It's going to be an evening of firsts, returns, magic (yes magic!) and some actual funny people! Rebel Sound Comedy returns for a fun-filled evening of stand-up comedy featuring some of the funniest knuckleheads this side of the Housatonic! The drinks at the VFW flow very cheaply so this will enhance the humor, trust me, they'll need all the help they can get!
$7***all ages****DOORS at 9pm so we don't disturb the master thes...pians upstairs or the bums sleeping in the gutter!
****People start telling funny stuff at 9:30pm, so drink up at the bar, it will be funnier that way!
Limited seating is available, advance reservations to any of the performers is encouraged and hopefully effective!
**while this is an all-ages event, it's for mature audiences, it's hard to make R-rated material PG, trust me, not everyone is that clever!**
Scheduled to appear:
*Mark Jagiello (Hostess with the Mostess) - Mark has appeared all over the region grocery shopping, buying gas and even performing comedy in upstate NY, NYC, VT, MA and in the office for all of his co-workers! They told him he was funny AND NOW look at him!
* Lance "Picnic Table" Madewell - "PIcnic Table" is making his stand-up comedy debut, please no throwing of rotten food at him! (after a severe beatdown, you will be cleaning it up!) While you get to hear bits and pieces of his wit on WTBR's "The Bad Medicine Show", this forum will give Mr. Table the opportunity to shine uncensored by the FCC!
*Colby Durand - Colby is a pure "Eastern Masshole" through and through who also happens to be funny! He's back after killing us softly at the last RSR comedy night back in 2010. He was recently beat out 3 other guys to win the honor of "Hottest Stand-Up Comedian at MCLA Who Happens to Be From Malden MA Who Was Born on April 3, 1986"!
*Andy Poncherello - Unfortunately Andy remembers 1986 all too well. In 2010 he vowed to perform a stand-up set "one time and one time only!" Clearly, like The Who, he doesn't know when to quit, however he put his differences aside and decided to reunite for this very special comedy event.
*Sharkee Katz - This kat is once again leaving his digs in the Pioneer Valley to head over the hell....er...hill to bring the funny! You've seen him on the FBI's Most Wanted List and if you've gotten lucky with Sharkee, you've seen his infamous Hartford Whalers tattoo! While he has been accused of having a mid-Western accent, he's not from Minnesota!
*Johnny Mystic - He's magical! He's funny! (we hope) He's magical, that's for sure! Mr. Mystic is making his Rebel Sound Comedy debut and he's been wowing audiences throughout the region for over 2 decades. He's bringing his unique blend of entertainment to this rather odd gathering of lunatics! It's either perform tonight or he stays home and stares are the wall.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Dead Aces new CD Ain't That Bad Unless You Believe MRR
Older zine readers, punk fans or what have you probably remember the day when a review or mention in Maximum Rock n' Roll (or even Flipside) was a badge of honor. Over the years there have been many changes including the homogenizing of the scene in general, the closing of Flipside and the death of MRR founder Tim Yohannan. While MRR soldiers on into yet another decade, it seems that the hipster mentality has crept into the hallowed pages of this once mighty and influential zine. Reviews are overly negative and unless you have some kind of weird basement show street cred, play The Fest or reside in Bay Area, you're almost certain of getting either quick afterthought one sentence review or an extremely bad review.
All 3 of Rebel Sound Records' most recent releases have been blasted by MRR and it's almost to the point that I expect to read that the bands RSR has chosen to work with plain old suck. I usually advise the bands I'm working with to not bother sending MRR anything because they'll most likely trash it.
Troy NY's Dead Aces spent quite a bit of time with Don Fury at his upstate NY recording facility and you know what? Their record is good, so good in fact it surprised me. Some of the songs from their previous demo appear here and they've been updated to the point that they kick the demo versions out of the pit. Fury managed to capture the band at their best as would be expected, but I still think recording with him can be a gamble. What good does "produced by Don Fury" mean if you've recorded really bad songs? You're only going to sound as good as the source material and if your songs aren't good he can only use so much polish on a turd before it becomes an expensive historical document.
13 tracks is a perfect amount for long time fans and new fans alike. You can sing along to most of these songs and they sound familiar while still sounding fresh, which isn't easy to do. For me personally, Oi! is a very British/European style and it's always been hard for American bands to get it right. On "Best of Luck in Your Future Endeavors" their Oi! influences show without sounding cliched and are elevated above bands who rely too much on following a particular formula when they write. Throw in some punk, hardcore and even rock n' roll to give you a good idea as to what Dead Aces sound like. It's a solid album and after 4 years of performing and writing, it's nice to hear someone actually get it right for once.
