A Sunday Conversation With Steve Pilace of the Dirty Filthy Mugs

When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkel, the first time I ever heard Kiss's "Detroit Rock City," it was a moment of musical epiphany. It was just so vicious, aggressive and mean. It changed the way I listened to music. I've had a few minor epiphany's since then, when you come across a band that just brings something new and revolutionary to your ears.

What have been your musical epiphany moments?
 
Ace Facial- The first one hit when I was five years old watching a kind of children's educational show. The show detailed the career of The Beatles and it changed me forever. They are the reason I picked up an instrument.  The next big hit came when I saw a picture of The Specials and Madness and thought they looked cool. As soon as I heard them I was in! I ran out and bought a pork pie and wing tips and all the clothes. Since I lived in Riverside County as a teenager, dressed as the only imitation mod within 100 miles, I was regularly beaten by my contemporaries and my dad. As these regular beatings started to affect my outlook on society, so too, they affected my musical tastes. Punk and aggressively rebellious Rock started to appeal to me on a much higher level. Those three phases or "epiphany's" helped define who I am today.

Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall into place?
 
 
Ace- The riff or melody almost always comes first. I don't remember a song where lyrics came first. Once I have the music, I'll record it at my little home studio then start in with the lyrics.
 

Who has influenced you the most?
 
 
Ace- Musically, my heros are the ones who provided those "epiphany moments". The Beatles, Madness, The Jam, The Clash, Small Faces, The Who, AC/DC...

Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?
 
 
Ace- I'm still getting mileage from The Who, The Clash and AC/DC somehow. After years of listening to them, they still do it for me. Inspiration always comes ccidentally, I never look for it... Recently, my inspiration lyrically came from my experiences growing up in Lake Elsinore, California. The entire new record deals with it. I hated every minute of that place, but I had a good time thinking back and writing about it. The subject matter on the new album came fluidly because it was so inspired.

Genre's are so misleading and such a way to pigeonhole bands. Without resorting to labels, how would you describe your music?
 
 
Ace- It's just Punk Rock. Is that a label? I liked it when we were called "The bastard sons of AC/DC and The Pogues."

What is you musical intention? What are you trying to express or get your audience to feel?
 
Ace- I'm doing this for the fun of it. It may be a shallow goal but all I want people to get out of the Mugs is something to smile to and get some aggro out. If I ever think of something more important than trying to make people happy, I may write about that. As for now, all I've got is 'Up In The Downs'.

Come on, share with us a couple of your great, Spinal Tap, rock and roll moments?
 
Ace- I've got so many. Joey with his cold sores, Matt freaking out and smashing the van's door in because someone drank his bottled water, Timbecile's pod malfunctioning and trapping him inside during a show... No wait, that last one was another band.

My favorite tour stories, and I'll give you a very condensed version, are when we hold court. When someone violates a band rule, like masturbating on someone else's sleeping bag or burning  holes in the van's seats (both are real cases brought against Conk), we have him plead his case while the other band members act as prosecution, judge and jury. On both mentioned cases, I was prosecution, Joey was judge and the others were jury. I gave my opening statements and Conk followed with the best defense he could muster. I was proud of my work in finding the inconsistencies in his story and the jury found him guilty on both charges.
Conk was convicted and is no longer allowed to touch anybody's sleeping bags or play with a lighter in the van. Forever! If he violates these rules, the entire band gets to punch him as hard as they want in the leg or arm. The punishments may seem barbaric but I hope you're never the victim of something like this! If you've got a better way of dealing with a chronic masturbator or pyromaniac in a band setting, I'm all ears!
 
 
 What makes a great song?
 
Ace- If it moves you in a great way. 

Tell us about the first song you ever wrote?
 
 
Ace- I wrote a ska song when I was about 12 called "My Grandma". I played and sang it into a tape recorder and gave it to my grandmother for her birthday. I don't remember her reaction to it but I'm sure the song was pure class!

What piece of your music are particularly proud of?
 
Ace- I'm not really proud of any one song I've written. I've never realized that until just now, this moment. I've written songs that I like to play or listen to but... I'm very proud of our new album! No single song jumps out at me, but I'm intensely happy with this album as a whole. Man, that sounds so cliche but it's the truth.

Who today, writes great songs? Who just kicks your ass? Why?
  
Ace- The Aggrolites write really cool tunes. There are some good bands around but I haven't heard any contemporary song that really hits me.

Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?
 
Ace- Vinyl!
 
 
Whiskey or beer?  And defend your choice
 
Ace- Jameson whisky, because I can drink myself into a coma and still feel great the next day. I get headaches the day after a crazy night of beer drinking.

We, at the Ripple Effect, are constantly looking for new music. What's your home town, and when we get there, what's the best record store to lose ourselves in?
 
Ace- In Los Angeles, Headline Records and Amoeba Records will keep you pretty busy. Both carry alot of independent music and rare vinyl.
 

Any final comments or thoughts you'd like to share with our readers, the waveriders?
 
Ace- Yes. Come be friends with us on facebook and let us know why Timbecile is
your least favorite Mug!

The Good Kids - Odyssey 225

Recently I was nicknamed Steve Perry by one of my professors and I couldn’t understand why. I don’t have an awesome singing voice and bear no resemblance to the former Journey lead singer. Still I embraced the new moniker and figured it could have been worse. Two of my classmates in the same class are nicknamed Bono and Hillary Swank because one is a pretentious guy who wears weird sunglasses all the time and the other has a similar overbite to the Academy Award winning actress respectively.

Then it hit me- I have grown out my hair and have a classic Steve Perry-like natural hairstyle. I couldn’t stop laughing when I realized that and I decided to check out some classic arena rock bands. Immediately I went through my iTunes and starting playing bands like Journey, Bon Jovi, Queen, Blue Öyster Cult, etc. It was about that time I received a digital album of The Good Kids to review and it was perfect timing.

The Good Kids is comprised of Cortez Jordan (lead singer and rhythm guitar), Eric Zann (lead guitar), Christopher V Swanson (bass), and Jared Gray (drums). The Orange County arena-rock quartet was originally a trio that consisted of Jordan, Gray and Swanson. Their debut album, Closing Northwood, was released in January 2010 and their sophomore album, Odyssey 225, was released last fall.

A lot of buzz has been building up about this band. The Good Kids definitely has the potential to become a major player in the next couple of years and will easily be a major figure at the Orange County Music Awards. The Good Kids were recently invited and attended the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards Show on February 13th, 2011.

Considering The Good Kids released two albums last year, who are these guys? After listening to their latest album, Odyssey 225, all my questions went away except, why haven’t I already heard about this band? The moment you listen to the first track, “A Mean Walk,” you’re immediately engulfed in awesome arena rock music.

For a moment there I thought I was listening to the new Pearl Jam album. Cortez Jordan without a doubt sounds like Eddie Vedder and is that good. Jordan’s vocals are phenomenal and is a new undiscovered talent waiting to be discovered.

Sometimes you need heavy guitars and drums to make a good pop/rock song oh so much better. That’s the case with The Good Kids covering Coldplay’s “The Scientist.” This cover is reminiscent of what Alien Ant Farm did with Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal,” the cover sounds superior to the original with a faster and harder sound.

The wicked bass line on “Suckerpunch” knocks you out with a great song that is strikingly similar to classic Pearl Jam songs. It’s abundantly obvious the influence early 90s alternative and grunge music had on the band. Everything from Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains to current bands like the Foo Fighters and the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) have made an impact on this band.

There are two versions of “King of the Day,” including an acoustic version, and they  both feel like a kick ass DMB song. Two songs that really kick out the jams are “Karma’s Alive” and “Behind.” The latter perfectly captures their sound along with the first track, “A Mean Walk.” This band is essential modern hard rock that everyone should be listening to and this music should be played often on the radio.

What Eddie Vedder did for Pearl Jam, what Chris Cornell did for Soundgarden and what Kurt Cobain did for Nirvana, Cortez Jordan is going to do with The Good Kids and lead them to the promised land.

--Brownstone

Buy here mp3: Odyssey 225

The Remedy for Everyday Music – Featuring Ojm, Ride the Sun, The Heat Tape, and the Fuck Knights

Remedy.  I just love the sound of that word.  It’s so definitive.  Something is wrong.  It will be fixed.  It will be corrected.  It will be remedied.

I don’t watch the Grammys (which pretty much sums up my opinions of them) but I did see the musical debacle, assault-to-our-senses, that some people called the Super Bowl Half-time Show.  And I did hear people actually talking post-Grammy about whether Justin Bieber was robbed not winning the Best New Artist Award.  Two events in a compressed period of time that could make you lose complete faith in the music industry.  Lose faith that there are still folks out there busting it out for the sheer love of music and breaking the shit out of a bunch of guitar strings.  It’s even enough to make me lose faith in whether or not there is a God -- for if there is, he certainly wouldn’t be listening to crap like that.

