Observations, Musings, and Lessons Learned mostly in the world of Punk, Ska, Alternative, Metal, and just plain Rock and Roll. Music with guitars…mostly
The Oils have just released a new song from one of their two (two!!!!!!) upcoming albums. They have recorded two new albums, that’s right. One a mini-album passion project (as if there isn’t any Oils project without passion…) called “The Makaratta Project” and another Oils album for later in the year. Produced by Warne Livesay, which helped give us Diesel and Dust and Blue Sky Mining.
I’ll let them explain it better in this link; obviously this was before the pandemic so the timeline will likely be altered. Just be excited new Oils is on the way!
Not really “new” songs, but fun new covers and interpretations. Frank and Fat Mike of NOFX teamed up for a split covers album covering five songs from each other. While it might not be a classic it’s fun to hear each other’s interpretation, many of which feel like they could be in either’s catalogs. The two videos, one of NOFX dressing like the Sleeping Souls and one of a couple of kids dressing like Frank (including tats) are fun enough.
They defined early 90s DC and HFS for me. And I saw them a lot and they were always fun. After an eternity Too Much Joy have confirmed new music coming out. Here’s a couple of links:
Following Tim Quirk on IG and Twitter it looks like the did some social distancing sessions and have recently wrapped up recording. They’re looking for some help crowdfunding the production, but if all goes well they say be end of year we’ll have a new album. Here’s a listen of some of their new stuff:
Here’s where you can pitch in to get the album made:
I love the photos from the recording sessions. Tim sporting both Clash and Specials t-shirts.
New Psychedelic Furs!!!
I know I am biased. I’ve been a huge Furs fan since Forever Now in high school. And I think Richard Butler is one of the best, if not just most unique vocalists in any genre. So I am super stoked for this new album. It sounds current without giving up the successful Furs formula from the 80s. And the track “Come All Ye Faithful” is just dark, eerie, but just invites me back over and over again.
While I haven’t followed them in many years, their first three albums helped define me in the 80s. And they have a new song which rocks. But the video alone makes it relevant:
After our Glasto-like festival fallow year of 2020 I thought I’d look ahead to 2021. And one of our go-to festivals has already announced the beginnings of their lineup. Riot Fest 2021 is encouraging. The first wave was just announced, and it satisfies and leaves excitement for the second and final wave releases.
The headliners are absolutely perfect. They are solid enough to foreshadow some great bands for the second and final wave releases. But they set me up to be able to leave early and avoid the clusterfuck of Uber lines and get to an aftershow or Lou Malnatis. Two I’ve already seen enough times and don’t need to see them again, and two are interesting but not gonna keep me late. But that’s okay. I’ve heard it said before the strength of a festival is on the third line of the poster. I have to admit that Run The Jewels might be the one I’m most interested in seeing. Before you doubt me, remember that Rage tapped them to open their reunion tour. In Zach and Tom I trust…
Below that first line it gets better. There’s the token mix of emo/pop punk that Riot Fest will always have and that’s great. The bands that learned the guitar to Dookie or Enema of the State. Taking Back Sunday, The All-American Rejects, New Found Glory, Simple Plan, Mayday Parade. They all are sure to be fun live, though I may not be able to tell them apart.
There’s the stoner ska punk rock of Sublime and Dirty Heads. All we need is 311 and Pepper to be added for the second and final waves to complete the Chuckie quinella.
There are a couple acts sure to be a favorite of KJ’s. K.Flay, Meg Myers, Best Coast, and Beach Bunny. Especially Meg Myers.
There’s some legacy acts. Legacy is a nice way of saying we’re old. Acts that were popular in our youth. Circle Jerks reunion is a big deal and seeing them is almost a necessity. Old school punk from my high school days. Living Colour. I just want to hear Cult of Personality again. Vernon Reid on guitar and Corey Glover in his Body Glove wetsuit (from the video…I hope he’s not wearing it still). L7 were another of the sounds of the 90s. They kinda follow Bikini Kill in the Riot Grrrl vein, though I think they’re more grunge than punk. I saw them with Rancid a year or so ago and they still bring it. And Toots and The Maytals. Toots is probably 80 years old, so we won’t have this opportunity long. They had songs covered by The Clash and The Specials, two of my all time favorites. Need to see Toots just to kiss the ring and offer respect. And Hepcat and Fishbone. Fun sound. One cool and calm and one cool and frenetic. And there’s a place for both. I didn’t enjoy Fishbone at 2017 Riot Fest, but I’ve seen them since they reunited the original six and they’re so much more fun. And Jawbox harkens back to the hardcore punk scene of DC in the 80s.
And then there’s the “odd”, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Riot Fest does “odd” very well. And Gogol Bordello is odd. At one of our Lollas. They have the Russian lead singer, accordion player, and almost seem like a Cirque De Soleil meets punk act. Would be super cool as an aftershow or up close. We were way far away at the bandshell at Lolla and it didn’t do them justice. Another “odd” one is Coheed and Cambria. I’ve never listened to them but recognize their name showing up on many festival lineups. Reading about them and listening to them takes me to Rush’s 2112. The sound isn’t Rush, though the singer does have a little Geddy Lee in his voice. But they’re kinda prog rockish. Their songs are based on a science fiction comic book that the lead singer writes. I can’t explain it. You just need to hear it. Wouldn’t be surprised if they have a great show.
And there’s some newer punk. KJ and I saw SWMRS open for our friends FIDLAR at the Metro. I thought they were better than FIDLAR, and FIDLAR was great. Billie Joe’s son plays drums. PUP are Canadian Punks (oxymoron?) with a great sound. They are on the rise and should be seen. 7/23/20 UPDATE. SWMRS is cancelled maybe for good. And for good reason. Google “SWMRS” and “Joey Armstrong” and “Regrettes”. Basically, SWMRS made a big deal about being all inclusive and supporting women and then a story gets published where Joey (at best) sexually harassed the underage singer of the Regrettes. They’re done. And deservingly.