Michael Vick, I Hope You Rot
Mighty Mighty Bosstones & Dropkick Murphys live in Fenway Park!
If you missed the Dropkick Murphys on their minor league ballpark tour in 2008 or at Punk Rock Bowling this past Memorial Day weekend, then definitely make your way to Fenway Park on September 8th and 9th for special concert event! Joining the Dropkick Murphys will be hometown favorites the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, who we really don't see enough of quite honestly.
Fenway Park, one of the last remaining parks that hasn't been renamed in some corporate sponsorship tomfoolery, will have a special stage in place over the right field bullpen for this event. Check out the details here and tickets will be on sale July 5 for fans (and July 7 for people who know DKM from The Departed and the Bosstones as that band from Clueless or frontman Dicky Barrett from the Jimmy Kimmel Show), use the code MIGHTY when purchasing. This will be the first time for the Bosstones at Fenway, but DKM has been here before most recently for the NHL Winter Classic.
Fenway Park, one of the last remaining parks that hasn't been renamed in some corporate sponsorship tomfoolery, will have a special stage in place over the right field bullpen for this event. Check out the details here and tickets will be on sale July 5 for fans (and July 7 for people who know DKM from The Departed and the Bosstones as that band from Clueless or frontman Dicky Barrett from the Jimmy Kimmel Show), use the code MIGHTY when purchasing. This will be the first time for the Bosstones at Fenway, but DKM has been here before most recently for the NHL Winter Classic.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Show Attendance: Answers to the Question "Why Isn't Anyone Here?"
Many years have passed since promoting my first Rebel Sound event at the long gone Woody's Roadhouse in Washington MA, a venue owned by what many report to have been a borderline crook. Woody's still stands and it is in fact in the middle of pretty much nowhere on route 8 where it hasn't moved for decades. During the heydays of the (for better or for worse) 80's music scene in Berkshire County, Woody's was a destination of sorts somewhat centrally located (30 minutes from Pittsfield, about the same distance from Great Barrington and about an hour from parts of northern Berkshire County). The distance to get there never seemed to phase anyone because the parking lot always seemed to be full with professional partiers who basically showed up regardless of who was playing, drank heavily and would attempt to drive home. True, this was the golden age of cover bands, change the name of the band, the heads of the players and you have the same band playing night after night. All of this was fine and good, frustrating too, but at least people left their house. When I booked Woody's for an exhausting (but great) 13 band event I faced challenges right up to and during the show which are not related to the subject at hand. At that time, there really weren't other shows to hand out fliers at or establishments willing to post fliers for much of anything other than benefit events. A few places remain in the area that to this day are friendly to posting of fliers for random non-benefit gigs.
Times have changed and now in 2011 there are so many distractions, it's extremely difficult to not only promote shows, but to also get people to leave their house to attend them. Promotion almost isn't a key factor any longer as people either ignore invites or postings on the internet or the classic their-dog-ate-the-flier-you-handed-them-on-the-way-to-throw-up-on-their-homework-it's prom night-the-carnival-is-in-town-I-feel-sick-I-had-to-go-to-a-picnic-I -am-camping classic excuse is used as to why they didn't show up. Suddenly driving to other parts of the county is too far, but driving hours to Boston, NYC, (insert name of festival here) or elsewhere is not only okay but can become a mission of life or death for some unknown reason. Handing out fliers/posting fliers has almost become as pointless as opening a store in a day and age where people can effortlessly steal what you're trying to sell them in 10 seconds online.
Is this directly anyone's fault? Not really, but the bands playing shows are almost as guilty as the people who aren't coming to see them. In most cases, people follow by example. All individuality is thrown out the window if there is even the slightest chance that someone may go to a show alone, not know anyone and feel awkward. I get that and I've done that very same thing. I don't let it bother me and you shouldn't either.
"Why Isn't Anyone Here?"
This very difficult to answer with a simple one sentence response (sorry) but I'll try.