It’s time for a remedy.

Fast and furious, raw and ragged, dangerous and capable of leading small children way astray of societal conventions.  That’s what rock and roll was way back when.  And just as important, if certain snotty-nosed, chemical-addled, offends-to-society have their way, it’s what rock and roll will become again.

Thank God.

Ojm – Volcano

Despite their 4 previous albums, I’d never heard of Italy’s Ojm before Matt from PoisonTree Records dropped this into my lap.  Hitting me as if I’d just opened a letter from the Unibomber, Ojm exploded out of my speakers in a fuzzed out fury of retro-stonified riff mongering.  I mean huge.   What gets me the most about these cats is that they don’t really follow one mainline path towards their rock and roll fury.  Sure we got some nicely fuzzy stoner riffs, but there’s also a big chunk of adrenalinized garage attack going on here, some neo-epic psychedelic pastiche, a saliva-filled mouth of punk spittle, and even a good eye towards retro pop.  In other words we got a tear-down-the-rules blitz of real rock rowdiness.

With production by Dave Catching (Eagles of Death Metal, Queens of the Stone Age), you can get a pretty fair idea of what awaits.  Kicking off with the good-natured fuzz-meets-surf instrumental assault of “Welcome”, Ojm treat each track here as if it was their own personal canvass on which to paint their masterpiece.  And believe me, when they attack that canvas they use a big, fat black marking pen, no tentative pencil or blue line drawings here.  “Venus God” just rocks.  Simply.  I dig the vocals too; kinda spikey and throaty while still being smooth.  Give me texture.  Swath the whole thing in monster-riffs and an eardrum splattering amount of fuzz and I’m more than happy.  “Rainbow,” brings on an irresistibly warped bong-full of hazy riffing and acrid smoke, all drifting within a kick-ass melody.  But wait, there’s more!  Drop in the 7-minute epic psychedelic excursion, “Oceans Heart,” the totally accessible, near pop-perfect strains of “I’ll Be Long,”, the retro-punk stomp “Disorder,” and the two-ton heaviness of “Cocksucker” and we got us that finished master stoner piece-de-resistance. 

Enough to make you forget Justin Bieber was ever born.  Give it a shot.

Ride the Sun – S/T EP

Riding a stoner-fied, desert-dry riff with the ferocity of a lone cowboy taming a bucking bronco, Ride the Sun burst across the arid horizon in flaming, glowing casts of red and gold.  This is gritty, grizzled stoner fuzz of the highest order.  Yep, all the biggies are here, from Sabbath to Kyuss to Fu Manchu.  I even hear a little love for Judas Priest in the flourishes of their riffs.  Big, mean, and a damn enough good time to keep the men from bathing for months.

I particularly love the vocals here; rough and raw, so far down in the throat you can almost hear a little stomach lining, but smooth enough to carry the damn fine melodies.  To me, the vocals sound a bit like the rougher vocals of BTO if the singer’d been gargling with a leftover jug of liquid plummer.  (Speaking of BTO, I don’t think that band gets near enough credit, they’re way more stoner heavy than you might think, just give one listen to Not Fragile).  But I digress.  We’re talking about Ride the Sun here, and there’s lots to say.

“Evil Reasons,” rollicks and gallops across the audio waves with hyped up passion, terminal fuzz and a monolithic bottom end.  “Livin’ Wrong” is just mean and heavy.  When the boys lock onto a riff they ride that baby, ride it hard and dry.  This is chest-beating, suburb-scaring riff-tense stoner, baby.  Dig the harmony dual lead vocals on this one.  Man, it’s so dirty you can almost smell the desert sand still lingering to the unwashed skin.Solos burst out in appropriate shades of fuzz, like an amp run through a garbage disposal.

I think “Compadre” is my favorite cut here, but that’s picking straws blindly out of the stack just for the sake of picking.  Each track here is megalithic heavy, fuzzy, and all kinds of acrid smoke hazy.  For riff mad stone heads, this one shouldn’t be missed.

