DJ SETS FROM JOHNNY SIERA (THE DEATH SET) AND YOUR HOMEGIRL EMILY RABBIT.

10$ ALL YOU CAN DRINK SPECIALS ALL NIGHT.

COME SAY "HI LITTLE B!!" TO JOHNNY BEOFRE HE LEAVES ON TOUR AGAIN

CADENCE WEAPON AND FOOD FOR ANIMALS PLAY DOWNSTAIRS. ITS TWO FLOORS OF KANON!

get your repost on for your girl

2008-02-05T13:32:00.000-05:00

Tonight EMILY RABBIT & PAT MARTIN bring the noise to VICE (ex-Fletcher's). Come out and drink it up with Baltimore's most handsome bartender JESSE LYELL and enjoy rad ass skate videos from Shop Gentei's UNCLE ED FICKERT.

ITS FAT/SUPER TUESDAY... TIME TO GET LOOSE.

go ahead and repost this baby

2008-02-04T13:56:00.001-05:00

This Friday February 8th RabbitFoot & The Ottobar present WHITE WILLIAMS, ECSTATIC SUNSHINE, & SMARTS.

WHITE WILLIAMS

(Photo By: Nicholas Lorden)

(from NYLON MAG.COM)

White Williams came of age in the same Cleveland scene as Girl Talk’s Greg Gillis, so it’s no wonder that, like Gillis, he prefers doings things himself. While he uses a live backup band at his shows, White (whose real name is Joe) mixed and recorded his debut album, Smoke, all by his lonesome, and in various sublets in Ohio, New York, and San Francisco. The result of all this cross-pollination is Smoke. It’s an album at once fresh and fatigued, with laid-back, folksy guitar refrains dropped over an insistent synth backbeat that jerks along like a marionette on tangled strings. Ironically, in an age of obsessively overproduced electronic music, such disarming disjointedness seems almost Zen-like. Smoke’s wündertrack is “In the Club,” which sounds more like a bass-slapped, beer-breathèd ballad than anything you’d hear behind a velvet rope. True to form, Williams’s recording style is also refreshingly laid-back.

ECSTATIC SUNSHINE

(Photo By: Jared Boger)

Baltimore's Ecstatic Sunshine are a frantic, instrumental guitar-dueling duo. Members Matt Papich and Dustin Wong met at art school in 2004 and focused on the idea that "there are things to be done with sound besides just experiencing feelings all the time." The sound, which has been influenced by such things as Baltimore's party scene and deep sea fishing, earned them accompanying slots with Dirty Projectors, Aloha, Knife Skills, and Lightning Bolt.

SMARTS

(Photos of SMARTS by Jeffery Dundas)

SMARTS is the new incarnation of Baltimore's Coconuts and is my personal pick for best new band in Baltimore. Keep an eyes on these devils they are going to pop very soon.

Doors open at 9pm/ Show at 10pm- ALL AGES

2008-02-01T17:13:00.000-05:00

Fuck yes! Beards rule The Ottobar next Wednesday. Special bearded guest DJs Jason Urick (WZT Hearts/Screw Bus) & Mark Brown (Are We Not Men?) join beardless (as of today) Emily Rabbit (Baltimore Bass Connection/RabbitFoot Records) for an evening of eccentric musical madness.

These guys are total dudes, I don't need to tell you. You're smart you know things.

Jason Urick & Emily Rabbit (2005)

Mark Brown (Photo by Josh Sisk)

10$ all you can drink for the BEARDS... that's right... let's make it a MENSDAY! (Men drink all they can for only 10$, beards or bare).

please repost homies!

2007-11-05T14:25:00.000-05:00

I am heading out on tour w/ The Death Set this Thursday, Nov. 8th and will miss my peoples very much. If you have any Canadian homies tell them to check out one of the shows listed below.

(Photo By: Tod Seelie)

GIRL TALK SUPPORT LEG

Nov 8th - Columbia, MO @ Mojos w/ Girl talk
Nov 9th - Saint Louis, MO @ Gargoyle Club Washington University w/ Girl Talk
Nov 10 - Pontiac MI, @ Eagle Theater w/ Girl Talk

(Photo By: Tod Seelie)

CANADIAN TOUR!!!

Nov 13th - Waterloo, ON w/ dd/mm/yyyy @ TBA
Nov 14th - Hamilton, ON w/ You Yourselves, The Diableros, Trailing @ The Casbah Lounge
Nov 15th - Toronto, ON w/ Clipd Beaks, Teenagerss @ Sneaky Dees
Nov 16th - Toronto, ON w/ Datarock @ CIRcA
Nov 17th - Montreal, QC (Pop Montreal Show) w/ Invite @ Le Divan Orange
Nov 18th - Ottawa, ON @ TBA
Nov 21st - Halifax, NS w/ Windom Earle @ Reflections Cabaret
Nov 22nd - Sackville, NS @ Struts Gallery
Nov 23rd - Charlottetown, PE @ House Party
Nov 24th - Sydney, NS @ Bunkers
Nov 25th -Truro, NS @ Boys and Girls Club

(Screaming at my dudes at The Silent Barn/Impose CMJ Showcase)

Send off party this Wednesday November 7th @ TENSDAY party at The Ottobar. 10PM till close, $10 all you can drink specials. DJs HIP HOP DAN, ADAM GONZO, and moi...EMILY RABBIT.

2007-11-01T18:35:00.001-04:00

POP TARTS SUCK TOASTED BLOG

The Deathset @ Piano's 10/16 (CMJ '07 Day Two)

Whether it was spilled on the floor or injested by their insane fans, red bull and vodka seemed to be a theme that hung over The Deathset's performance at Piano's this afternoon. The beverage seemed to be on everyone's breath, permeating the atmosphere and delivering jolts of energy to everyone in the room.

With their set-up in the middle of the floor The Deathset lived up to every bit of anticipation I had in waiting to see them here. Last time I saw the band they were on the big stage at the South Street Seaport, and though it was a great performance it was certainly lacking something. As it turns out that something was intimacy.

Standing directly next to Johnny Siera the entire set the band played a shit load of their songs, with their synths playing on a non-stop tape player while the drummer and the two actual members of The Deathset did their best to demolish the wall between music and noise. The crowd was frantic, slipping and sliding on the spilled drinks, lifting the band into the air, and flailing about like a bunch of drunken 10-year olds on pogo sticks. It was an insane performance that rarely paused to take a breath, and will certainly be one of the most talked about performances of the week.

At one point a fan yelled out to the band "You sound fucking awesome!" to which Johnny replied, "No we don't, we're the fucking Deathset!", truer words may never have been spoken. It's hard to hear bits and pieces of the bands music live, the vocals are screamed through mostly broken and useless microphones, the guitars are wailing and loaded with so much feedback it could make Sonic Youth complain, and the sampled sounds sound awful coming through the beat up old player they use. But with the pounding rhythms of a drummer and all the amps turned up as high as they go the band make up for their lack of live musicianship with an energy that cannot be topped.

Knowing the words to the band's fast-paced, over the top songs may help you navigate your way through the craziness of their live show, as people are screaming them at the top of their lungs throughout, but the best bet is to just go with the flow. Lose yourself in the beat, dance around like a maniac, and enjoy the simplicity of the muical noise, and you are sure to have a fucking awesome time seeing this band.

2007-11-01T18:29:00.001-04:00

BrooklynVegan
The DeathSet, Pianos, awesome (BrooklynVegan CMJ show)

The Deathset @ Pianos, NYC - Oct 17, 2007

TheDeathSet = awesome. They played on in the middle of the floor (like their friend Dan Deacon does) @ the BrooklynVegan day party at Pianos yesterday (Oct 17, 2007), and they are/were fun - very, very, very, fun, and good, and full of energy, and just smiling, and so good. And they played right before the Meat Puppets (who I was hoping would manage to catch some of the DeathSet's set, but I don't think they did. DeathSet's also-awesome friends from Team Robespierre did stick around after their also-awesome set to support though - more on them later.)

"...Last time I saw the band they were on the big stage at the South Street Seaport, and though it was a great performance it was certainly lacking something. As it turns out that something was intimacy...." [Pop Tarts Suck Toasted]

More photos & tour dates, below...

The Deathset @ Pianos, NYC - Oct 17, 2007

2007-10-15T12:16:00.000-04:00

EMILY RABBIT 2007 CMJ SCHEDULE

TUESDAY OCTOBAR 16TH

8:00 PM Dan Deacon, The Death Set, Juiceboxxx, Team Robespierre, DD/MM/YYYY @ Silent Barn (915 Wyckoff Avenue Brooklyn)

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17TH

12:00 PM BROOKLYN VEGAN PARTY Celebration, Meat Puppets, The Death Set, Joan As Police Woman, Le Loup, Team Robespierre, Cut Off Your Hands @ Pianos (158 Ludlow Street LES)

7:00 PM Deerhunter, Dan Deacon, No Age, White Williams, Ponytail @ Bowery Ballroom (6 Delancey Street @ Bowery LES)

8:00 PM INSOUND PARTY Holy Fuck, Cadence Weapon, Videohippos, New Violators, Oh No! Oh My!, Turbo Fruits, Bald Eagle, Titus Andronicus @ Galapagos (70 N. 6 Street Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

10:30 PM A-Trak, DJ Mehdi, Kid Sister, The Cool Kids, Kavinsky, Nick Catchdubs @ Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel (363 West 16th Street)

THURSDAY OCTOBER 18TH

8:00 PM Dark Meat, Japanther, Underground Railroad to Candyland, The Arrivals @ Death By Audio (49 South 2nd Street between Wythe & Kent, Brooklyn)

10:00 PM Deerhunter, Le Castle Vania, The Toxic Avenger, Blake Miller, Dynamite Walls, Klever, Frankie Chan, Brandon Reilly (of Nightmare of You), Lauren Flax, Rob Hitt, Roxy Cottontail, The Glamour @ Rebel (251 West 30th Street)

FRIDAY OCTOBER 19TH

12:00 PM BROOKLYN VEGAN PARTY Yo Majesty, Islands (ex-Unicorns), Saturday Looks Good To Me, Black Kids, Yeasayer, Mika Miko, Health, Other Passengers, Fatal Flyin' Guillotines, iliketrains @ R Bar (218 Bowery)

7:00 PM Spank Rock, Noisettes, Earl Greyhound, Yo Majesty, Santogold, The Apes @ The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza (17 Irving Place)

2007-09-19T19:51:00.000-04:00

UPSTAIRS

Uh oh! Its a special guest performance by DJ DOG DICK at The Ottobar at tomorrow's TENSDAY along with IAN NAGOSKI from True Vine and your main home girl EMILY RABBIT.
ALSO... XAVIER'S BIRTHDAY TOAST AT MIDNIGHT

DOWNSTAIRS

2007-09-12T16:13:00.001-04:00

SPECIAL SUPER SURPRISE GUEST PERFORMANCE CONFIRMED! COME EARLY AND SEE EVERYTHING. YOU WILL KICK YOURSELF IF YOU DO NOT!

Tonight!

Emily Rabbit's birthday bonanza...

tickets onsale now through the sonar box office, 930 Club and ticketmaster

Bonde Do Role

Bonde Do Role is a bunch of cute, feisty kids from southern Brazil who like boobs and are inspired by the Funk Bailes in Rio, which are basically murderous indoor games of Capture the Flag set to beats and piles of cocaine. The music is super bouncy and the girl sounds like she's chanting cute jump-rope rhymes until your Portuguese-speaking friend walks in the room and starts cracking up and you're like, "What's so funny?" That's when your friend tells you that the singer just said: "I was at a party/ And I saw a whore/ I put my tongue in her asshole/ And my tongue came out all dirty." And you're like "HAHAHA! Hi, favorite new band." - Vice

Plastic Little

Then this Friday at Tax Lo...

Devlin and Darko (Spank Rock DJs),
Simon Phoenix in the warehouse

XXXChange (Spank Rock producer), Stereo Faith,
Emily Rabbit in the lounge

Devlin & Darko

say hi to us at
taxidermylodge.com

2007-08-26T20:03:00.000-04:00

This Wed. Aug 29th TENSDAY welcomes local legend JASON URICK (FLORIStree/WZT Hearts/Screw Bus/Once Twice Sound/and like 1000's more projects/bands/things) for a special performance. Jason has arguably some of the best taste in music EVER and a winning personality to boot.

Also on the bill your home girl EMILY RABBIT (BBC/RabbitFoot) and international heart breaker and pronunciation corrector BALAGAN.

HEY! LET'S MAKE IT A MENSDAY IN HONOR OF JASON URICK'S MANLY BEARD

10$ all you can drink specials for GUYS from 10PM till close.

See you upstairs at THE OTTOBAR!

2007-08-22T15:33:00.001-04:00

Holy ravioli! Special surprise performance from Spank Rock's dynamic duo Devlin&Darko (Chris Devlin & Ronnie Darko). They are leaving soon for a UK tour with... WAIT FOR IT... The Beastie Boys.

OMG!

also amazing local hardworking man Hip Hop Dan (Shop Gentei) and your homegirl Emily Rabbit.

All hands on deck tonight people.

2007-08-15T13:27:00.001-04:00

Tonight at The Ottobar from 10 PM till Close dance it out to the jams provided by TENSDAY residents Adam Gonzo, Balagan, and Emily Rabbit.
Wednesdays have been insane lately and its been a great summer, tonight is no exception!