1) BAND RESPONSIBILITY It is no one's job other than your own to promote your show to your friends, family and co-workers. Bands with more than one musician really should be promoting the show to as many people as they can via internet or in person. Just because your drummer is promoting it to all of his friends doesn't mean you share the same friends and maybe, just maybe you should promote it to your friends too. Odds are you have different friends unless you're a psychopath and start to dress, act and speak like your drummer. Technically in a band of 4 people there should be on average 600 people getting an invite or reminder of your show. Out of that 600, figure maybe 1/3 of them are common friends among the band and the remaining 2/3 are unique to each band member. If the singer isn't notifying their friends but the drummer is notifying their friends, the friends of the singer will be left out and won't know about the show you're playing. If the entire band doesn't promote the show, it's the entire band's fault regardless of the amount of promotion involved.
2) TELEPATHY DOESN'T WORK/BANDS YOU'RE NOT THAT GOOD Wishing and hoping people will come to your show if you've hung or distributed fliers or told a limited amount of people is really unrealistic. Odds are an excuse will come into play, so you can't rely on them. You have to rely on people you don't really know all that much. If you're from out of town, you have to hope that the local band did their job. If the venue has other events close to your event, it's best to go to them, hand out fliers and talk to people. If they don't know you or haven't met you then why should they care you are playing? The fact that you're playing in Berkshire County should also be considered because people usually assume local means it's not good when it comes to music. Regardless how good you think you are and what your friends tell you, to most people who don't know you, you're not a good band. They don't care. They've never heard of you and unless you're playing something they're familiar with they're not going to waste their precious time to come see you. They're not going to drop everything and stop their lives to sit and watch you. Sucks, but it's true.
3) SUPPORT OTHER LOCAL BANDS This goes without saying and goes beyond saying "yeah, I like them, I've seen them once." If you are in a local band, you have to lead by example and go to as many shows locally as you can. The bands should notice this and in turn will come to your show if you ask them. I see this kind of behavior quite a bit where local bands (unfortunately) do not support other local bands. Even if you're not a fan of the band but are friends with the band, it's best you support them whenever they play out. It's more important than you'll ever know. Which leads me to point 4.
4) CLUBS ARE NOT PROMOTERS Just because a club booked your band and created an event page, doesn't mean you can lay around and not promote your show. Don't rely on the clubs to do it because again, they will know different people than you do and most of the times have such a diverse list of people they reach that it's almost like they are not helping you promote at all (and they shouldn't have to). They booked you and that's the end of their job until day of the show. The band has to hustle to get people there. If the best band in the world plays to an empty club, the club will think long and hard about having you back. It's nothing personal, it's just business and they have to make ends meet over and above the band getting gas money. Without the club, there will be one less place to play. Fair is fair. The club is providing for you a place to play, the potential to draw an audience and have a great time. Without the audience it becomes a glorified rehearsal and while the time can be utilized in that manner, it's not worth the time it took to get there for a simple rehearsal that could've been done at your practice pad.
5) PEOPLE FOLLOW BY EXAMPLE Set one and hopefully people will come see your band wherever you're playing.
Times have changed and now in 2011 there are so many distractions, it's extremely difficult to not only promote shows, but to also get people to leave their house to attend them. Promotion almost isn't a key factor any longer as people either ignore invites or postings on the internet or the classic their-dog-ate-the-flier-you-handed-them-on-the-way-to-throw-up-on-their-homework-it's prom night-the-carnival-is-in-town-I-feel-sick-I-had-to-go-to-a-picnic-I -am-camping classic excuse is used as to why they didn't show up. Suddenly driving to other parts of the county is too far, but driving hours to Boston, NYC, (insert name of festival here) or elsewhere is not only okay but can become a mission of life or death for some unknown reason. Handing out fliers/posting fliers has almost become as pointless as opening a store in a day and age where people can effortlessly steal what you're trying to sell them in 10 seconds online.
Is this directly anyone's fault? Not really, but the bands playing shows are almost as guilty as the people who aren't coming to see them. In most cases, people follow by example. All individuality is thrown out the window if there is even the slightest chance that someone may go to a show alone, not know anyone and feel awkward. I get that and I've done that very same thing. I don't let it bother me and you shouldn't either.
"Why Isn't Anyone Here?"
This very difficult to answer with a simple one sentence response (sorry) but I'll try.