The Heat Tape – Raccoon Valley Recordings

So raw, so primal, The Heat Tape is positively primitive.  This is caveman-hit-guitar-and-smash-drums, lo-fi, lost-way-in-the-back-of the-garage, garage rock.  Ok, I lied.  It’s not garage rock.  The CD is named after the trailer park where these “gents” live and conduct all their business.  So we need a new genre here.  Trailer Park Rock.  No pretense.  No gloss, or gleam, or hope of glory.  This is near prehistoric distorto-punk with a hankering for a catchy hook and a turn of a phrase. 

With no song clocking in at even 3 minutes (the average time looks to be about 2 minutes flat) The Heat Tape rage out of Makanda, Illinois singing songs of such import as “Skin” (a love song about McDonalds breakfast), “21st Century Turd” (about being a piece of shit), and “Feel No Good” (which is about being a hungover piece of shit.)  Don’t go looking for Stephen Hawkins expanded theories of the physics of Black Holes here.  Just pop open a twelve-pack, hit something hard, and play this quagmire of lo-fi ditties.  For fans of Jay Retard, The Marked Men, and the Thermals.  Yep, that should do it.

Fuck Knights – The Recorded by Gary Burger from The Monks EP

Perhaps the only thing that could make The Heat Tape sound clean and refined is another offering of demento-destructo garage surf punk from the Fuck Knights.  You’ll notice that the CD is titled the “Recorded by Gary Burger . . . EP” not the “produced by Gary Burger” CD.  You see, that would require there actually being some production on this baby rather than a cacophony of frantic, speaker rattling, oil can rock.  But then that wouldn’t be the Fuck Knights, and I wouldn’t enjoy it near as much as this one.

Simply put, the Fuck Knights can fuck the hell out of just about any other lo-fi outfit who dares step into their garage.  Guitars and speakers are set on terminal fuzz mode, Bass is played through a 1967 rusty muffler, and the drummer gave up on a drum kit years ago, instead assembling a litany of acid-eaten barrels to pound on.  And he does, Lord he does.

Despite all the overblown analogies in the previous paragraphs, at their simplest, the Fuck Knights are sheer brilliant, massively distorted and psychotically warped garage punk of the frenzied and frantic variety.  Yet hidden within the vague psychobilly and surf influences, and around the back of the destructo-wall of fuzz and noise, are some catchy as hell melodies and some serious songwriting smarts.  Each song blasts by before you’ve even had a chance to blow your nose, but in that time, the Fuck Knights have unleashed more melodies, dazzling fuzz solos, and near-manic energy than could be found in that entire 30 minute embarrassment of a Super Bowl Halftime Show. 

You want your rock loud and raw, dangerous and illegal in several states?  Then the Fuck Knights are your band.  They may never get a chance to take the stage at the Grammys, but they just may be the saviors of rock and roll.


-Racer

Motorhead - The World Is Yours

In the beginning there was Link Wray. The noise that he started has been used, abused and loved by many over the years since he started the Rumble heard round the world, but few have been willing to take it to maximum like Motorhead have. 36 years into it Motorhead deliver their 20th studio album and it’s much better than it has any right to be.

Since 2004’s Inferno, Motorhead has been on a roll of putting out strong albums to support their always killer live show. Are they the equal of all time stone get-off classics like Overkill and Ace Of Spades? No, but hardly anything does by any band ever will. The World Is Yours and 2008’s Motorizer are kick ass rock n roll albums from start to finish. What more could you ask for?

Producer Cameron Webb seems to be able to get the best out of Lemmy, guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee and is insane enough to have done 4 albums with them. The band have praised him for not allowing them to write second rate songs and his ability to get a great sound and performance from the band. Anyone willing to endure their massive alcohol consumption, ear splitting volume, arguments and pranks deserves a lot of credit. He obviously knows what Motorhead fans want to hear.

“Born To Lose” starts things off in classic Motorheadbanging fashion – big drum fill, riff similar to their classic “Shoot You In The Back” and them Lemmy’s haggard growl. Sure, they’ve used the riff before and even the title way back in 1975 on “Iron Horse/Born To Lose” but who cares? By now you know where you stand with Motorhead – you love them or you cover your ears and retreat to the safety of your Wilco albums.

Most of the songs on The World Is Yours bear resemblance to some of their classic jams. “Brotherhood Of Man” is musically and lyrically an update of the world is doomed classic “Orgasmatron” and “I Know What You Need” reprises “Nothing Up My Sleeve.” The first single “Get Back In Line” is basically “Don’t Need Religion” part II. But that’s not to say that they only pinch from their own catalog. Lemmy was good friends with Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy’s classic brawl starter “Are You Ready” shows up in “Devils In My Hand.”