We love you.

DOWNLOAD ADAM GONZO'S HOT NEW MIX HERE
"DANCE PARTY FOR DUMMIES VOL. 2"

2007-08-03T14:03:00.001-04:00

Oh fuck yeah!! The Baltimore Bass Connection is finally back and we are ready to make you dance your pain away. Join us for a Virgin Fest after party to end all after parties. Mingle with music celebrities and Baltimore homies all night long for only $5 bones.

There will be some very awesome VERY SECRET surprise guest stars. DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS ONE.

(Hosted by Emily Rabbit & Naeem Juwan)

2007-08-01T19:40:00.001-04:00

TONIGHT AT THE OTTOBAR THE TENSDAY CREW BRINGS IT WITH A SPECIAL GUEST DJ STRETCH AND JUST ADDED: P NYCE.

AND COMING THIS SATURDAY AUGUST 4TH THE BALTIMORE BASS CONNECTION AND LEG UP MANAGEMENT PROUDLY HOST A VIRGIN FEST AFTER PARTY TO END ALL AFTER PARTIES.

GET YOUR MAJOR DANCE ON ALL NIGHT LONG WITH THE MOST INCREDIBLE LINE UP OF DJs IN RECENT MEMORY.

ALL AGES. ONLY $5. DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE!!!

2007-07-15T20:22:00.001-04:00

(Photos of SENDAY SUMMER ROOF PARTIES By: C Hall)

EMILY RABBIT (BBC/RABBITFOOT RECORDS) DJs UP A STORM TONIGHT ON THE AMAZING ROOF AT METROPOLITAN.

AMAZING DRINK SPECIALS AND BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE ABOUND.

COME OUT AND LOSE YOUR SHIT TO SOME AWESOME MUSIC IN A FRESH AIR ENVIRONMENT.

METROPOLITAN
169 West St
Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 268-7733

METROPOLITAN

2007-07-13T16:49:00.001-04:00

2007-07-10T14:17:00.001-04:00

DUDE THIS SUMMER HAS BEEN SO BADASS. I PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT CHRIS ROCKSWELL (AKA MR DEVLIN) OF SPANK ROCK AND THE BALTIMORE BASS CONNECTION WILL BE BLASTING DOWN ON ANOTHER MENSDAY CELEBRATION THIS WEDNESDAY, JULY 11TH.

ALSO ON DECK OF THE PARTY SHIP IS LOCAL UPSTARTS JOCK JAMZ (DJs DOUBLE DRIBBLE & POINT GUARD) AND YOUR MAIN HOMEGIRL EMILY RABBIT.

JOY TO THE WORLD!!!

AND COMING AUGUST 4TH SPECIAL BBC AFTER-PARTY FOR THE VIRGIN MUSIC FESTIVAL DOWNSTAIRS AT THE OTTOBAR. MINGLE W/ MUSIC SUPER STARS AND YOUR BBC BUDDIES. MORE DEETS ON THE WAY.

2007-06-19T11:34:00.001-04:00

WED JUN 20TH @ THE OTTOBAR FROM 10PM TILL CLOSE
BBC SOUNDCLASH REUNION W/ C. ROCKSWELL, MC SPANK ROCK, CHIPSET, EMILY RABBIT & DJ SHOP GENTEI.

photo by C. Martucci at CRAFTWORK MEDIA

Wed. night please join the Baltimore Bass Connection and the TENSDAY crew for a special night of crabtoppin' and airhorn action as we reunite at our old home The Ottobar.

FEATURING:

your Emcee MC Spank Rock (aka Naeem Juwan).

C. Rockswell (aka Mr. Devlin)
Best known as a member of the amazing live act Spankrock, Chris has also dj-ed with the likes of Beck, KRS 1 and Gnarls Barkley, as well as finding time to start the successful monthly parties, 'Baltimore Bass Connection' in Baltimore, and 'Fully Fitted' in NYC and "Throwed" in Boston and put out highly popular mix tapes with XXXchange ( spank rock producer)

DJ Shop Gentei (aka Karl Hungus)
International fashion icon, Oliver Jones, owner of Baltimore's premiere cutting edge street-wear emporium Shop Gentei
has also made a name for himself as a DJ who has performed internationally as a founder of Sly&Robby and locally with Baltimore Bass Connection. In addition to being a member of the BBC Oliver is responsible for Baltimore's new hot Friday party Proper at Red Maple.

Chipset (aka Slim Charles)
Chipset is responsible for the runaway underground hit remix "50 Ways" (which will be released on vinyl format in late 2007) and is a popular photo journalist whose worked has appeared in SPIN, the FADER, Anthem Magazine, etc. Chipset is coming out of retirement for one night only so do not miss.

Emily Rabbit (RabbitFoot Records/TENSDAY)
The "first lady" of the BBC continues to run the Wed. weekly and has assembled Baltimore's next wave of great DJs (Hip Hop Dan, DJ GonZo, Balagan, etc.) along with a long list of local and international guest stars and has made the night one of the most popular weeklies in Baltimore. Emily is also founder of the specialty imprint, RabbitFoot Records which is home to the insanely popular Baltimore by way of Sydney band, The Death Set.

Your Hosts for the evening:

Uncle Eddie (aka Edd)
Bryn Freeman
Just Chris & Cashley
Snooks
Shop Gentei Crew

WED NIGHT UPSTAIRS AT THE OTTOBAR FROM 10PM TILL 2AM.
DRINK SPECIALS ALL NIGHT FROM THE LOVELY TECLA

(there will be no 10$ specials this Wed. but fear not, we have many surprises in store)

PLEASE REPOST

2007-06-17T12:41:00.000-04:00

get on this...

Wednesday June 20

Floristree Space
H and H Building 6th Floor
Franklin and Eutaw
Brawltimore Murderland

Eyeball Skeleton
Know Your Canary
dd/mm/yyyyy (Toronto)
Ponytail
TheDeathSet

Early 9:00pm start as eight-year old JJ Brown and ten-year old Charlie
Brown from Eyeball Skeleton can't stay up too late.

This will be our release for "Rad Warehouses Bad Neighbourhoods"

Yesssssssssssssss!

Repost you good postpeople!

Blog or die.

Skate or live.

2007-06-14T16:22:00.000-04:00

2007-05-24T17:25:00.000-04:00

XLR8R

IMAGE IN LEFT CORNER WAS TAKEN AT THE MONITOR RECORDS SXSW POOL PARTY DURING THE DEATH SET CLOSING PERFORMANCE.

THIS WAS EASILY THE FUNNEST PARTY I HAVE EVER ATTENDED. MUCH THANKS TO JASON FOSTER OF MONITOR RECORDS.

2007-05-24T14:27:00.000-04:00

SCOTT H & EMILY RABBIT (BBC/RABBITFOOT RECORS) DJ UP A STORM TONIGHT ON THE AMAZING ROOF AT METROPOLITAN.

AMAZING DRINK SPECIALS AND BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE ABOUND.

COME OUT AND LOSE YOUR SHIT TO SOME AWESOME MUSIC IN A FRESH AIR ENVIRONMENT.

METROPOLITAN
169 West St
Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 268-7733

METROPOLITAN

and coming this Senday (aka Sunday)...

2007-05-23T17:39:00.000-04:00

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: deejay gonZo
Date: May 23, 2007 3:37 PM

TONIGHT AT THE OTTOBAR THE TENSDAY CREW PRESENTS A SPECIAL NIGHT OF RARE DISCO AND WORLD FLAVOR FROM BALTIMORE'S BEST INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURERS: BALAGAN AND EL SUPRIMO.

EMILY RABBIT DJs A SWEET MINI SET AND IS YOUR HAPPY HOSTESS FOR THE NIGHT.

SPECIAL SECRET GUESTS STARS MAKE UP THE CROWD TONIGHT.

DRESS LIGHT AND DANCE HARD, SUMMER WEATHER ABOUNDS AND THE LADIES DRINK ALL THEY CAN FROM 10 PM TO CLOSE.

THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE EXTRA-FUN TENSDAYS, SO DO NOT MISS.

2007-05-22T13:54:00.000-04:00

TONIGHT AT THE WAREHOUSE NEXT DOOR (WASHINGTON, D.C.) A FUCKING LIFE CHANGING SHOW W/ THE DEATH SET (RABBITFOOT RECORDS/MODULAR (AUSTRLIA)), THE PHARMACY, INGRID, and THE TERROR-DACTYLS

THE DEATH SET. (Photo By: Frank Hamilton)

SHOW STARTS AT 8:30 PM
COST: A MEASLY 6 BONES

The Warehouse Next Door

2007-05-14T14:21:00.001-04:00

NEW DEATH SET VIDEO & TOUR POSTER

2007-05-09T21:04:00.000-04:00

Werewolfs whoah....

Our friend Danny Baxter from PRATT was super rad enough to do this for us...

And check out the sweet poster our most awesome friend Matt Hart did for our Summer Tour with Ponytail....

2007-05-02T16:52:00.000-04:00

PEDESTRIAN TV AUS

PEDESTRIAN is the worlds first "PLASTIZINE"; A Free Bi-monthly DVD distributed Australia wide in all the most fashionable retail and boutique stores, independent music stores, design schools, modeling agencies, cafes as well as selected events. PEDESTRIAN is dedicated to having fun, being a little cheeky, living life to its fullest and educating pedestrians on the things that are really important in life (?) (from site)

The Death Set have an interview in Issue 11 Of Course. If you want to ask Johnny to clarify anything come see him tonight at The Ottobar where he is TENSDAY's special guest star.

2007-04-30T14:31:00.000-04:00

Ink 19

Neutral Mute
Roc-Sac
Run-Roc

In just seventeen hot minutes, D. McNany scrapes, scowls and swings his way through the seven tracks on his Roc-Sac EP. The co-owner of NYC-based Run-Roc and the driving force behind Neutral Mute parlays the synth-led fury of Suicide, the chugging Kraut explorations of Faust and Neu! and the raw electro-pop of The Normal into a no-frills digital-punk set.

Choose any song randomly, from the garage-driven "Doo-Right" to the crunchy rockabilly ramble of the title track, and you'll be greeted with McNany's wiry, nerve-wracked impulse...not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Even with all his haphazard tendencies, McNany is still able to show restraint. "King Killer (Drug-Dub)," with its languid beats, spiraling bass lines and jagged building guitars, explores the sleaze and sin of intoxication with frazzled sympathy. "No No No" closes at the quarter-hour with a Can-like meditation that teases with subtle straight-beat thumps and subdued bass thunks.

Beneath the uninspired din of Brooklyn's Williamsburg contingent and NYC's other hipster enclaves lies the sinister swagger of Neutral Mute and its Run-Roc ilk. The label's emergence is validated by better music, and in the era of The Strokes and a million other knockoffs, that's more than we can ask for.

2007-04-30T14:28:00.000-04:00

Better Propaganda

ROC-SAC is the debut EP by Neutral Mute, aka D. McNany. Ranging from restless electronic punk to twitchy insomniac dub, the EP packs an alarming amount of nervous energy into its 14 minute duration. Frenetic rave-ups "Doo Right" and "Puls-Sac" set the pace, but "No No No" is the highlight. The song bears a slight resemblance to Faust's classic Krautrock ballad "Jennifer," but with an insistent, thumping one-note bass line which gives the song a manic gone-off-its-meds edge.

Neutral Mute comes to life on stage as a power trio courtesy of revolving members of the Run-Roc family which include Gerhardt Fuchs (Turing Machine) and Lance Carter (Bill Laswell/Sonny Sharrock) on drums.

This is Neutral Mute and Run-Roc's first record to be issued digitally, which is appropriate given that Neutral Mute's first 7" was the inaugural release on the label back in 2002. Since then, Run-Roc has emerged as Manhattan's most promising new label. [run-roc.com]

Run-Roc is operated by D. McNany and DaveZero. Currently recording demos for the Rapture’s new album, Run-Roc’s recent production work includes SKISM’s Virus EP and fourthcoming Run-Roc release for 90’s cult luminary Jonathan Vance.

2007-04-25T14:40:00.001-04:00

DAN DEACON
SPIDERMAN OF THE RINGS 2005 STYLE RECORD RELEASE SHOW!!!!

Holy shit dancey feats slammer. Epic and intense songs ever heard. Big big big big big says it all. "The future of avant rock" - NPR.
THE USA IS A MONSTER
So rad if you don't already know it from Providence, Brooklyn and the native land. Listen to the message.

THE DEATH SET
Our favorite spazz out punk anthem beastie-boys of the future. If every thrash band was like this we'd be crust punks for sure. Cool Cats.

PONYTAIL
Flying cougars of rock. Featuring a banshee plus 3 full grown grizzly bears. Schizophrenic, art-damaged, party hard masters. Loud also.

2007-04-18T19:41:00.001-04:00

THE DEATH SET HAVE JUST BEEN ADDED TO THE LEGENDARY CULTURE SHOCK FESTIVAL AT SUNY PURCHASE!!!

(photo by Frank Hamilton)

culture shock is a music festival that takes place at SUNY purchase.