1) BAND RESPONSIBILITY It is no one's job other than your own to promote your show to your friends, family and co-workers. Bands with more than one musician really should be promoting the show to as many people as they can via internet or in person. Just because your drummer is promoting it to all of his friends doesn't mean you share the same friends and maybe, just maybe you should promote it to your friends too. Odds are you have different friends unless you're a psychopath and start to dress, act and speak like your drummer. Technically in a band of 4 people there should be on average 600 people getting an invite or reminder of your show. Out of that 600, figure maybe 1/3 of them are common friends among the band and the remaining 2/3 are unique to each band member. If the singer isn't notifying their friends but the drummer is notifying their friends, the friends of the singer will be left out and won't know about the show you're playing. If the entire band doesn't promote the show, it's the entire band's fault regardless of the amount of promotion involved.
2) TELEPATHY DOESN'T WORK/BANDS YOU'RE NOT THAT GOOD Wishing and hoping people will come to your show if you've hung or distributed fliers or told a limited amount of people is really unrealistic. Odds are an excuse will come into play, so you can't rely on them. You have to rely on people you don't really know all that much. If you're from out of town, you have to hope that the local band did their job. If the venue has other events close to your event, it's best to go to them, hand out fliers and talk to people. If they don't know you or haven't met you then why should they care you are playing? The fact that you're playing in Berkshire County should also be considered because people usually assume local means it's not good when it comes to music. Regardless how good you think you are and what your friends tell you, to most people who don't know you, you're not a good band. They don't care. They've never heard of you and unless you're playing something they're familiar with they're not going to waste their precious time to come see you. They're not going to drop everything and stop their lives to sit and watch you. Sucks, but it's true.
3) SUPPORT OTHER LOCAL BANDS This goes without saying and goes beyond saying "yeah, I like them, I've seen them once." If you are in a local band, you have to lead by example and go to as many shows locally as you can. The bands should notice this and in turn will come to your show if you ask them. I see this kind of behavior quite a bit where local bands (unfortunately) do not support other local bands. Even if you're not a fan of the band but are friends with the band, it's best you support them whenever they play out. It's more important than you'll ever know. Which leads me to point 4.
4) CLUBS ARE NOT PROMOTERS Just because a club booked your band and created an event page, doesn't mean you can lay around and not promote your show. Don't rely on the clubs to do it because again, they will know different people than you do and most of the times have such a diverse list of people they reach that it's almost like they are not helping you promote at all (and they shouldn't have to). They booked you and that's the end of their job until day of the show. The band has to hustle to get people there. If the best band in the world plays to an empty club, the club will think long and hard about having you back. It's nothing personal, it's just business and they have to make ends meet over and above the band getting gas money. Without the club, there will be one less place to play. Fair is fair. The club is providing for you a place to play, the potential to draw an audience and have a great time. Without the audience it becomes a glorified rehearsal and while the time can be utilized in that manner, it's not worth the time it took to get there for a simple rehearsal that could've been done at your practice pad.
5) PEOPLE FOLLOW BY EXAMPLE Set one and hopefully people will come see your band wherever you're playing.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
eBay Hall of Shame
If you made this list, congratulations, you suck as a human being.
EBAY USER ID: vynillvillain is a total and complete whiner cry-baby. Andrew Cooley is based in Australia, works at the Grand Central Hotel in Lithgow and generally only buys stuff from the Hard-Ons. Beware, if he doesn't deem whatever you sell him to be in the condition he believes it to be, he will threaten negative feedback. Even after refunding him in full (including shipping), he'll deny receiving it and then still leave negative feedback. At this time, he has less than 55 feedback points, meaning he's only been on eBay for a short time. While those of us who have 5500+ feedback points are left at the mercy of his whim. UPDATE: Here's more from the thunder down under and I've posted both his initial rant and my response. I am finding this rather amusing.
| Dear vynillvillain, This is over seriously, you got your money, a free record, the satisfaction of calling me a liar and thief, questioning my business practices. If I had purposely mislead 5000 + people, how could I even sell on eBay? Are you that new to this that you would really think that? What more could you possibly want? More money? - vinyl-pops |
| Dear vinyl-pops, Talk about having a whinge & a whine yourself WANKER! LIST YOUR SHIT RECORDS ACCURATELY IN FUTURE! 10 YEARS TELLS ME YOU ARE MORE THAN COMPLACENT, YOU DELIBERATELY TRY TO MISLEAD PEOPLE. YOU'RE THE ONLY FUCKWIT THAT GIVES EBAY A BAD, BAD NAME. GROW UP YOURSELF YOU FUCKING CHILD. - vynillvillain |
EBAY USER ID: streetwiseg is anything but streetwise, this eBay bidder is another glorious example of a clueless newbie. Less than 25 feedbacks and instead of bringing a minor issue to my attention, he leaves negative feedback. I almost hopped a plane and flew to Greece to punch him in the face myself. Georgios Papdopoulos is apparently a common or possibly a made up name, similar to that of "John Smith" according to my friend in Athens. Not only did he get 2 rare pressings of a terrible LP, but he managed to successfully leave negative feedback over a truly minor issue. He buys truly shitty American hardcore and won't file with eBay to remove the feedback.