 Motorhead’s on tour right now in the USA playing to generations of fans and enjoying a big swell in much deserved popularity. Part of that is due to the new documentary of Lemmy’s life, but a more important part is that they play kick ass rock n roll and hardly anyone else does. If you haven’t bought a Motorhead album in awhile, don’t snooze on this one. If you can afford it, pick up the deluxe import version that comes with a special all Motorhead issue of Classic Rock Magazine. The album cover may not be denim jacket worthy, but you already have Overkill or the classic warpig logo done in acrylic on yours, right?

 --Woody


Buy here: The World Is Yours
Buy here vinyl: The World Is Yours
Buy here mp3: The World Is Yours

Official website
http://imotorhead.com/

Beehoover - Concrete Catalyst

I strode with purpose into the anteroom outside of the Oval Office on my way to see the President.  The President’s receptionist attempted to stop me, but one look at my intense demeanor was enough to convince her that I would not take kindly to being hassled or delayed.  Five strides and I was across the room, forcefully opening the door, and making one last mental check of all the information I needed to relate to the Commander in Chief.  I knew I would be interrupting a meeting the President was having with some of his top advisors, but this situation could not wait.

“Ladies and gentlemen.  No time for pleasantries I’m afraid.  I need the room…right now.”  My words complemented my glare in persuading all of the advisors that I meant business, and they quickly extricated themselves from the office.
“Okay Secretary Penfold.  Would you mind telling me what this is about?”
“Mr. President, we have a situation.”
“A situation, Secretary Penfold?”
“Yes sir.  We have just received intelligence defining a clear and present danger to the United States of America, as well as the rest of the world.”
“All right.  Where does this threat come from?”
“Germany sir.”
“Germany?”
“Yes sir.  Two Germans have created a new weapon ripped directly from our worst nightmares.”
“What kind of weapon are we talking about here?  Nuclear, chemical, or biological?”
“None of those, sir.  This appears to be an entirely new type of weapon.  It is auditory in nature; a sonic weapon so to speak.”
“It uses sound?”
“Yes sir, music to be exact.”
“Music?  Seriously Secretary Penfold?  What exactly can this music do?  I listen to music everyday, but we don’t raise the country’s alert status every time I turn on my stereo.”
“Correct sir, but this music has been specially formulated to affect the environment it’s played in; specifically buildings and structures.”
“What do you mean Penfold?”
“Sir, what was the last Hollywood action film that you watched?”
“I think it was a James Bond movie or something, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“Just humor me sir.  Were there many explosions in the movie?”
“Of course!  It was an action film for crying out loud!  There were things exploding in almost every scene!”
“Mr. President, do you remember any ordinary building blowing up, one that did not contain any kind of explosive or accelerant?”
“Yes.  Now what is the point of this line of questioning?”
“That is exactly what happens when this music is played.  This music acts as a concrete catalyst.”
“Penfold, are you saying…”
“Yes sir.  Point a speaker playing this music at a concrete structure, or even something built with a small concrete component, and it will explode like a giant stick of dynamite!”
“Mercy!”  The President paused for a moment exhibiting grave concern.  “Tell me we know who has this weapon Secretary Penfold.  Tell me we know where it is!”
“We do sir.  The two men responsible form the band Beehoover.  Their base of operations is Esslingen, Germany.  They are located there now.”
“Good.  Send a representative immediately.  We need to make contact with these men as soon as possible.”
“Yes sir.”

Waveriders I give you Beehoover; the righteous, mighty, and inventive two piece ensemble from Germany that is out to send your musical enjoyment scale into tilt territory.  Analyzing my own listening history, it was a forgone conclusion that I would embrace this band with wide open arms.  Honestly, I feel as if a focus group looked into my brain, checked off the musical elements necessary to excite me, and compiled several of them to produce Beehoover.  Let’s break it down as simply as possible, shall we?  Beehoover sounds like an aggressive version of Tool, with a splash of Primus, topped off with Clutch-like vocals.  Don’t worry.  I’ll wait for that last sentence to properly sink in before continuing.  No…I completely understand.  Trust me.  I feel exactly the same way!