CULTURE SHOCK ’07

Hosted by the great Michael Winslow

Friday, April 20th

10:10 - Mission of Burma

9:15 - Girl Talk

8:20 - Man Man

7:10 - Wham City
(The Death Set, Video Hippos, Blood Baby, Jimmy Joe Roche, Ponytail, Ecstatic Sunshine)

6:30 - Despot

5:45 - Ilu Aye

5:00 – Catch 22

4:15 - Jeffrey Lewis

3:30 - Zoroaster

2:45 - White Mice

2:00 - Hop Along, Queen Ansleis

1:15 - Pearl Gates

12:30 – Genuine Imitations

Saturday, April 21st

10:00 – Slick Rick

9:20 – Saigon

8:40 – J- Ronin
(Sav Kills, Spit Supreme)

7:45 – Rasputina

7:00 – Raphy Dan

6:15 – Solillaquists of Sound

5:30 – Marla Hooch

4:45 – Aa

4:15 – Battletorn

3:30 – Two Man Adv.

2:45 – Bardo Pond

2:00 – William Hooker

1:15 - Wooden Wand+VV

12:30 - the Woes

directions:

By Train:
From NYC via rail from Grand Central Station:
Take the Harlem/Metro North Line to White Plains. Board the Anderson Hill Road bus No. 12 or take a taxi to campus. Alternatively, take the New Haven/Metro North Line to Rye and take a taxi to campus.
For more information about bus or train services, see the MTA Homepage.

Girl Talk Wears Death Set T Shirt at Sold Out Show, Nice.

2007-04-09T13:13:00.001-04:00

(photo By: Frank Hamilton)

2007-04-02T23:59:00.001-04:00

2007-04-01T14:48:00.001-04:00

-expanded bar menu with pizza, burgers, french fries...
-industry discount to restaurant employees
-it's going to be awesome

Love

Tucker & Emily Rabbit

2007-03-27T19:50:00.001-04:00

APRIL TENSDAY SCHEDULE

4/4 CHRIS O (TAX LO/SHORTY'S), HIP HOP DAN, EMILY RABBIT

4/11 MATTY METRO (KLIMAX KONTROL), DJ DIRTY PILLOWZ

4/18 GONZO'S BIRTHDAY BASH W/ SPECIAL GUESTS

4/25 TENSDAY RESIDENT NIGHT W/ HIP HOP DAN, EMILY RABBIT, BALAGAN, GONZO

2007-03-23T15:23:00.001-04:00

(downstairs @ 8PM)

(upstairs @ 10 PM)

(the upstairs party features 10$ all you can drink specials for the ladies and is FREE, 21+)

2007-03-20T21:27:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow Night (March 21st) my great friends DJ DJ and Johnny Siera will be joining (me) Emily Rabbit for a very special TENSDAY party.

DJ DJ co-owns Run Roc Records and is the creative genius behind Neutral Mute. His studio has completed production and remixes for bands such as The Rapture, Lullatone, Annie, Zero Zero and much much more.

Johnny Siera is the Australian Monster Truck that comprises one half of The Death Set and 100% Retarded Kitten. Johnny is loved my many and feared by very very few.

Come out and catch up with Johnny and I and meet our awesome friend DJ. We have lots of good stories to share and there are all-you-can-drink specials all night for 10$ (for the ladies) and incredible 1$/$2 for everyone. from the lovely Tecla.

2007-03-13T20:16:00.001-04:00

2007-03-13T02:23:00.000-04:00

2007-03-13T02:20:00.001-04:00

2007-03-13T02:16:00.001-04:00

GO SEE MY AWESOME BBC BROTHERS IF YOU ARE SKIPPING SXSW. CHRIS HAS BIRTHED THE MOST GENIUS MIX EVER.

CHECK MY B OUT HERE... BBC SOUNDSYSTEM

Baltimore, so hot...

2007-03-06T09:19:00.000-05:00

Pitchfork: Dave Heumann Interview

Interview: Arbouretum
Interview by Ashford Tucker | Photo by IDM Photography

Arbouretum's singer and guitarist Dave Heumann told me my first Eric Clapton joke. His bandmate Walker David Teret and I had just finished an argument over whether Gram Parsons was a robot.

Q: What do Hitler and Eric Clapton have in common?

A: Neither makes a very compelling bluesman.

Ironic, then, that a few years later our website would reference Slowhand himself (alongside Neil Young) while dissecting the guitar leads in a 4.5 star review of "Pale Rider Blues" from Arbouretum's 2007 Thrill Jockey release Rites of Uncovering.

Cutting his teeth playing around his hometown of Baltimore, Heumann's skills as a player have earned him guitar, bass, and keyboard slots, where needs arose, in touring bands fronted by Will Oldham (Bonnie "Prince" Billy's Master and Everyone tour), Ned Oldham (the Anomoanon), and Cass McCombs over the past several years. Arbouretum, originally a recording project comprised of Heumann and drummer David Bergander, came about in late 2002. Ned Oldham aided in the recording of Long Live the Well-Doer, the band's debut, and subsequently released it in 2004 on his Box Tree imprint. The first touring version of the band featured Nathan Bell (of Lungfish) on bass.

Bergander left the band last year to focus full time on his role in Brooklyn's Celebration, so Mitchell Feldstein (Lungfish) contributed some of the drum tracks to the acclaimed Rites. The current lineup, featuring Heumann and Teret on guitars, bassist Corey Allender (also formerly of Cass McCombs' band), and drummer Daniel Franz, will tour the West Coast in the coming weeks.

Pitchfork: Compare the law of conservation of matter and your lyrics in "All That Will Be Has Become, All That Has Come Isn't Gone" [from Arbouretum's 2004 debut Long Live the Well-Doer]. That is to say, in the repetition of the song's title line, you imply throughout the song that some of what has come might have gone. Wouldn't it have been more precise to say none of what has come is gone? Why do you hate science?

Dave Heumann: The way I'd envisioned that song, it has very little to do with the law of the conservation of matter and everything to do with the cyclical nature of time, from an Aboriginal perspective. But that's from the first album, which only a few hundred people actually own. More copies of Rites than that [were] sent out for promo. So I'd prefer to answer questions about the new record if you don't mind.

Pitchfork: Why do you hate science?

DH: I don't hate science. Exxon-Mobil hates science.

Pitchfork: Will the next murderous dictator of Iraq be a Ba'athist?

DH: I have no idea. I hope for the Iraqis' sake they get someone in there who likes and supports the arts, specifically music. Saddam was most certainly a murderous dictator and a brutal tyrant, but the Ba'athists did actually encourage and promote music-making. Ever heard that wonderful Sublime Frequencies collection, Choubi Choubi! Folk & Pop Sounds From Iraq? Well, you wouldn't have if it weren't for the Ba'athists and their secular agenda. Since Iraq's invasion and subsequent occupation, countless ouds have been smashed.

Pitchfork: When did you start playing the oud?

DH: A couple of months ago, though I'd wanted one for at least a year. I got a good deal on one through a guy who runs a Middle Eastern restaurant. They are very resonant and relatively easy to play, but you really have to mind your intonation as they have no frets. I've used it live in another band I play in with Nathan Bell, Human Bell, but so far not on any recording.

Pitchfork: How did you fall in with the Oldham clan?

DH: Will and Ned Oldham moved to Baltimore a few years ago. The short version is that I'd met them through mutual musician friends and offered my services as a player, which they took me up on in the Anomoanon and the Bonnie "Prince" Billy band. I've had such a great time playing with those guys and love the music. The Anomoanon are a really amazing band; few bands play off of each other as well as they do, and the ones that have mostly don't exist anymore. Will, for his part, has a great sense of knowing which players to put together in a lineup to make it work. I've liked all the bands I've seen him with, and they've all sounded so different from one another. His bands have always sounded cohesive as a unit, as if they had been having regular practices and writing together. It's not exactly tightness I'm talking about, more of a balance of temperament and overall vibe.

Pitchfork: Speaking of overall vibe, what was with the Bonnie "Prince" Billy band all wearing overalls on that southeast tour a few years ago? Didn't Arbouretum open some of those shows?

DH: Yes we did, and I don't know what ever gave rise to that idea. It might be interesting to note here that there were times on that tour when both bands went to the beach together, and they didn't have them on then. They were wearing swimsuits, actually.

Pitchfork: How did you end up on Thrill Jockey?

DH: We played a show in Chicago in summer 2005. A friend of ours who was on the road with us helping us called up Bettina Richards, who started the label. She was actually one of about five people that came out for the show that night, but she said she really liked it and bought a copy of our first album from us. So when we were shopping early mixes of Rites around, I remembered that she'd come to the show the year before, and I sent her a copy. I didn't think anything was likely to come of it, but they ended up putting out our record. We couldn't have asked for a better spot to be in than to have this music released by Thrill Jockey. They've put out so much great stuff over the years, they take care of their artists, and they are very good at what they do.

Pitchfork: Did you choose a Paul Bowles quote for an epigraph to your press kit/new album or did Thrill Jockey?

DH: Actually, they did. I don't mind-- if it gives people some kind of context for the music to exist in, it's fine. It's way better than "they sound just like this other band..." I don't know how much it relates to the record as a whole, though Walker and I have both read and liked his writing. I halfway nicked a line from The Sheltering Sky in a song and "Mohammed's Hex and Bounty" is based on a book by Mohammed Mrabet, whom Paul Bowles translated.

Pitchfork: What is literary rock? Are you it?

DH: I like to think of referencing books as just one way of coming up with song content, one possible type of inspiration source. You could just as easily be inspired by a movie, a road trip, a conversation, or a dream. I don't feel that a song always has to reference some kind of other thing that's out there; often my songs don't. But I've found that it helps sometimes. One thing that can be particularly good about reading a book prior to writing lyrics is that one's mind is already working with and assimilating words.

Pitchfork: Your songs show a genuine enthusiasm for many types of philosophy, particularly Indian and Eastern as well as Aboriginal-- nature-based philosophies. How does what you read and think regarding basic and complicated universal ideas influence the particular songs and notes that you write and play? How do you, personally, draw the line between worthwhile, beneficial modes of thinking and hippie bullshit?

DH: Common Western aphorisms such as "If the shoe fits, wear it", and "don't gild the lilly" probably play as much of a role in the making of this music as any Eastern, Indian, or Aboriginal thought does. The worthwhile will distinguish itself, whereas hippie bullshit will only get stuck in the soles of one's shoes. "You shall know them by their fruits"-- there's another gem from our Western tradition. [Non-Western] influences mainly provide fodder for lyrics and not for strictly musical ideas. For example, that line in "The Rise", "Death it counts continually/ Counting, counting, don't count me", comes from a prayer of the Yoruba tribe in Western Africa. I'd read about it and thought, "Hmmm, that would be kind of neat to put into a song." What I think is cool about using those kinds of ideas is that a) They are rooted in a larger tradition which seems to give the songs a deeper resonance, and b) Most people aren't going to be aware of the tradition that provides the thematic underpinnings of a line like that, so it creates an expansive effect upon the mind of the listener. It's an effect I wouldn't be able to get if I were to, say, quote the Lord's Prayer or the United States Constitution.

Pitchfork: You take a different approach to lyrics and delivery than do many other bands. So many distill their heroes down to archetypes and simply alternate between stoicism and well-practiced sneers and smirks, yet you seem comfortable with straight-faced delivery of grandiose ideas. Do you ever look back on lyrics later and feel you went too big in an instance? Do you ever feel that being bold in this way makes for a skinny ledge to stand on?

DH: It does make for a skinny ledge to stand on to be sure, but that's the fun of it. Sometimes the straight-faced-ness is only for show and I'm laughing on the inside. That's one of the really great, liberating things about playing in a band; this whole idea that it can be whatever you want it to be, and that it provides an opportunity to boldly stake a claim. If you want to go through the whole of life sheepishly and timidly, that won't affect me adversely, but if you do that in your music, I will take the record off the turntable and put something else on because I'm bored. I love this feeling of, "My god, that would be ridiculous if we did THIS in a song," which then leads to a feeling of, "We can't NOT do this." I can't recall ever regretting going too big in an instance, but I have at times regretted not going big enough.

Pitchfork: There's a lot of room on the new record. Just lone guitar, bass, and drums for a goodly while. Faithful to your live show. The bass is fuzzy but precise, and it doesn't just swallow everything. Talk about how roomy the record is at times and the ways to make a guitar and bass sound right without turning everything into a goddamned disaster.

DH: The more "right" the guitar and bass sound, the less of a chance there is of everything turning into a goddamned disaster. That's the whole point. It's not as if we're getting closer to a sound we want, we cross a certain threshold, and then "Boom!"-- shit falls apart and it's back to the drawing board.

Pitchfork: Is it really just trial and error like that for you? I mean, of course "right" is the point. I'm speaking more to the idea of fuzz bass swallowing a mix, which I've heard before and the opposite of which seems to be at work on your new record where the bass is clearly present but not oppressive...
DH: In the case of the fuzz bass sound, most of what prevented that from swallowing everything was done by Matt Boynton in New York, where the songs that have the fuzz bass in them were initially recorded. But John McEntire [engineer/owner, Soma Electronic Studios, Chicago; drummer/multi-instrumentalist, Tortoise, the Sea and Cake, Gastr Del Sol] is a genius when it comes to mixing. He goes through the individual tracks one by one and listens to where they should fit into the overall mix. Then he tailors an EQ curve specifically to that track, whether it's guitar, bass drum, or what have you, and drops it back into the mix. It's an approach I've never seen anyone else use, and it has the effect of maximizing both the frequency range and the dynamic range of a recording. In general, I am very happy with the final mix. It has a lot of clarity.