EBAY USER ID: gorgstein702 aka R Brunty lives in Las Vegas and I was just there, I should've checked on the so-called family emergency that caused him/her to be unable to pay for a $10 record plus shipping, maybe it was only an $8 record....? In any event, I've heard these random mysterious excuses before "family emergency, dog died, I died, my dog ate my money....etc." I mean, whatever absurdity he/she thought I'd believe, they've since managed to buy (and pay for) a few things since. Again, another relatively new eBay member with under 45 feedback transactions.
Sellers cannot leave negative feedback on eBay, which is truly one-sided and rather ridiculous.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Rebel Sound Records Online Store is Open!
The Rebel Sound Records online store is finally open, of course after the actual store closed, but hey, it's open. There are also some things that won't be in the store, but will be on eBay from time to time. If the eBay link doesn't work, just search under seller for vinyl-pops, written just like that.
Rebel Sound Records, the label, still has some of the Urban Waste "Recycled" LPs available on red vinyl with the official retail jacket and retail insert. Only 200 were pressed on red vinyl. We also have a very limited number of the band-only jackets, 100 of these were done by hand and all are different. These are on black vinyl with a slightly different insert (all of the information is the same on both inserts, the band-only inserts are just different looking). The remaining copies are on black vinyl with the regular retail jacket and retail insert. However, there may be a alternate jacket that pops up this year depending upon how sales go. 1,000 were pressed total.
Urban Waste is in the process of booking some dates for this year, definitely check out their Facebook page if you want to check them out live, I'd highly suggest you do it too. "Recycled" was recorded in 2010 by Paul Kostabi (White Zombie, Youth Gone Mad, Psychotica, Hammerbrain) at his studio in upstate New York. The songs are new and it's a not a re-recording of their classic 7" which has also been reissued recently by Mad at the World Records.
Even though some hipster doofus at Maximum RocknRoll trashed the Red Invasion album (along with the name of the label, Rebel Sound Records!) you can still pick one up at the webstore. If you're a fan of Johnny Thunders, the Dolls, Dead Boys, Ramones or The Crumbs then definitely check this band out. Yeah, they broke up and will most likely not be having a reunion (thanks guys), this album is still worth your attention.
While the store and live venue have closed for good, there are still some things happening here in far western Mass:
Rebel Sound Radio is a 4 hour punk show that can be heard worldwide on WTBR 89.7 FM every Saturday from 4pm-8pm eastern time.
Mike Pigott, a local punk veteran, has started a label that features all different kinds of music from South America. Check out MassTropicas for some sounds that are truly unique to this part of the world. There has been some buzz about his releases in the circles where buzzing happens.
The Damaged have been working on a new release (it's been years guys!) and based on their live performances, it going to be worth the wait!
It's quite possible that 2011 will see a reunion of the local ska-punk legends, The Detriments! The Damaged emerged from the ashes of The Detriments and if reunion rumors are to be believed, this year is going to be pretty great!
Dead Radio Rebels are a band we really need a proper recording from sometime soon, come on guys! Now's the time!
Getting ready for their first major out of town show in 2011, The Dance Cancer are playing Northern Lights in Latham NY (Albany NY) in a battle of the bands. Hopefully they will bring some clubs and karate moves to beat the crap out of all the other competitors! Definitely call the club for more info, because the show is not listed anywhere on their site. 518.371.0012
UPDATE: A post just appeared from The Dance Cancer regarding this gig as it's been rescheduled:
South County's Teleboi (formerly Teleboy) are off to record some songs with Rob Sanzone in a matter of days, good luck guys. Definitely keep your eyes on this band.