And there are more…and there will be more for the second and final wave announcements, which will lead to revisit my wish list post and an update. Speaking of soon, is it too soon to talk about September 2021. Maybe not. I need to get out of the house. The QuarantineFest was only good for four or five plays through….
We need a festival. You know it. As I was socially distancing myself and working from home this week, I played YouTube videos in the background needing to free myself from the news and real world. I found a few great live musical performances I had been intending to watch and played one after another. At the end of the day I thought “Man, that would’ve been a helluva festival lineup.”
So began the vision of the virtual music festival. Callbullchip.com presents the inaugural (and hopefully only) QuarantineFest. All virtually presented via YouTube. Open the playlist, press play, sit back, or stand up, and enjoy a festival by yourself. Like any good festival, you can skip those you don’t like, or check out a few songs of one before heading over to another stage.
Try telling me this wouldn’t be a great couple of days. And I created it so I get to choose the headliners. No squabbling over which bands are bigger. I chose as headliners two of the absolute best live acts ever (and it’s not even debatable); Frank and the Oils. And it’s not perfect. Some bands didn’t have good YouTube videos (Rancid, Pennywise, and Drakulas). And I tried to stay away from the videos filmed by iPhone in the crowd (The Beasties one notable exception). And, I don’t know what happened with the audio of Weezer’s encore, but most of the sound is good (except from videos from VHS camera circa 1993). I tried to mix it up with some small bands that we’d see typically at the bottom of the poster. And a mix of genres, though you can see whose taste it follows. While I’ve seen most, it includes a few bucketlisters for me.
So here it is…a youTube playlist to enjoy a festival all by yourself while you are socially distant:
And, to make it a festival a few things you need to do:
Take a zip tie and put it on your wrist, preferably too tight, and keep it on for three days adding another one each day.
Watch it on a TV outside. The bigger the screen the better. But switch it up to a small screen, like a phone, occasionally to feel like you didn’t get a good spot and are way back.
Go find some cheap beer, but pay $11 apiece for one.
Or drink warm red wine from a plastic cup.
Stand for the entire thing.
Some of the videos are HD, others are not. Consider the low definition videos as viewing the show with a fuzzy haze after quite a few drinks.
And if you want to feel like you’re at a specific festival, here are some suggestions:
Coachella:
Put sweet tea vodka in ziplocs and keep it in your pockets
Ask your wife what’s for dinner and when she responds tell her you didn’t ask what the specials were
Invite your teenager’s friends over for a pool party while you watch the videos
Lollapalooza:
Walk around the block four times between sets
Stop watching one video early and head to your fridge for some ice cream
Drink red wine while watching Ghost
Riot Fest:
Skip the first half of the videos since you wouldn’t get there early enough to see them.
Skip the last videos since you would leave early to see the aftershows. Or…
For the headliners, turn off all the lights in the room and walk around and bounce off the furniture
Call an Uber, but you have to wait 45 minutes for it.
Desert Trip:
Invite your wife’s friends over for a pool party while you watch the videos.
Surf City Blitz:
Fill your shoes up with sand.
Try telling your wife that her VIP service sucks (I’m not responsible for the resulting conversation), esquire.
Wear your brown pants.
Heavy pours for any drinks you make.
Last minute VIP passes are available…includes special VIP access to the remote control, clean bathrooms (as long as you keep your own bathroom clean), access to all the food and drink you have in your own home, transportation from your bedroom to your TV, and more….
I’m kinding feeling it’s time for a Glastonbury-like fallow year for festivals. They do it every seven years, right? I’ve got seven years of festivals running now; Coachella 2013 through Riot Fest 2019. Haven’t even missed one day. Never left a day early, got in a day late, left mid-stream to drive to Wisconsin and back for dad of the year honors. As I feel it may be time for a break I am well aware the excitement that a lineup reveal can generate. Kinda like the anticipation of Christmas for a kid. And with the right reveal, any fallow year desire evaporates. Replaced by a rally cry for others to join and commit. And with the watering down of festival lineups recently, it feels like it’s Riotfest or bust.
So what artists might generate that rally cry? Riotfest has always tried to champion the reunion act; from Replacements to Jawbreaker to Bikini Kill last year. And there are a bunch of reunion acts I’d jump for. However, they probably already hit the reunion homerun with My Chemical Romance. They’re a great get, but not for me. What it tells me is that other reunion acts I had hoped for probably wouldn’t happen. And the top two for me, Rage and Bauhaus have already announced Chicago dates too close to RF to be included. They are out as is likely any other big reunion act.
Alright already. Here’s a few acts that I could rally around. Fingers crossed. Maybe. All are acts I’ve never seen, and a few bucket lists. First two crossed out as they were hopefuls but now out.
Edit…that was quick. No sooner than I published this I got an email from the Metro in Chicago announcing a June Propaghandi show, making them out for Riotfest. The list dwindles….
Rage
Bauhaus
Operation Ivy (not gonna happen, but if it did….)
Oingo Boingo (Danny Elfman is playing Coachella…)
Idles
Eminem
Morrissey
Madness
The Cure (I have seen them but it was the “Friday I’m In Love” era tour so it doesn’t count. No one wants a happy Cure).
Circle Jerks
PiL
Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes
Generation Sex (half Pistols half Gen X)
Propaghandi
The Hold Steady
Stiff Little Fingers
Stranglers
Kraftwerk 3D
And here are a few steady always-see-when-near acts. Some of these could easily end up.