Pitchfork: Walker David Teret went simply by Walker on the previous record and in person, and gave no other names. He now has three names. What gives?

DH: It seems better that he gain names than lose them. I was thinking of adding a couple myself. Perhaps we'll do that on the next record. Everyone will have at least one middle name listed on the album credits. We'll all feel really substantial that way. Maybe we'll try to put on some weight while we're at it.

Pitchfork: There are big guitar duels on Rites. When you and Walker practice them, who wins? Would it be possible for everybody to win in a guitar duel? Nobody?

DH: It's a far cry from that end scene in Crossroads where Steve Vai and Ralph Macchio are duking it out with blues and neo-classical licks while immortal souls hang in the balance. Walker and I both win our guitar duels, thus everybody wins. It's also definitely possible for nobody to win a guitar duel, especially if there are too many guitar players or if they are just shitty to begin with.

Pitchfork: Grayson Currin's track review of "Pale Rider Blues" likened your music to Eric Clapton in that the writer said his dad might dig it. How many Eric Clapton jokes do you know? There's the ones about Hitler and Idi Amin.

DH: At least five. There are more, yes. I've forgotten the Idi Amin one, actually. I don't really hate Clapton; I think what makes him such a good target for jokes is that, ok, here's this guy who was really innovative at the beginning of his career and inspired widespread reverence: "Clapton Is God". But everyone knows, secretly or not, that what he did later was a bit schlocky, tame, and devoid of any real risk-taking. I can't stand that fucking song "Wonderful Tonight", but some of Cream's stuff is decent. Actually, an exception to the later-Clapton-is-bad-Clapton thing is his eighties hit "She's Waiting". It's kind of hooky in a good way.

Pitchfork: I saw you were listed in XLR8R's Top Ten Albums of 2006. That's stellar for an unreleased record. They called it the "best doom folk album of all time." Where does folk music intersect with Arbouretum's songs? What does/should doom folk mean to you/me?

DH: Personally, I am absolutely fine with them calling it the best anything of all time. I was happy to see it, despite the fact that I never would have thought to call our music "doom folk." Maybe Comus played "doom folk," and I'm sure there's some in Scandinavia. It seems "folk" is a pretty far-reaching word that is used to describe a lot of different music, and the definition has changed a great deal over time. In the days of Mississippi John Hurt and Roscoe Holcomb the term was used to mean music written by ordinary folks for ordinary folks, and it was stuff people used to sing and play on their porches. There was no thought given by these musicians to reaching a wider audience, and they didn't tour to promote records. Then you had the whole "folk revival" of the 60s, and people like Dylan and Joan Baez were doing their thing and it was all still mostly acoustic, but it became something you could make a career out of if you were inclined to and/or lucky. Later, it changed again and you could play in a loud electric band and that could be folk too. Now that it's 2007 I'm not sure what it means at all. I'm not saying all this to impress upon anyone how well-versed I am in the history of contemporary music, but rather just to comment on what I see as the ambiguity of the term. I guess it doesn't really matter to me if we actually do play folk music.

Pitchfork: The songs bow some to literary traditions, functioning more at times as epic poems in ways, with your somewhat bard-ish lyrics heralding the approach of electric guitar refrains or crescendos. When do you write lyrics, and do you ever find that your lyrics or guitar parts push each other to be bigger?

DH: I almost always write lyrics after the rest of the song is written. Usually we'll try to find out in band practice how many verses a song needs to have before I try my hand at writing any lyrics. So in that way, the music can dictate the lyrical content. If I know there's supposed to be a big jam part or crescendo coming after a certain line, I'll try to gear the lyrics toward setting the stage for that. But a lot of it is a process that I don't articulate to myself as it is happening. I never find that I'm explaining to myself why a lyric will work or why it won't. It's more of an intuitive thing of following what feels right and abandoning what doesn't. There are also those cases when Rob Wilson [of Television Hill] and I have collaborated on the lyrics. For those songs, we both provided content and I sort of steered the process in accordance with whatever it seemed the big picture was

Pitchfork: Do you find yourself writing one song in its entirety before moving on to another or do you move between songs, adding new parts as you go until you are satisfied with each one?

DH: I move between songs as far as finishing lyrics, and as a band we do that with the music as well. It just depends on if there is inspiration sufficient enough to complete an idea or not. There's no sense in developing one song if you've got another stuck in your head. It's best to go with the flow.

Pitchfork: To what extent was Arbouretum a collaborative effort in the making of Rites?

DH: Very much so. I would usually bring chords and melodies to band practice and then we'd flesh them out collaboratively. Plenty of things on the record weren't my idea at all-- the bass/drum groove on "The Rise", for example, was something Walker and David came up with in the studio while I wasn't in the room. "Sleep of Shiloam" started with a chord pattern that Walker started playing one time at practice. The issue of whether or not we're going to develop a particular song or not is also up for discussion. I won't push at an idea if everyone else in the room is lukewarm to it. We seem to function at our best when everyone is enthusiastic about pursuing some kind of shared vision of what this music should be.

Pitchfork: Do you have anything to say about the bands coming out of Baltimore right now? Beach House had a big year. And there was the closing of the Talking Head on New Year's Eve, etc.

DH: I'm really happy for Beach House. They absolutely deserve all of the good things that have happened to them recently; they have such great songs. There's actually a lot of excellent music being made in Baltimore these days: Noble Lake, Vincent Black Shadow, Daniel Higgs, the Frenemies, Ponytail, Lizz King, Thank you, Wzt Hearts...There's probably about 20 or so bands I wouldn't be opposed to going out and seeing on any given night, and everyone sounds completely different from everyone else. The Talking Head's closing has seemed to leave a bit of a vacuum, but I think other places will take up the slack somehow. There will probably be more shows at warehouses and such, and who knows? Maybe the Talking Head will re-open somewhere. I've lived here long enough to know that a state of flux such as the one we're experiencing won't be a permanent one.

Pitchfork: Whatever happened to Cass McCombs?

DH: He moved to California and has been working on a new record. I have a sneaking suspicion that this new record is going to be the one that's going to put him very clearly on the map in big, bold-faced letters. He's really one of the best songwriters around, such an amazingly talented guy.

2007-03-02T15:15:00.001-05:00

SXSW EMILY RABBIT TENTATIVE SCHEDULE THING

GET TO AUSTIN ON WED. 3/14

GO SEE MY SWEET HOMIES BEST FWENDS AT THE BEAUTY BAR (617 E. 7TH ST.) SHOWCASE ALSO INCLUDES ABOUT, CAR STEREO, HOLY FUCK AND CRYSTAL CASTLES

THURS 3/15

ITS THE MOTHERFUCKING BALTIMORE BUMP PARTY AT THE MONITOR MANSION (901 EDGECLIFF TERRACE) 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM

MONITOR RECORDS FOR FULL ON INFO.

FRI 3/16

BIZ 3/KORK SHOWCASE AT THE BEAUTY BAR W/ THE RUB, CX KIDTRONIK, FLOSSTRADAMUS, BONDE DO ROLE, YO MAJESTY, A-TRAK, KID SISTER

ON THE PATIO

NICK CATCHDUBS, WALE, ROXY COTTONTAIL, THE PACK

(BUT ALSO)

THE MONITOR SHOWCASE AT THE BLENDER BALCONY AT THE RITZ (320 E. 6TH STREET) W/ INDIAN JEWELRY, PONYTAIL, YEASAYER, VIDEOHIPPOS, THE MAE SHI, NO AGE

SATURDAY I AM ROLLING BACK TO BALTIMORE TO SLEEP.

2007-02-23T13:40:00.001-05:00

Pitchfork News
Ponytail Sign to Monitor Records

Fresh off the release of last year's Kamehameha on Creative Capitalism, Baltimore's Ponytail have signed to Monitor Records, which has put out records by the likes of Oxes, Part Chimp, Battles, Indian Jewelry, and Cass McCombs.

Ponytail have a handful of tour dates as well, including shows with Beach House, Hella, and Arbouretum. They will also play two shows at South by Southwest, the second of which is the Monitor Records showcase on March 16.

Dates:

02-23 Baltimore, MD - Copycat Warehouse *#
03-03 Washington, DC - The Warehouse Next Door *^$
03-09 Brooklyn, NY - EastWilliamsburgIndustrialPark
03-15 Austin, TX - Terrible One Skateramp (SXSW Baltimore Party) *#$%
03-16 Austin, TX - Monitor Records SXSW showcase #~
04-01 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church !
04-02 Boston, MA - T.T. the Bear's !
04-03 Buffalo, NY - Big Orbit's Soundlab !

2007-02-11T20:08:00.001-05:00

Two Way Monologues Review

I have come to believe – or at least hope -- that the majority of our readers here at TWM are eclectic and open-minded connoisseurs of music. They like a challenge, they appreciate the diamonds in the rough. Well... get ready for challenge here, kids, as I present to you Ponytail!
I received their debut album, Kamehameha, about a week ago, and out of the nice little care package of albums I got, this was the one I was most excited to hear. Okay, all I can say is “WTF?” I couldn't even begin to try and categorize this album with any clichéd, pretentious musical tag line. Is it punk? Is it experimental? Is it thrash?

The answer is that Ponytail is all of the above. The information that came with the album from its label Creative Capitalism tells me that Ponytail was formed in Baltimore, Maryland after the members met at art school. It is a “conceptual art experiment.” Um, yeah...I'm not exactly sure what constitutes a “conceptual art experiment,” but this sure is something else.

Upon receiving the album, I dashed down to my room, plunked myself in front of my computer, opened the creatively-designed little origami package the CD comes is and popped it in. As the rising melodies of the opening track “All Together Now” began I was at first pleased, then dancing a bit in my chair -- and then came the “vocals.” See, if there is any stumbling point for me on the album it is this. The “vocals” -- and I will continue to put that in quotes –by Molly Siegel are of questionable intention.

Musically, this is a great album! It's fun, it's upbeat and energetic; both the guitarists (Ken Seeno and Dustin Wong) and the drummer (Jeremy Hyman) are clearly talented; their songs are well-written, melodic fun. The “vocals” on the other hand...Molly Siegel doesn't sing, at all. Ever. She produces noises that range from the sound your cat might make when you step on its tail, to cutesy little cooing sounds, to demonic howls that would frighten the horns off Lucifer himself. It’s completely out of step with the music, totally bizarre, seemingly useless, ear busting and sometimes grating on the nerves – and entirely charming.

I don't know the thought process that went into bringing Siegel into the mix, and it's debatable whether or not it was a good idea. I say this not because I necessarily dislike the “vocals” here, but because it makes me fear that the majority of people are going to be intensely turned off by Ponytail based solely on those noises emitted from Siegel. Dan had an excellent analogy for me while we were speaking about this album the other day. He told me he was on the train listening to this album, and those around him either were tapping their toes and dancing a bit in their seats or promptly switching to seats a considerable distance away. (Clearly Dan hasn't heard of noise buffering headphones; either that or he strolls through the streets of Toronto old-school style with a boom box planted on his shoulder, ha ha.)

That is the general reaction I think this album is going to produce. But I'm telling you here and now, give it a chance, because you will begin to slowly transform from putting a pillow over your head to tapping you toes and eventually dancing a bit in your seat, if not getting up and thrashing about your room like I have begun to do when listening to it. Tracks like “Start A Corporation”, “Jammin On A Major Scale” and “Lion Down” are -- aside from having great titles -- damn catchy and wickedly infectious. Don't move away, don't change your seat. Stay, listen, appreciate and enjoy.

SCORE: 7

2007-01-22T17:54:00.000-05:00

Stylus Magazine

Ponytail
Deerhoof ain’t got enough goofass power-pop for you? Well…
In his recent writeup, Jess Harvell said the debut album by Baltimore rock band Ponytail—I hesitate to label them any further—reminds him more of specific colors than melodies, which is almost the right idea: they're Technicolor bursts, not just dashes of pink or orange, but wobbly, trebly notes careening off slashing walls of guitar and crash cymbal like full-scale fireworks out of a Roman candle. To say that Ponytail riffs are redolent of Deerhoof or warped pop nuts of yore is fine for easy reference, but forgets that, even at their windiest, they rock harder—and with a cheeky fuck-all glee I haven't seen in any other guitar band. And guitarist Ken Seeno has a really sick guitar face during his blazing solos—he closes his eyes, hell he even sticks his tongue out a little bit.

At Ronny's in Chicago last Wednesday, lead singer Molly Siegel, bite-sized dynamo of this bass-less four-piece, was a commanding stage presence, preening for pictures and hurling herself at an audience still trying to sift through something so loud. Watching her jump up and down in one place is a metaphoric treat for someone trying to label her yelps—can we coin punctuation into the rock vernacular?—but Ponytail, damn kids they are, hardly rest on their laurels, closing their set with oohs and ahs in a just-written ten-minute opus.
[Sam Bloch]

2007-01-22T12:43:00.001-05:00

Time Out Chicago/ Issue 97: Jan 4–10, 2007
Top live show

Ponytail
Ronny’s; Tue 9

Baltimore foursome Ponytail has been described as the Boredoms fronted by a woman—although considering that Japanese noise-rock act’s somewhat weak performance at last summer’s Intonation Festival, perhaps Ponytail deserves a little better. As it stands, the fact that vocalist Molly Siegel’s chromosomes are of the XX persuasion is of little relevance to Ponytail’s music, because she doesn’t really sing. She revels in stretching her vocal chords through pipsqueaks and caterwauls, is generally unintelligible, and that’s okay—she serves as a nice flourish on top of her bandmates’ tight, effervescent, gleeful riffings on the new Kamehameha (Creative Capitalism). It’s a blistering affair of scatterbrained-sounding noise bursts, but this is carefully controlled chaos, proven when the band shuts down a song in tight unison, and ties the next one up in a neat little bow with a clean Telecaster strum and a stomp.