Gloom and acoustic-doom trio Forever Autumn played a rather unique show on the side of Mt. Greylock towards the end of 2010 and it was one of the more memorable show locations ever! Supposedly the band is in the process of writing and recording some new material and let's hope so! Waiting for October is in need of a follow-up release soon!
They Themselves (formerly Goodbye For A Day) features only two musicians, Garrett Holmes and Nick Beer. Nick was formerly the drummer in Reason 837. They Themselves write fun party songs that have much more to do with new wave acts like the Human League or Soft Cell, but it's probably safe to say, they don't really know who those bands are. Definitely check this band out for something completely different and fun.
Hailing from Great Barrington, the Fallen Starlets are virtually unclassifiable, but their performance captures all that was great of the early NYC punk scene. Part Heartbreakers, the Dolls, Ramones, The Stimulators and Tuff Darts, the Fallen Starlets are a lot of fun live. You can most likely find these guys playing live in South County if they haven't been banned everywhere yet.
For better or worse, The Poncherellos are still around and will supposedly play live at some point this year. For those who didn't know, the band is loosely based around the punk rock episode of the classic 80s TV "CHiPs". In case you don't know what I'm talking about, do some learning, please.
Another band that caught me completely by surprise is Shattered Vision and in keeping up with technology, they don't have a Facebook page or even a My Space page. Oh well, they're pretty good and don't even realize they write punk songs, which is kind of funny to me.
Some bands with ties to Berkshire County but are based elsewhere (and they're all currently playing live and/or recording):
Big D & the Kids Table (long-running Boston-based ska band with Derek Davis of Three Fifteen and Skip George on drums) have a new album coming out soon to be followed by a tour.
Smoke or Fire (believe it or not this band who is currently based in Richmond VA got their start right here in Richmond MA, Lenox and Pittsfield) and they're currently touring for their new Fat Wreck Chords release, The Speakeasy.
Limbs Bin are (usually) a one-man power assault of insanity, but sometimes random family members who happen to be in town will also perform. Limbs Bin has put out a CD and a tape (and possibly more) at this point.
Colossus, with Bryan Larkin on vocals, were once based in Pittsfield but have now gotten hipper by moving to the Pioneer Valley. The current line-up features members of the Outdates. They have a new tape out.
Former members of Three Fifteen, Scattered and Minimal Effort got together a while back forming Just Say So, an excellent pop-punk (or power emo haha) band who just wrapped up recording. Check out the new band photos on their Facebook page.
Outdates feature Marc formerly of the downtown Pittsfield CVS photo department. The Outdates have put out possibly two tapes by now.
Jessie Lynn formerly of Millions Dead debuted with her new band Suffer Die and there is no word if line-up changes have put them out of commission for a while.
Another couple of Millions Dead members are still playing in other bands, Jon Plaid joined Mugy Weather, Hubby and Andy in The Poncherellos and Punk Rock Jon is currently in Dead Aces who are based in Troy NY. Dead Aces have been recording with Don Fury (producer of many bands, far too many to list) for quite some time now and a new release is due out soon so they tell me!
JBJ toured Europe and now those Masshole jokers are back, no word yet on any live performances scheduled but supposedly they have a release in the works!
Hip-hop is alive and well in Berkshire County courtesy of two MCs, Dreimz (ex-Officer Pig) and Snazz. Both acts shared the carpeted stage at the Room with members of Slang Corp this past year and it will be interesting to hear what either of these guys come up with next! Catch Snazz bowling in his Friday night league at Ken's Bowl in Pittsfield, no word on whether or not he's rhyming in-between shots.
Only a few hard rock/metal/metal-core bands are still around, definitely check out Warsynium as the band (and their songwriting) have been maturing as of late. Gone is the teenage rage and it's been replaced with the 20-something rage! Listen for elements of jazz, thrash and even classical to get the shredding treatment! This Names Taken has gone through several line-up changes and even name changes over the past two years and their current line-up is their best. Zarvis, Sinop, Brown x 2 and Tony have been bringing the power-mosh to the Springfield MA area as of late. Don't know when they'll play locally in Berkshire County, but be on the lookout for them. Dominic Rufo's new band, the Final Kill, are also a band to watch if you can catch them live locally. These kids seem like pros even though they've only played a handful of shows. One Bright Day are in the process of trying to get some demos recorded, no word yet on their progress. Unofficially known as The Grocery-Men of Doom, OBD promise to have something ready for your consumption by summer 2011.