Still, there’s no doubt Ponytail is best experienced live, as Siegel thrashes about, eyelids fluttering, in a sort of revival-tent rock ecstasy and the band beats the hell out of its instruments behind her. And there should be plenty of ecstatic playing tonight, as Ponytail is sandwiched between two fine local acts: Tim Kinsella (Joan of Arc/Make Believe) and his wife, Amy Cargill, will romp through a psych-tinged noise experiment in the opening slot; and the Great Sea Serpents (full disclosure: The band includes a certain TOC employee), who just released their excellent debut, Rise Again!, headline.—Antonia Simigis

2007-01-21T20:26:00.000-05:00

Crud Magazine

PONYTAIL
KAMEHAMEHA
Label: CREATIVE CAPITALISM
Rating: ***

Kamehameha by Ponytail is the musical equivalent of a pile of bricks at the Tate. It’s all punk and freakshow, aggression and harmless fun with the ten songs falling into some weird midpoint between the Slits and Napalm Death.

They have a spunky, fuck-you sound whose charm is undermined by claims that the band is a ‘conceptual art experiment’ which suddenly makes everything seem a lot less fun.

No matter. They probably make a great live act – tight, ferocious backing from guitar, bass and drums, punchy, pacey, spittle-flecked and sweat-soaked, although stretched over thirty minutes it all began to pall for me, mainly because of the vocals, an extended exercise in deranged bathroom operatics and petulant shrieks probably best described as a kind of angry miaow.

‘Tracks like ‘Alltogethernow’, ‘Start a Corporation’ and ‘Island Z’ are stabbing, visceral guitar assaults but still the spectre of art rock hangs heavy over the proceedings, like the emperor’s new clothes or a Turner Prize nomination.

There are moments of adrenelin, surging and invigorating, but combined with a preciousness (reflected by the arty packaging) that weighs the project (sorry, conceptual art experiment) down.

Its wilful obscurantism packaged and sold to anyone wanting to buy into the scene, which is fair enough.

It’s refreshing or infuriating, depending on which side of the bed you happen to get out of, or to paraphrase the Rolling Stones, ‘Yeah, Yeah, It’s only discordant art rock, but I like it’.

Reviewer: Irfan Shah

2007-01-20T15:40:00.001-05:00

the FADER 43

Capital A

The idea of "artists making music, musicians making art" has always been a suspect one, conjuring images of failed noise projects and vanity art books. Yet Creative Capitalism brings to mind something less disheartening and more practical. "I don't follow aesthetics," says founder Peter Quinn. "This is a label that is going to be based on belief systems." Creative Capitalism's first venture was an art book called Friends and Friends of Friends, where the only theme was artists networking through the book itself. Subsequent releases have been of the recorded variety, ranging from the math rock of Ponytail to the languid violas of Low Moda, all bound together by striking, band-controlled sleeve design and enthusiasm for music that is experimental without losing structure or pop sensibility. "I don't know what I am doing," Quinn says. "But I feel like I'm doing something right." (Sam Hockley-Smith)

2007-01-18T17:26:00.000-05:00

Shzine Blog

Ponytail has a sweet new record called Kamehameha .... It's a weird and noisy album which is pretty much what you want out of a musical recording. They sound like they should be on a bill with Deerhoof and Parts & Labour (with the Bloggers headlining and playing their new songs). God bless noisy and weird bands!
Labels: good music

2007-01-13T17:09:00.000-05:00

Pitchfork Review

Ponytail
Kamehameha
[Creative Capitalism; 2006]
Rating: 8.1

Baltimore's Ponytail look like they'd tip the scales, collectively, at around 385 pounds. So the racket they make is loud and dense but not beefy. There's no bass, fer instance, but the two guitars do play low notes sometimes. And they also look like their collective age is somewhere around 60, which sounds old until you realize there's four of 'em. So their music definitely sounds like kids at summer camp, kids on the wrong side of four pitchers of bug juice. The best way I can think of to describe it is "a ruckus."

People might compare Ponytail to Deerhoof-- indeed, some already have-- but I'm not really the one to debate the comparison's accuracy. And maybe it's just the weird gloss of digital production, but what they're doing sounds pretty damn original to me. The band's guitars are so bright and trebly that they make me think of colors before, like, notes and melodies and stuff: hot pinks, baby blues, neon greens, traffic cone orange. Guitarists Ken Seeno and Dustin Wong like speedy one-note runs (ADD kids tapping their pencils against their desks), big surf rock arpeggios played on three-dollar plastic axes, and strangely pretty sweeps of prickly nylon-stringed strums.

These Toys "R" Us tunings are used for tiny, tinny pop-punk timebombs. Ponytail know that art rock is almost always better in double-time. So the ne-ner-ne-ner-ne-ner riffs cruise along with the fuck-safety-helmets glee of kids doing BMX tricks as the drums clatter behind them. Occasionally the joy of making this noise gets to be too much for the 'Tail and they collapse into giggles, smashed cymbals, unison roars, and rainbow feedback. And then they right themselves and rev almost immediately back into action.

All of which would just be so much treble-kicking fun if not for Ponytail's secret weapon, vocalist Molly Sigel. Her cries, coos, shrieks, growls, and a full array of preverbal (or is it post-verbal?) noises take Kleenex's scatty nonsense and the Raincoats wordless longing and suck all the meaning out. Live, it's almost a shock when Sigel's tiny frame begins shaking violently as she throws a temper tantrum and reclaims Cookie Monster voices from death metal kids. On Kamehameha she's more or less adrift in the swirl of glossy guitar plunks and zings, rather than the band's focal point, though this might be a recording issue. Still, there's really no other rock vocalist like her right now.

Ponytail's debut is one of the few things keeping me feeling young right now. It's all aimless, nervous, sugar-shocker energy, delivered in easy-to-swallow form in less than 30 minutes. When the music blog Idolator recently posted one of the band's songs, a grouch beefed in the comments box that they didn't have, like, a point. To which I'd say: if p-p-p-pure energy isn't reason enough for a rock band to exist, check your pulse and/or your stated reasons for liking music (or being alive) in the first place.

-Jess Harvell, January 12, 2007

2006-12-29T17:04:00.001-05:00

2006-12-16T20:12:00.001-05:00

CP Music Review

Ponytail "Kamehameha"

Known for their floor-shaking, sugar-fueled live sets, local quartet Ponytail is shockingly melodic on its debut album, Kamehameha, recently released on local art-rock baron Peter Quinn's fledgling Creative Capitalism label. Though usually described as post-art school punk, or pop-punk, or whatever people are calling the undeniably infectious rock that's started multiplying in the depths of the Copy Cat Building, Ponytail nimbly defies classification.

Similar to fellow Wham City regulars Ecstatic Sunshine, Ponytail trades heavily on the sheer level of noise and number of riffs that can be created with two lead guitarists. That's unsurprising, really, since both outfits include ace ax-man Dustin Wong. Kamehameha finds Ponytail mashing out melodies that alternately evoke spaghetti-western Indian war chants, ska, surf rock, carousel calliopes, and "Momma's Little Baby Loves Shortenin' Bread." On "Dear God Plz Make My 2Eyes N2 One," drummer Jeremy Hyman deftly lifts a drum lick from the Beatles' Abbey Road before guitarists Ken Seeno and Wong launch into a lovely duel of coruscating arpeggios--cribbed directly from Tchaikovsky's Peter and the Wolf--that eventually collapse in a crash of noise.

But the element that sets Ponytail apart from its contemporaries is vocalist Molly Siegel. Alternately channeling a tortured dolphin and a riot grrl who's swallowed a staple gun, Siegel yowls, squeaks, and growls emphatically, yet unintelligibly, over the band's rambunctious grooves. Her vocal antics, more sonic garnish than main event, add a vaguely sexual element of human frustration to Ponytail's twisted carnival groove, her frenzied squeals reminiscent of Peter Pan's defiant, "I gotta crow!" She and Ponytail speak a language that the right audience will understand all too well.

J Bowers

2006-12-16T20:07:00.001-05:00

Delusions of Adequacy

Ponytail "Kamehameha"

Ponytail and Creative Capitalism get two thumbs up for the best packaging I've seen in a long time on Kamehameha. The disc comes in a plastic bag, inside of which is a thick and rectangular piece of paper that has a die-cut fold across the backside with one end that inserts into the other. Underneath this neat fold is a CD on an actual spindle. It's a very nice way to make the record interesting and not scratch the disc up in the process. There are far too many indie labels that think they can just slap a disc in a cardboard slip and send it out. Often in this process the disc slips around on the commonly rough surface and unsurprisingly gets scratched before you even open it. For all those anal retentive collectors like me it is fucking murder. I always brace myself for when I open one of these and I paid full price for a scratched up and possibly defective CD.
On to the music......

Ponytail's sound is an interesting mix of so many other female fronted avant-rock groups. Deerhoof, Melt-Banana, and AIDS Wolf all come to mind but it's what the group does with these elements that make them distinct and more interesting than your average rip-off. Despite the banshee wailing and spastic drumming, the guitars sound more like Nintendo-prog group and Hella side-project The Advantage than anything else. These lightning changes are accented by clattering no-wave style drumming that can turn on a dime into unhinged blast-beats. Kamehameha also has these idiosyncratic movements during which the guitars will hit on a reverb-a-riffic melody line that transcends nearly everything else that the band has going on at the time.

Despite the easily spotted influence of other groups, Ponytail has produced a fine debut record. It's going to be interesting to see where they go from here if they stay together. Overall Kamehameha is an exciting and dare I say "fun" record full of effervescing energy and exuberance.

-Joe Davenport
12/14/06

2006-12-15T18:02:00.001-05:00

CP Top 10
The Death Set
To (RabbitFoot) A bristling quarter-hour or so of electronically addled pop punk, the Death Set's debut EP was the year's best bet for those who like things short and squeaky and squealy and sing-along friendly. Like Redd Kross rewired for a generation raised on cracked software and internet-attenuated attention spans, Death Set's rattling, tinny drum machines, ray-gun guitars, and walkie-talkie fidelity vocals are the reason moms everywhere restrict their kids' sugar intake. Not quite a substitute for its equally terse and way-sweatier live gigs, To still manages to make the old and cranky feel young at heart. Or maybe just like you're about to have a heart attack. (JH)

2006-12-11T15:18:00.001-05:00

Exclaim!

Ponytail
Kamehameha
(Creative Capitalism)
By Cam Lindsay
December 13, 2006

Sometimes all it takes is the slightest twist on something familiar to make or break music; an off-timed drum fill, wonky lo-fi keyboards or a singer’s unconventional performance can always have a powerful effect on the listener. In the case of Baltimore, MD’s Ponytail it’s the shrieking banshee call of vocalist Molly Siegel that sets this band apart from essentially any other out there. The result of four art school students combining their outside-of-the-box ambition, Kamehameha is a beseeching listen that numbs your senses silly with its modestly harmonious cacophony. Siegel’s nonsensical wordplay (from what I can decipher it’s literally absent from any dictionary) forms in screeching cries and high-pitched non-singing to produce one of the most unique vocal performances I’ve heard in a while. Miked from a distance, it’s wisely treated as just another instrument, a move that otherwise could have resulted in extreme aggravation had it been in the forefront of the mix. The dual guitar plus drums set-up that lead Siegel is surprisingly straight for such passionate art rock, but it’s the tempos at which they play that give them an edge. Primarily at a breakneck hustle with the discipline to sneak in awe-inspiring stop-start transitions, they obliterate their chords and leave your tongue wagging like Deerhoof on speedballs. Packaged in a custom design job that shows how artistically inclined the band and label are, Kamehameha is a leftfield diamond in the rough that deserves to be hunted down and adored.

2006-12-11T12:53:00.001-05:00

Sat. December 23rd, 2006

The Baltimore Bass Connection Xmas Party

BBCsound for more info.

For the third year in a row The Talking Head welcomes Spank Rock in what has come to be a Baltimore tradition for Christmas Eve Eve. After a year of intense international touring and general mayhem, the members of Spank Rock and The Baltimore Bass Connection celebrate the holiday season with friends and family in the city they love. Opening DJ sets from Cullen Stalin and Simon of Tax Lo, a special set from TENSDAY residents
Hip Hop Dan, Balagan, and GonZo, plus surprise guest star appearances all night long.
Hosted by Baby Jet and Emily Rabbit.

JUST ADDED!!! SHODEKEH (Human Beatbox, member of International Beatbox Association)

2006-12-09T13:38:00.001-05:00

Crashinin.com

Ponytail
"Kamehameha" ****
Creative Capitalism
(release date Oct. 2006)
R.I.Y.L.: Erase Errata, Numbers, Glass Candy

2006-12-09T13:34:00.000-05:00

Aiding & Abetting

Lo Moda
Gospel Store Front (Creative Capitalism)

J. Robbins produced this odd little disc. That should explain enough for most folks. Lo Moda is rather ambitious. It tries to find a new sound for every song. Not all of those songs work, but I really appreciate the effort. I'd rather hear a band trying to do something great than hear a great band coast. Can't wait to hear where these folks try to go next.

2006-12-09T13:30:00.000-05:00

Aiding & Abetting

Ponytail
Kamehameha (Creative Capitalism)

Disjointed pop run through a no wave filter. Ponytail makes a glorious noise and every once in a while wraps things up within the same song. Think of U.S. Maple--though more tuneful and more playful by half--and you're starting to get warm.

2006-11-21T17:14:00.000-05:00

Idolator

Listening Station: Ponytail Ties Up Our Stereo

A Baltimore-based tipster slipped us Kamehameha, the debut album by Charm City's Ponytail, last night, and we're kind of hooked on its 26 minutes of top-to-bottom spazzing out; like Deerhoof, they've got thick, sheeny guitars that burst into flurries of top-speed riffing, but vocalist Molly Siegel's post-verbal outbursts, which recall animals from all over the Wild Kingdom, are what really sends this record over the edge for us.

Mp3s avail Idolator Lisening Station

2006-11-21T16:54:00.000-05:00

2006-11-21T16:25:00.000-05:00

2006-11-14T16:42:00.000-05:00

2006-11-13T21:58:00.000-05:00

Ten Under the Radar
You might've missed these, but you shouldn't.
By Jessica Hopper

PONYTAIL | Kamehameha | Creative Capitalism

Baltimore is the new weirdo mecca, and Ponytail is one of the latest fruits of that scene. Hooky, athletic choogling is their game, and they play to win -- lightning solos beget even faster lightning solos beget some shit that'd make Yes blush. And singer Molly Siegel makes the sort of noises often understood to mean, "Hi, I could really use some Meow Mix in my little bowl." Fans of Deerhoof and Melt-Banana, take note.

2006-11-06T17:54:00.000-05:00

Subba-Cultcha Review

Various Artists
50 Minutes - Compilation Benefit Album

Exercise 1 Records

If you want to help people in need and like great music then dig in your pockets…

What a great idea for a record!

First off it is for a very worthwhile cause; the proceeds going to ‘The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture’. But rather than this being some huge publicity stunt for some of the biggest bands in the world to boost their sales, which is all band aid amounted to isn’t it really? I mean the cause was there, but it was wrapped in this celebrity self obsessed bollocks that just blinded the whole idea behind it.

Torture is something that still goes on around the world. From the position we occupy in the west we never really understand the extent to which the horrors of torture are still a very real reality in many peoples lives. The brutality and sheer disregard for human suffering and human life is something that we would not wish upon any human being. What the Medical Foundation does is aim to help those victims of torture, from all over the world, providing them with the necessary medical, psychological and social help they need so they can again become active members of society. What the medical foundation needs is exposure. And what better way than with music.

50 minutes is positively bursting with some of the most original and cult contemporary indie music. And to keep in with the central theme, its 50 bands in 50 minutes (get it?). 1 minute for each band… Simple as.

Short bursts of some of the most interesting and quirky pop music from the undergrowth. All you who thought you knew your music may find your ego slightly damaged after a listen to this. Packed with gems such as the streets meets mystery jets stylings of Jeremy Walmsley, the sexy Zelda esque electro of Piney Gir, aswell as The Bobby Mcguees, Chris Mcgrath, El Alto, The Death Set, Hot Puppies, Pandatone, Franc, Daniel Johnston… aww the list goes on, and on, and on, and on.

If it isn’t enough that the money from this reease goes to charity then think of the music as a gift in itself. Once you’ve collected yourself after listening you’ll have a renewed faith in music and feel slightly embittered that you’ve only heard of…erm… five of the bands on this record (I am truly Shit).

So get up and out and grabba hold of this record.

By Marc Higgins

2006-11-06T17:43:00.000-05:00

Fiddle While You Burn- What's Good Oct 2006

2006-11-03T16:21:00.000-05:00

Fiddle While You Burn
What's Good - October '06

At the beginning of each month FWYB will list some new sounds from artists that we haven't featured yet on the site that we think are worth checking out (below in no particular order). Last month's "What's Good" post got a pretty big response, so here's a new list for a new month short & sweet :

Delta Spirit - "Listen" (San Diego Indie Soul)
The Horrors - "Sheena is a Parasite" (UK Goth Punk)
Read Yellow - "Model America" (High-Energy New England Dance Punk)
Friendly Fires - Listen (UK Dance Punk)
Chow Nasty - "Ungowa Demo" (Bay Area Party-Rock)
The Death Set - "Intermission" (Australian Experimental Tech-Punk)
Beat Radio - "Everything is Temporary" (Melodic Long Island Indie-Rock)
Ela - "Worry Worry" (Introspective Minnesota Indie)
The Prayers - "USA" (San Diego Surf-Pop)
Two Gunslingers - Listen (LA Blues)
Danava - "Jack" (Metal Influenced Oregon Prog-Rock)
Gosling - Listen (LA Experimental Indie Pop)
Veldt - "Walking in Silence" (Mellow Indie from Brighton UK)
O' Death - "Only Daughter" (Experimental Country fom NYC)
The Trucks - Listen (Seattle Electro-Punk)
Wax on Radio - "When in Rome" (Chicago Indie-Prog)
La Rocca - "This Life" (catchy Ireland via LA Alt-Rock)
The Vandelles - "Lovely Weather" (Experimental Surf from NYC)
Made Out of Babies - "Mr. Prison Shanks" (Fiery Booklyn Meta-Punk)
Pelican - "Sirius" (Experimental Metal from Chicago)

LOW MOdA Reviewed in The City Paper

2006-11-01T10:18:00.000-05:00

Know Your Product | Lo Moda

(Lo Moda plays the Talking Head Nov. 4. For more information visit www.lowmoda.com)

Lo Moda
Gospel Store Front
Creative Capitalism
(2006, CD)

Everyone these days is so hot for postpunk--the years between 1978 and 1983 when all of the morlocks who crawled, irradiated, out of punk's ground zero began to mutate those three famous chords that were punk's conceptual Christmas present--that it sounds like everyone's forgotten all the great music prepunk. Well, Lo Moda's Gospel Store Front--the second CD release through the record album wing of Lo Moda frontman Peter Quinn's Creative Capitalism art-text-music conglomerate--proves that some people haven't forgotten. In the songs' keening strings and 3:15-on-a-Sunday-morning, A-train bounce you can hear the dizzy viola of John Cale and the elemental rum-pa-pum of Mo Tucker's drums. Opener "Seduction" finds a bouncing groove that's somewhere between Motown's foursquare razzle-dazzle and the highway star momentum of a Jonathan Richman raised in Germany at the height of Krautrock. And maybe it's just the associative subtitle, but the guitar part on "Get It Ready (Gospel Song)" sure sounds like it could have come off an early Impressions or Isley Brothers single--at least before Jimi Hendrix joined--and likewise the riff on "Late Night (Part Two)" would do Del "Runaway" Shannon proud.

But what Lo Moda really shares with all this music is simplicity and repetition, two things many people these days only think started when the Ramones ambled into CBGBs. Lo Moda's songs are neatly arranged out of often just three or four musical elements--a revolving five-note bass line, a squeaking two-note viola "hook" that answers at the end of each bar, a handclap, and a lone crack on a high-hat, for instance--an aesthetic strategy that Quinn crystallizes on "Les Jardins (de l'oubli)" when he sings,"your beat is too complicated." "Maybe You"--a 1:41 sketch for shaker, circular string scrape, and Quinn's haikulike is-it-a-verse-or-is-it-a-chorus?--outright teases you with the surprise of a flicker of piano and a parping horn in its last six seconds. But even these additions are of minimal means. The lyrics are as pared back as the music. Quinn is big on four- or five-line repeating runs of phrase that subtly change on their last two or three words: "And your heart is like a garden/ And your heart is in the cities/ And your heart is confiscated/ And your heart is on the table." His somewhat flat, nagging delivery is as important to the mantralike nature of the music as the drums or guitar. Though the band is hardly funky and no one would mistake the atmosphere of Gospel Store Front--imagine standing on the corner waiting for the bus after midnight on one of the coldest days of the year after just having your heart handed to you--for a singin', dancin' good time, when its musical and lyrical cells are circling each other, Lo Moda is one of Baltimore's most rhythmically compelling bands.

By Jess Harvell

Tensday Schedule

2006-10-30T13:23:00.000-05:00

Wed. Nov 1st

DJ sets from Balagan, DJ Gonzo and Hip-Hop Dan.

Wed. Nov 8th

Special Guest DJ Huggs (Montreal) w/ residents DJ Gonzo and Balagan.

Upstairs at The Ottobar every Wed. from 10 - Close, 10$ all you can drink specials every week.

Beatbot's Ponytail review

2006-10-19T23:06:00.000-04:00

from Beatbots

Kamehameha
Ponytail

7 / 10

To avoid any finger-pointing, I’ll admit off the bat I work for a company that distributes this album. However, the following review was born of genuine excitement and a wish to showcase local music.

Kamehameha opens with a chorus of voices rising seemingly out of a void and fading into the first strains of the bright, noodly guitar that suffuses the album, followed closely by the warbling of vocalist Molly Siegel. The album truly kicks off when all the instruments come tumbling in to finish out the last minute of the song. Pony Tail trade in bursts, their longest song little over three and a half minutes, making this ten-track debut very brief indeed. Still, despite the brevity, Pony Tail exude profuse joyousness and it is clear from the first track on that the guitarists and drummer mesh wonderfully while allowing one another space for galvanizing solos. Vocalist Siegel sounds like a kitten in her first heat or in her throatier moments, a teenybopper wicked witch. Her vocal styling might appeal to fans of Deerhoof, however those expecting the candied shrieks of Satomi Matsuzaki will be disappointed.

Deerhoof is also a good point of reference for Pony Tail on the whole. Both bands are accessible routes into more unhinged experimental Indie rock, and both trade in nearly ineffable glee. Another group that will likely crop up in comparison is The Boredoms. Personally, I find a similarity with the guitar work in The Advantage, although Pony Tail is devoid of self-aware nerdiness. Their closest brethren are fellow Baltimoreans Ecstatic Sunshine, and it's no surprise as the bands share guitarist Dustin Wong. I urge anyone who enjoys Pony Tail to seek out Ecstatic Sunshine, a stripped-down affair of two guitarists whose recently released album Freckle Wars churns out startingly robust and layered harmonies. You’ll thank me, I swear.

Despite the trying vocals, the album is delightfully uplifting, and rather than whipping one’s flagging spirits into shape, it froths them. Additionally, the packaging, designed by music and art book purveyors Creative Capitalism, is lovely and innovative, with an eye towards conservation and waste reduction. Creative Capitalism has a number of exciting releases in store for the end of this year and into next, many highlighting the crème of Baltimore’s burgeoning super scene. They are definitely a label to keep tabs on.

Reviewed by: Raven Baker
Posted on: October 19th, 2006

Pitchfork's Guest List w/ Girl Talk

2006-10-17T13:22:00.000-04:00

From Pitchfork

Guest List: Girl Talk
Guest List by Gregg Gillis | Photo by Andrew Strasser

Welcome to the latest edition of Pitchfork's Guest List. Each week, we'll ask one of our favorite artists to fill us in on what they've been up to lately: which tracks they can't stop spinning, what books they can't put down, and what new bands they've caught on tour. This week it's Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, the mashup masta not-a-DJ, who enthuses over Christina Aguilera, reps for Dan Deacon's live set, and explains why he wants to learn to play guitar.

>> Best Show This Year

Dan Deacon/ The Death Set, Arrow Gallery, Pittsburgh
I saw a guy by the name of Dan Deacon and a band called The Death Set at the Arrow Gallery in Pittsburgh. It was great. The Death Set were just quick, noisy, and fast. It was a pretty low-attended show, but that lended to how fun it was. By the time Dan Deacon came on, there were about 10 non-touring people at the show. And he made everyone stand in a single-file line in front of the stage at one point. And for another song, he asked everyone to cram into a back corner-- all 10 of them-- while he played about 30 feet away. And then he led a whole bunch of call-and-response routines that took about five minutes for him to explain exactly what everyone would be doing. It was 10 people hanging out in this small basement show, with one guy performing, and he's kind of breaking down every barrier of what was a performance and what wasn't. I really like his music, and I think he's great, but this particular show was extremely awkward and amazing.

2006-10-09T19:11:00.000-04:00

Philadelphia Weekly
What's Up With ...Rod Lee
by Dirty South Joe

Age: “Over 21.”
Hometown: Baltimore.

Background: “The undisputed godfather of Baltimore club.”

On the recent globalization of the B-more club sound: “When you’ve been doing it for a while, it kind of pans out to where you’re just thankful for what you’ve got. You try to stay grounded and humble and gradually get ’em on it. If they feel it, it’s a blessing. If not, it’s nothing to get upset about.”

On pretenders to the throne: “When you’ve got some average Joe who you don’t even worry about who takes the club music, puts their name on it and throws it out there , they’re gonna get more notoriety than someone who eats, sleeps and shits it. Doing club music is how I survive and feed my kids. It’s more than just throwing a beat together and trying to make someone dance. It’s different when an outsider tries to infiltrate and create the Baltimore sound. To them it’s not that serious, but it’s what took me off the streets. Now we’re in competition. Now it’s gettin’ fun and I’m gonna have to shut you down.”