2010 saw some bands come to the end of the road or at least reunite and then go on indefinite hiatus including Roses For the Departed, Blessings of Ruin, Uglies, Werewolves of Pittsfield, Wicked Fag, Over the Mountain, Three Fifteen, The Inheritance, Prick Bastard, Throwing Aces, Even the Odds, When I Came Back From Death, Bare Bones, The Mallards, Scrumtrillescent, Reason 837, Mudlark and Millions Dead.
I'm sure I've forgotten some, just let me know. I am only mentioning bands based in Berkshire County, there are a couple of exceptions, but for the most part that's it.
Rebel Sound Records, the label, still has some of the Urban Waste "Recycled" LPs available on red vinyl with the official retail jacket and retail insert. Only 200 were pressed on red vinyl. We also have a very limited number of the band-only jackets, 100 of these were done by hand and all are different. These are on black vinyl with a slightly different insert (all of the information is the same on both inserts, the band-only inserts are just different looking). The remaining copies are on black vinyl with the regular retail jacket and retail insert. However, there may be a alternate jacket that pops up this year depending upon how sales go. 1,000 were pressed total.
Urban Waste is in the process of booking some dates for this year, definitely check out their Facebook page if you want to check them out live, I'd highly suggest you do it too. "Recycled" was recorded in 2010 by Paul Kostabi (White Zombie, Youth Gone Mad, Psychotica, Hammerbrain) at his studio in upstate New York. The songs are new and it's a not a re-recording of their classic 7" which has also been reissued recently by Mad at the World Records.
Even though some hipster doofus at Maximum RocknRoll trashed the Red Invasion album (along with the name of the label, Rebel Sound Records!) you can still pick one up at the webstore. If you're a fan of Johnny Thunders, the Dolls, Dead Boys, Ramones or The Crumbs then definitely check this band out. Yeah, they broke up and will most likely not be having a reunion (thanks guys), this album is still worth your attention.
While the store and live venue have closed for good, there are still some things happening here in far western Mass:
Rebel Sound Radio is a 4 hour punk show that can be heard worldwide on WTBR 89.7 FM every Saturday from 4pm-8pm eastern time.
Mike Pigott, a local punk veteran, has started a label that features all different kinds of music from South America. Check out MassTropicas for some sounds that are truly unique to this part of the world. There has been some buzz about his releases in the circles where buzzing happens.
The Damaged have been working on a new release (it's been years guys!) and based on their live performances, it going to be worth the wait!
It's quite possible that 2011 will see a reunion of the local ska-punk legends, The Detriments! The Damaged emerged from the ashes of The Detriments and if reunion rumors are to be believed, this year is going to be pretty great!
Dead Radio Rebels are a band we really need a proper recording from sometime soon, come on guys! Now's the time!
Getting ready for their first major out of town show in 2011, The Dance Cancer are playing Northern Lights in Latham NY (Albany NY) in a battle of the bands. Hopefully they will bring some clubs and karate moves to beat the crap out of all the other competitors! Definitely call the club for more info, because the show is not listed anywhere on their site. 518.371.0012
UPDATE: A post just appeared from The Dance Cancer regarding this gig as it's been rescheduled:
Former members of When I Came Back From Death and Uglies have assembled one of the more unique and interesting bands from the area. El Spectre have some shoegaze, Revolution Summer-era emo (just to clarify) and punk elements all thrown together and the result is pretty intense. They're now playing over in the Pioneer Valley from time to time and have recently released some music that can be found via their Facebook page.
South County's Teleboi (formerly Teleboy) are off to record some songs with Rob Sanzone in a matter of days, good luck guys. Definitely keep your eyes on this band.
Gloom and acoustic-doom trio Forever Autumn played a rather unique show on the side of Mt. Greylock towards the end of 2010 and it was one of the more memorable show locations ever! Supposedly the band is in the process of writing and recording some new material and let's hope so! Waiting for October is in need of a follow-up release soon!
They Themselves (formerly Goodbye For A Day) features only two musicians, Garrett Holmes and Nick Beer. Nick was formerly the drummer in Reason 837. They Themselves write fun party songs that have much more to do with new wave acts like the Human League or Soft Cell, but it's probably safe to say, they don't really know who those bands are. Definitely check this band out for something completely different and fun.