On evolution: “All of us DJs worked for the radio stations, and we’d get new music months before it came out. As soon as a single would jump off, we’d hit ’em with the club mix. DMX, Ja Rule, Redman, Puffy—they all knew about what we were doing, but it wasn’t a problem. Why would these major labels worry about something so far under their radar? If any of them wanted to come to us and say something, we’d probably buck. It would’ve been real. We weren’t making much money, but in Baltimore we’d die for what we believed in. I got tired of the sampling because you couldn’t get full publishing points and make money for your music. That’s when I started putting my own voice on my records.”

On the future, now: “My company Harm Squad Entertainment is self-contained. We’ve got everything you could ever need as an artist. If you’re coming in as an artist by yourself, now you have a team.”

Best of Baltimore

2006-09-27T17:52:00.000-04:00

Best Live Band
The Death Set

Photo By:Jefferson Jackson Steele

Usually we wait to kill bands until the issue is actually on the stands, but in the run-up to this year's Best of Baltimore, we learned that our best live band was going taking a hiatus due to visa issues. Which is a fuckin' shame, because for the last 12 months the two antipodean punx that make up the Death Set have provided the most entertaining spectacle you can get in a club that doesn't offer people taking their clothes off. Wiry, bespectacled, and white-dude Afro'd Johnny Siera and Beau Velasco bash out screechy little pop ditties, like Chipmunk Punk come to life. But the band's killer app is the tinny, preprogrammed beats and pieces--we've heard Ludacris, B-more club, Dizzee Rascal, and more--that come flying out of its iPod rhythm section. And, like all good punk rock, the set's over before you can blink. Plus, judging by all the sweat and pogoing, the kids seem to like them, always a good sign with this rock music thing.

2006-09-12T21:46:00.000-04:00

Paper Street Events For More Info.

Punk Shit Interview w/ Johnny Siera of The Death Set

2006-08-28T11:32:00.000-04:00

Punk Shit Interview

By: Bill Leary
I was first introduced to The Death Set while seeing Lifetime play a basement show in New Brunswick a couple of days before their big performance at The Bamboozle and I was shocked to say the least. The Death Set are a high-energy electro-punk hybrid originally from Australia. They have a very spaz-core art house style to them which is an incredible sight to see live. They have recently joined Rabbit Foot Records and are pursuing a full length follow up to their self-released debut EP Ã¢ToÃ¢

PS!: Since signing to Rabbit Foot the To EP has been re-released with the brand new song Boys and Girls added as an extra bonus. Were the songs re-recorded or just re-released? If they were re-recorded, how did they change and are you happy with the changes?

Johnny: The re-released material was just re-mixed a little, not much and re-mastered. Our original EP was released by us basically to document our time in Sydney where we formed the band. The extra song was recorded in my friends basement in Baltimore but the backing track had already been written in Sydney. Basically we do the entire process ourselves so we are happy with it. We both have control over the whole process of writing, recording and mixing as we do it all ourselves. There really is no third party to interfere so we write and tweak until we are happy. I find it kind of funny its even released and in the public domain as it is really just two kids spazzing out with computers, drum machines and guitars in bedrooms.

PS!: You guys are originally from Australia, right? What made you two travel to the states?

Johnny: To answer simply we just wanted to play and tour everywhere as much as we could so moving to the US accommodated that. In Australia it is about 800 miles between cities so it makes touring harder. We both grew up mostly in a town called The Gold Coast which is I guess kind of equivalent to a surfing based Florida. Lots of retirees, lots of rednecks. I mean, its very beautiful and cool at the same time but hard to find inspiration. We were both in a band called Black Panda and Beau (other member) set up a tour of the East Coast of Australia with Japanther from Brooklyn. We toured and met lots of amazing kids who put us up and were so cool and awesome. For me it just lit a spark that was like, actually I can do this. I don't need to be amazingly talented, I just need to want to do it and have the enthusiasm because the music will come if we stick to it. At that point Beau and I moved to Sydney, decided that this was our mission and locked ourselves away in a one bedroom studio. We subleted a room from a flamingly gay glass artist and began to write. I used to sleep next to a half empty bottle of lube sometimes. It was kind of hilarious and super fun. We put a picture of NYC on the wall and decided that we were going there to tour and destroy. No doubt.

PS!: The Death Set has a very unique sound, the only live instruments you play with are guitars and occasionally the keyboard along with some sort of badass microphones, but drum machines, laptops, TV/film/hip-hop samples are used to create the background music. What made you guys take the musical route that you did, instead of simply starting a normal 3-5 piece punk band? Did your roots in Australia play any part in the style of your music? And what exactly are those microphones made out of and how do you get them to produce that insane sound?

Johnny: We pretty much produce the backing tracks and recordings on my laptop mixing it down in ProTools using a lot of soft synths and samplers. I'm at the controls and Beau stamps around the room saying tweak this and that. We rely heavily on sampled drums and loops and synth bass but we put anything in there, toys, casios, synths we borrow, pots and pans... and very distorted vocals. The microphones are old harmonica mics, which we put telephone receivers into. It gives that nice AM telephone sound which is pretty forgiving to be honest when we don't sing the best. We both really listen to a lot of different music. I mean I listen to as much Hip Hop and electronic music as I do punk. So thatÃ¢s a big influence. I don't feel like the music we make is Punk per se but I feel the way we approach it is. The energy that itÃ¢s performed and the DIY mentality and touring and being a part of the punk network definitely is.

PS!: The first and sadly the only time we got to see you guys perform was when Lifetime played that unexpected basement show in New Brunswick and you guys were crazy to say the least. The intense energy that you guys gave off was bizarre! You had everyone in the place going, Ã¢What the fuck is this shit?Ã¢ But by the second song everyone was totally into it. Is that the normal response you get from an audience that has never witnessed the rawness of your performance?

Johnny: Dude, that was a weird show. For me it was quite difficult. In general, hardcore kids aren't really down with TheDeathSet. So all I saw was a lot of folded arms and disapproving looks so I'm glad you thought people were into it. It was Lifetimes reunion show in Jersey for fucks sake though. Kids were there to see Lifetime and were waiting for the supports to finish. I was stoked that Dave from Lifetime asked us to play and he has been super cool to us since the get go. He makes a lot of electronic music as well so I think that might be a reason he likes us. As I was saying before we aren't your typical punk lineup so a lot of kids can't get past that but most do. Responses are always different but they have been overall awesome. Lots of dancing, smiles and good times. Shit... sometimes people even singing the words. We play a lot of punk houses or art school warehouse type things so usually the kids are totally informed on the bands that play already and are super stoked that we made it to their corner of the world and when its kids like that in a small basement or something and everyoneÃ¢s stoked and having fun its the best!

PS!: Now I thought you guys went nuts when you played with Lifetime but then I checked out your MySpace and youÃ¢re bleeding in almost every photo taken! Does the intensity of your shows vary? And why wasnÃ¢t their blood at the Lifetime show?

Johnny: As I was saying we weren't really getting much crowd response from that show so it was a little more chill. However we both love to go as crazy and energetic as possible and when the crowd is too it can get real crazy. All fun and positive though. I think the photo you saw of Beau was in NYC when he grabbed a glass light off the stage and smashed it into his head until he bled. It made for good photos but we usually escape a show with just a few bruises.

PS!: The other thing that was shocking was the bond that the both of you obviously shared. It was as if youÃ¢ve been best friends your entire life. Is that the case? How did you guys meet? And did you both share the same musical ideas at first?

Johnny: We were in similar circles growing up as the number of kids that go to shows or were interested in making music were not too great where we were from. But I didn't actually start chilling with him until he asked me to play guitar for the Black Panda / Japanther tour about a year and a half ago. We both connected in the fact of going spastic when we played shows and wanting to do this for real but the other members had priorities like kids or houses so we just decided to go for it as a two-piece. I was already writing electronic based music so we combined the punk energy with that. That put us in a bizarre situation of living and together in a new city working towards a shared goal 24/7. So we just had to learn how to do that without driving each other crazy. But we are both really positive so any trouble is mostly not really turned into trouble at all. I was always playing in punk bands then started to write electronic music. Beau was DJing and producing electronic music then started a punk band so we walked the same path but just started at the opposite end and met in the middle.

PS!: A new release is in the works as we speak; can you give us any details on that yet? Will it be another EP or a full-length album?

Johnny: The full length is almost finished. As I said before we do all the recording and mixing ourselves in our bedroom studio. It will be around 35 minutes and around 20 songs. Its due out on Rabbit Foot around the beginning of the new year. I am really excited.

PS!: Since Punksh!t was created to get the word out about local bands struggling to make a name for themselves, what is your personal favorite up and coming band?

Johnny: At the moment I think Baltimore has an amazing scene of kind of post art school weird high-energy bands. Bands like the two guitar only Ecstatic Sunshine and the more rocky Ponytail are bad ass. We have experimental electronic dude Dan Deacon and spastic backing track drum guitar duo of Video Hippos. In Baltimore, we mostly all live in spaces where we put on and host shows in our spaces so its really fun. I'm super stoked at the moment on Matt and Kim and Aa from Brooklyn and of course Japanther.

PS!: Thanks again for allowing punkshit.org to interview The Death Set. We cant wait to see how crazy you two get the next time we catch you live! Thanks!

Johnny: Thanks. We are going on tour to Chicago and back in August so check our tour schedule if you live near.

Thanks!! Good luck with your webzine.

Rock On London Issue 11 Podcast Feat. The Death Set

2006-08-28T11:28:00.000-04:00

Rock On London Podcast

2006-08-14T19:15:00.000-04:00

THIS FRIDAY AUGUST 18TH @ Tax-Lo

THE DEATH SET WILL PLAY A LIVE SET IN THE LOUNGE (this may be the first live lounge set, I am not sure ask Cullen).

OPENING DJ SETS FROM EMILY RABBIT (rabbitfoot records/baltimore bass connection) AND NINE LIVES THE CAT (beat traffickers, UK)

DJ FEELGOOD AND DAVE NADA IN THE CLUB ROOM

LONNIE FISHER, CULLEN STALIN, AND SIMON D PHOENIX IN THE MAINROOM

$1 DRINKS FROM 9 -11 PM
ALL NIGHT : $3 GUINNESS / HEINEKEN / CORONA /
FREE SPARKS HAPPY HOUR - 9 PM TO 10 PM

ITS 18+ AND STARTS AT 9 PM.

2006-08-07T19:23:00.000-04:00

Tour send off to Chicago Mauled by Tigers fest. Check out our tour dates.

The Death Set
Dan Deacon
Video Hippos
Team Robespierre

Tuesday August 8th
from 10

Third Floor Third Door
Copy Cat Building
1511 Guilford Ave
$5

Punk News Review of The Death Set's "To"

2006-08-07T12:44:00.000-04:00

Punk News Review

The Death Set
To
2006
RabbitFoot

The Death Set are a band that really knows how to pack it in. No, no, not like that, you sick bastard. What I was actually getting at is the remarkable ability to pack what seems like an absurd amount of music into a mere twelve minutes time.

In a more schizophrenic 7-song album than I think I’ve ever heard, the Death Set cascade through 7 tracks that average about a minute and a half apiece with an absolute reckless abandon. Each and every one are full of wailing garage rock vocals, fuzz-laden chord progressions, and the occasional inclusion of some quirky synth work. And as obnoxious a combination as that sounds like, it actually comes across quite well.

The attitude on a song like “Snap” is what really sells this band. The spunky female vocals over the bouncy bassline is just too catchy to deny. The delivery is quick and effective, with the jagged riffing really pushing the pace of the song along well. The followup, "Boys/Girls,” is the band at their most spastic. The lead synth line is extremely quick, and it integrates well with the rest of the song, the vocals being much more angry and screamy than anywhere previously displayed on the album.

Not much to say here. Short, loud, fast, and full of attitude.

2006-07-30T21:56:00.000-04:00

2006-07-15T15:38:00.000-04:00

2006-06-29T12:17:00.000-04:00

Tuesday July 4th @ 330 MELROSE ST - ROOFTOP!

A BENEFIT FOR COMMON GROUND

BBQ from 12-10pm
festivities from 12-4pm
bands from 4-10pm
$8-12 sliding scale

Featuring art and projections by Union Docs

Japanther
Parts & Labor
Matt & Kim
Pterodactyl
Battleship (Oakland)
Knyfe Hyts (current and ex ex models)
The Death Set
Necking

[ 330 MELROSE ST - ROOFTOP! ]
330 Melrose St @ Wilson Ave | Bushwick, Brooklyn
L to Morgan | 12pm to 10pm - bands @ 4pm | all ages

2006-06-21T14:05:00.000-04:00

Celebrate the Summer Solstice with very special guest DJ and favorite foreign exchange student Johnny Siera (The Death Set, Kitty Porn) and tried and true Wednesday stalwart Emily Rabbit (RabbitFoot Records, Morphius Records)

Ladies drink all they can for only 10$ from 10 - Close.

Tonight promises to be full of surprise guests and I guarantee a celebratory mood.