Hailing from Great Barrington, the Fallen Starlets are virtually unclassifiable, but their performance captures all that was great of the early NYC punk scene. Part Heartbreakers, the Dolls, Ramones, The Stimulators and Tuff Darts, the Fallen Starlets are a lot of fun live. You can most likely find these guys playing live in South County if they haven't been banned everywhere yet.
For better or worse, The Poncherellos are still around and will supposedly play live at some point this year. For those who didn't know, the band is loosely based around the punk rock episode of the classic 80s TV "CHiPs". In case you don't know what I'm talking about, do some learning, please.
Another band that caught me completely by surprise is Shattered Vision and in keeping up with technology, they don't have a Facebook page or even a My Space page. Oh well, they're pretty good and don't even realize they write punk songs, which is kind of funny to me.
Some bands with ties to Berkshire County but are based elsewhere (and they're all currently playing live and/or recording):
Big D & the Kids Table (long-running Boston-based ska band with Derek Davis of Three Fifteen and Skip George on drums) have a new album coming out soon to be followed by a tour.
Smoke or Fire (believe it or not this band who is currently based in Richmond VA got their start right here in Richmond MA, Lenox and Pittsfield) and they're currently touring for their new Fat Wreck Chords release, The Speakeasy.
Limbs Bin are (usually) a one-man power assault of insanity, but sometimes random family members who happen to be in town will also perform. Limbs Bin has put out a CD and a tape (and possibly more) at this point.
Colossus, with Bryan Larkin on vocals, were once based in Pittsfield but have now gotten hipper by moving to the Pioneer Valley. The current line-up features members of the Outdates. They have a new tape out.
Former members of Three Fifteen, Scattered and Minimal Effort got together a while back forming Just Say So, an excellent pop-punk (or power emo haha) band who just wrapped up recording. Check out the new band photos on their Facebook page.
Outdates feature Marc formerly of the downtown Pittsfield CVS photo department. The Outdates have put out possibly two tapes by now.
Jessie Lynn formerly of Millions Dead debuted with her new band Suffer Die and there is no word if line-up changes have put them out of commission for a while.
Another couple of Millions Dead members are still playing in other bands, Jon Plaid joined Mugy Weather, Hubby and Andy in The Poncherellos and Punk Rock Jon is currently in Dead Aces who are based in Troy NY. Dead Aces have been recording with Don Fury (producer of many bands, far too many to list) for quite some time now and a new release is due out soon so they tell me!
JBJ toured Europe and now those Masshole jokers are back, no word yet on any live performances scheduled but supposedly they have a release in the works!
Hip-hop is alive and well in Berkshire County courtesy of two MCs, Dreimz (ex-Officer Pig) and Snazz. Both acts shared the carpeted stage at the Room with members of Slang Corp this past year and it will be interesting to hear what either of these guys come up with next! Catch Snazz bowling in his Friday night league at Ken's Bowl in Pittsfield, no word on whether or not he's rhyming in-between shots.
Only a few hard rock/metal/metal-core bands are still around, definitely check out Warsynium as the band (and their songwriting) have been maturing as of late. Gone is the teenage rage and it's been replaced with the 20-something rage! Listen for elements of jazz, thrash and even classical to get the shredding treatment! This Names Taken has gone through several line-up changes and even name changes over the past two years and their current line-up is their best. Zarvis, Sinop, Brown x 2 and Tony have been bringing the power-mosh to the Springfield MA area as of late. Don't know when they'll play locally in Berkshire County, but be on the lookout for them. Dominic Rufo's new band, the Final Kill, are also a band to watch if you can catch them live locally. These kids seem like pros even though they've only played a handful of shows. One Bright Day are in the process of trying to get some demos recorded, no word yet on their progress. Unofficially known as The Grocery-Men of Doom, OBD promise to have something ready for your consumption by summer 2011.
2010 saw some bands come to the end of the road or at least reunite and then go on indefinite hiatus including Roses For the Departed, Blessings of Ruin, Uglies, Werewolves of Pittsfield, Wicked Fag, Over the Mountain, Three Fifteen, The Inheritance, Prick Bastard, Throwing Aces, Even the Odds, When I Came Back From Death, Bare Bones, The Mallards, Scrumtrillescent, Reason 837, Mudlark and Millions Dead.
I'm sure I've forgotten some, just let me know. I am only mentioning bands based in Berkshire County, there are a couple of exceptions, but for the most part that's it.
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