LA Bicycle Fim Festival Information

2006-06-20T12:49:00.000-04:00

THE BICYCLE FILM FESTIVAL IS IN LA JUNE 21-24!!!
LA TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE!!!
THE BICYCLE FILM FESTIVAL IS IN MINNEAPOLIS JULY 6-8!!!

Check out our recent Press! We are in Time Magazine, Anthem, New York Magazine, Time Out NY, Paper Magazine, Readymade, Blackbook, XLR8R, Marie Clare Italia, Dirt Rag and more.

Joy Ride, an art show inspired by bicycles opens in Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 21 from 6 PM - 12 at the Don O'Melveny Gallery, 5472 Wilshire Blvd. Near La Brea. Valet bicycle parking provided by Bikestation Coalition. Artists include SWOON, MICHEL GONDRY, PETER SUTHERLAND, SHEPARD FAIREY, DANIEL LEEB and many more.

The Bikes Rock Party is at The Smell on Thursday, June 22nd at 9PM. The bands are amazing: Yikes (member of Coachwhips, OCS and Pink And Brown from SF) | Silver Daggers | Fuck Wolf (SF) | The Pope

Brendt Barbur | Director
P.S. Bikes Rule

View the Festival Trailer Featuring Music from The Death Set

2006-06-16T11:09:00.000-04:00

Tonight at the 3rd Floor, 3rd Door Space located on the (duh) 3rd Floor of the Copycat Warehouse (1511 Guilford Ave. Baltimore, MD)

The Death Set

Gold chains and shell-toes crossed with suburban galaxy xxxxxl wear w/ loud amps

Black Squid

Mask wearing, experimental Euro disco barf. First Baltimore show in over 68 years.

Narwalz

Calculator on PCP, but sweet. Richmond, VA

Prog Dogs

That picture is weird, On tour w/ Narwalz

Jones

Verbal assault soldier, friend to Baltimore, friend to you.

Popmatters Review

2006-06-08T15:51:00.000-04:00

Popmatters Review

The Death Set, To (RabbitFoot)

A joyous burst of noise-pop exuberance, The Death Set's To packs seven punchy songs into 12 minutes of simple keyboard lines, distorted guitars, and shouted vocals. The duo has migrated from Australia to Baltimore, but their sound is straight out of the New York City avant-loft scene of Japanther and affiliates. With more energy than profundity, co-lead singer Johnny Siera's high-pitched yelping sounds like mid-'90s Bis at that band's most excited state; I had him pegged as a woman declaring, "take it from me, I'm a feminist" on "Boys/Girls" (turns out he's saying "I'm effeminate", and the song's main argument is that "if I was gay I would get more sex"; it's more stupid than offensive, but the Death Set are not staking their claim to fame on lyrical depth anyway). The art-damage factor never impedes the sharp hooks, and nice touches like the machine-gun-fire percussive interjections that punctuate the bouncy rhythms of "Snap" insure that listener attention never wanders. That this will probably be embraced by the smarmy Vice set doesn't detract from its irrepressibly frenetic charm. [Insound]
— Whitney Strub

"To" is Organ Magazine's Album of the Week

2006-06-06T15:29:00.000-04:00

Organ Magazine

ALBUM OF THE WEEK
THE DEATH SET – To (Rabbitfoot) – They’re originally from Australia, this (so it seems) is their U.S debut, seven track mini album of scuzzy DIY fuzzy spiky lo-fi new wave analogue drum-box driven pop that comes over like a few more welcoming Bis. High speed boingo-boingo pop art tantrums and lots of attitude (and bratty girl/boy voices) that they know they’re easily good enough to get away with. Aggressively sweet, like sucking delicious boiled sweets and expecting the bits of glass – for fans of Lightning Bolt, Deerhoof and the Dub Narcotic Sound System.

SF Bay Guardian Review

2006-06-05T10:50:00.000-04:00

SF Bay Guardian Review

THE DEATH SET
To
(Rabbit Foot)

This remastered EP from the Baltimore–via–Sydney, Australia, duo bubbles up with a potent concoction of breakneck electro-punk and thigh-slapping charisma faster then you can say "Kathleen Hanna, take a hint already." The Death Set playfully tear through "Paranoia" with zingy synth whirs and squawking sing-alongs while the agitated guitar riffs and muffled samples of "Intermission" echo the Go! Team trading licks with the Polysics. (Chris Sabbath)

New York Night Train Review

2006-05-27T16:28:00.000-04:00

New York Night Train

The Death Set
To
RabbitFoot 2006

Really sticky speedy spazzy pop defined by tuneful high-pitched screaming, distorted guitars, and Casios blasting over rigid new wavy machine beats. The Death Set's debut EP is the giddiest wall-bouncing sugar overdose thats come my way in some time. To goes down like a mix of three balloons full o'nitrous and three more full o'helium. These Australia to Baltimore transplants sound like a faster, poppier, and more-straighforward Devo for 21st Century attention spans. It'll make you jump up and down and pound your head against the wall with delight.

Also, hats off to the RabitFoot for their cool and elaborate packaging which features singer/guitarist Beau Velascos art on both the cover and the foldout poster within. This is RabbitFoots first release and I hope they keep the goodies coming.

My only complaint is that it didnt take long devour all six of these syrupy nuggets. I know it aint no good for me but Im still hungry and I gotta couple ocavity-free teeth ready and willing More please.

Razorcake Review of Lifetime/ Death Set show @ The Court Tavern

2006-05-27T16:26:00.000-04:00

Razorcake
Lifetime, The Death Set, and The Unlovables
Live at the Court Tavern, 5/6/06

By Joe Evans
Tuesday, May 23 @ 15:07:03 EDT

So everyone knew that Lifetime was going to be playing a huge festival at Giants Stadium. It was one of those things that everyone inevitably complains about when any band goes and does things. However, not as many people knew that theyd also be playing a smaller show the day before, at a venue just slightly more intimate than an arena parking lot. How I knew about it, Im not even that sure myself, but it was certainly worth dragging myself up out of bed early on a Saturday morning (not for cartoons, for once) to catch a train down.

The Unlovables went on first, and I was pretty bummed that I missed the first few songs of their set, since it was so crowded and slow to get downstairs to the show space. Fortunately, I still managed to catch most of the set, so I was happy about that. Theyre a great pop punk band, "traditional" without being completely derivative like a lot of other bands, and "modern" without sounding like the kind of garbage that filled up the festival that Lifetime was playing the next day. Does all of that make sense? I hope so, because The Unlovables are pretty awesome, and I would like to get that point across.

There was another opening band called The Death Set. This was interesting. Its pretty hard to even try to describe them. Okay, you know those big arcade dancing games? Okay, you know how they have games like that, but instead of dancing, you play these novelty guitars? Thats what they were like. That, with gangsta rap beats. Im dead serious.

If nothing, Lifetime is a weird band. Well, at least not musically. Musically, theyre a hardcore band, who instead opts for a more positive, poppy take as opposed to the rest of their bone-headed contemporaries from the early 90s (or, for the sake of argument, also the "I hate everything" metal-core bands of today). The weird part has been the wide scale of reactions theyve had over the years. They made it from "Eh, this band sucks," all the way to, "This is one of the greatest bands, ever," shortly before ending things in the late 90s. Still a popular topic of conversation even after having broken up (the fact that members went on to form Kid Dynamite, Zero Zero, Paint It Black, and others probably didnt hurt this), the general consensus seemed to be "Well, sure it would be great to see them again, but it would have to be something like a basement show, or it would suckand theres no way thatll ever happen." Sure enough, there were constant bumps and nudges urging them to reunite, to the point where it seemed like every new band on the radio or MTV was saying, "You know who we owe our being in a band to? Lifetime." Finally, after a mess of an incident known as Hellfest, the band finally decided to permanently regroup and go back into the crazy world we all know as punk rock the best they could.

(Quick tangent: Remember a few years ago, when Jade Tree Records pulled the April fools joke saying Lifetime were recording a new album called Please Stop Ripping Off Our Riffs a few years ago? Dear Lifetime: I would like to insist that you call your next record Please Stop Ripping Off Our Riffs. That is all. Thank you.)

Anyway, after a short wait, Lifetime finally got ready to play, and ended up playing a pretty good chunk of their discography for close to an hour. Its always a pretty cool feeling seeing a celebrated band, in essentially a hometown setting, let alone in a tiny, packed bar basement (furthermore, seeing them in a tiny, packed bar basement the day before theyd be playing on the main stage at a huge festival, probably fifteen feet away from the crowd). Things began with some very atmospheric feedback and started with "Turnpike Gates." There were some technical issues at times, like some faulty guitar cables, but no one really seemed to mind. In fact, I was actually really surprised at how calm the crowd was overall. Granted, people were jumping up and down, singing along as loud as they could, but only one person fell on top of me (not that Im complaining). All in all, it was a great show, combined with having time to eat the horrendously delicious food New Brunswick has to offer (spend a day there, youll know what I mean), made it one of those shows that leaves you thinking, "Im glad I got into this crazy stuff."

Verbicide Review

2006-05-23T14:19:00.000-04:00

Verbicide
The Death Set
"To"
Jennifer Swan
June 2006

Maybe my odd attraction to The Death Set started when I caught a glimpse of
their vivid, morbid cover artwork by band member and visual artist Beau
Velasco, and fell immediately in love. Perhaps this strange devotion to The
Death Set derived from their resemblance to a now disbanded local band
called Venus Diode, in which I still long for. Okay, let's face it: I took a
liking to The Death Set simply because they make me dance around my bedroom
like a fanatical nut. Originally formed in Sydney, Australia, To is the
Band's debut EP in the United States and features seven short, fast,
synthesizer-heavy tracks often described as "digitized robot nightmares" If
this is the case, these hypothetical nightmares would include visions of
pixie sticks, energy drinks, large, gnarly, leafless trees, cloudy night
skies, full moons, and helium balloons. Velasco, along with Johnny Siera,
sing together in shrill, high-pitched voices that at times remind me of
Gravy Train, at others, Melt Banana, and even sometimes, The Locust. Dig
highly-infectious, dark and insightful electronic dance tracks? Pick this CD
up immediately, weirdo!

New RAB-001 Poster for 2nd Pressing

2006-05-23T12:03:00.000-04:00

The Death Set, Neutral Mute, Ecstatic Sunshine @ Club Midway (NYC)

2006-05-20T11:05:00.000-04:00

The Death Set Host a Show:

2006-05-18T14:17:00.000-04:00

Rock World Review

2006-05-17T12:20:00.000-04:00

Rockn World
The Death Set - To Review
by Eric Bodrero

My goodness, I've never come across a band that I so quickly fell in love with like I have The Death Set. This quick little ten-minute EP simply titled To has more substance and bizarre, attractive instrumentation and songwriting than a lot of full length albums that run over an hour. The Death Set combine punk riffs with spazzy, experimental indie math rock and sharp, biting lyrics that are mostly yelled to give you the most energetic, raucous and untamed ten minutes of your life.

Check out the ultra-catchy, burned-on-your-mind forever "Negative Thinking" that will have you mindlessly singing the chorus for days after hearing it. Or delve a little deeper into the eccentric and out-of-control "Snap", which mixes a semi-decent drum beat and bass line with sporadic explosions of machine-gun drum beatings and keyboard grinding throughout its whopping one minute and thirteen seconds. For a tamer listen try the closer "Around the World", which reminds me of early Sigue Sigue Sputnik and is one of the softer things you'll likely hear from this band.

Yet despite all the spasmaticism (yeah, I made that one up), The Death Set has this uncanny ability to rock you gently with a user-friendly and supple synth beat throughout. I dare you to give these guys a try. As for me, I'll be the first in line at the record store when they release new material, which, at the quick pace they're rocking to on this EP, should be often. For fans of Animal Collective and Deerhoof.

The Big Takeover Issue 58 Review

2006-05-17T11:35:00.000-04:00

THE DEATH SET
TO EP (RABBITFOOT)

Formed in Sydney, Australia, but now based in the U.S., this duo— comprised of visual artist BEAU VELASCO and engineer/ “playboy” JOHNNY SIERA-- play aggressive and vigorous, yet highly infectious and hyperkinetic electronic pop/punk. Each Fleeting tune (only a few crack the two-minute mark) features raw ‘n’ dirty keyboards, fuzzed-out guitars, distorted and occasionally shouted vocals, and intermittent but well-integrated samples. Sometimes they bring to mind a trashier cross between the Rezillos and Devo (the EP’s most hummable track “Intermission”, even recalls Toni Basil’s “Mickey!”). At other times, they hint at the harsh, pile-driving attack of Wire’s most recent output, especially on punkier tunes “Distressed” and “Boys/Girls”. This is guaranteed to have you dancing around the room and perhaps even breaking a few household items in the process.

Death Set Poster by Matt Reilly

2006-05-16T16:20:00.000-04:00

The Essence Of The Rabbit Mandala

2006-05-12T13:56:00.000-04:00

This is really cool...

From the site: "No other living creature features as heavily in contemporary character design and art as the humble hare. But what exactly makes bunnies so irresistible to artists, designers and illustrators worldwide? Depending on the viewers’ cultural context rabbits can symbolise anything from insanity, alertness, defencelessness, all the way to promiscuity, magic powers and utter innocence. By condensing the endless variations of the rabbit motif into one ultimate system - a perfect bunny mandala - the true nature of the beast emerges: the eternal essence of rabbit."