Concrete Catalyst is the third full length album, and fourth overall release from this dynamic duo.  The epic nine song experience monopolizes attention spans for its entire fifty minute duration.  There is no let-up.  None.  Zero.  All killer, no filler.  You know the drill.  Take care of any errands or responsibilities before listening because once that play button is pressed, you’ll be lost to the world under a constant barrage of enormous riffs, bottomless grooves, and brave explorations.  Perhaps the highest compliment I can give this album is that it makes me lose track of time.  I’ve lost multiple hours already, and this album shows no sign of relinquishing its grasp on me any time soon.  Problematic?  Not remotely!

As previously noted, Beehoover throws an avalanche of hammering riffs at the listener that refuse to be ignored.  Pick a song, any song.  No matter which one you choose, at some point you will be enveloped by wicked bass riffs and thunderous drumming.  It is unavoidable.  My two favorite songs from the album are “Sultana” and “Counted Is Bygone”.  “Sultana” begins with majestic, cascading bass chords that quickly transition into dissonance complemented with booming, echo heavy drums.  About a minute and fifteen seconds into the song the central heavy groove kicks in, producing instant fist pumping and head gyration.  “Counted is Bygone” burns brightly right from the start.  Quick, intricate bass strumming coupled with staccato drumming dominates the first half of this song before the latter half springboards into a full-on exploratory journey.  All of the musical exploration perfectly complements the sonic makeup of the song, serving to greatly enhance an already riveting performance.  Just fantastic stuff!

So there you have it waveriders.  If you a) are a fan of incredibly interesting heavy music, b) need a group to prove to you that a bass can in fact make you forget the need for a guitar, c) miss the sound of some of the nineties biggest non-grunge bands, or d) simply want to keep an eye out for what those wily Germans come up with next, you need to pick up Beehoover’s Concrete Catalyst.  Now let’s get back to the White House.

“Secretary Penfold, give me a status report.”
“Mr. President, our representative got there too late.  The music had been pressed and shipped out already.  The album had been uploaded onto the internet as well.”
“What does this mean Penfold?  What can we do now?”
“There is only one thing to do Mr. President.  We can’t stop the spread of this music.  We fully understand what chaos will result when people listen to this album.  All we can really do is set our top scientists and industrialists the task of finding a substitute for concrete.  I have a feeling we’re going to be rebuilding a great many things in the near future.”  After I finished my last sentence, the noise of distant explosions began to reach my ears.  It had begun.

--Penfold


Buy here mp3: Concrete Catalyst
Buy here: Concrete Catalyst

Ripple News - FREE STORMING THE GATES...TABARNAK! COMPILATION - MONTREAL'S 2011 METAL SHOWCASE AT CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK

Montreal metal will be storming the gates of Canadian Music Week, March 9th, 2011 in Toronto, ON at The Opera House (735 Queen St. East) for a head banging experience of the city's best upcoming metal talent. A free compilation has been put together showcasing the eight acts performing at Storming The Gates... Tabarnak! with Cryptopsy and Beneath The Massacre leading the charge. To download the compilation Storming The Gates...Tabarnak! Vol 1. please visit this following location.

Dungeonworks Productions & CMW presents:

STORMING THE GATES...TABARNAK!
MONTREAL'S 2011 METAL SHOWCASE
(a Canadian Music Week event):
Date: Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 - 6pm - 19+
Where: The Opera House, 735 Queen St. East, Toronto, ON
Tickets $25 available at www.ticketscene.ca and Rotate This
CRYPTOPSY (Century Media Records)
www.myspace.com/cryptopsy
BENEATH THE MASSACRE (Prosthetic Records)
www.myspace.com/btm
FATALITY
www.myspace.com/fatalitythrashfuck

THE CATALYST
www.myspace.com/thecatalystmetal

DISSENSION
www.myspace.com/dissensionmtl

DISGUST
www.myspace.com/disgustmusic

DUSH
www.templeofdush.com & www.myspace.com/templeofdush

SYKODE
www.sykode.com & www.myspace.com/sykode
Sponsored by:

Ticket Scene - www.TicketScene.ca
INKFUSION BAND MERCH - www.inkfusion-band-merch.com
KIAMECODESIGNS - kiamecodesigns@hotmail.com
LABYRINTHE BOUTIQUE - www.labyrintherock.com

Marc Robillard - Left London

There is magic in music.  In what other endeavor can you subject people who don’t love you to poetic, emotional and personal thoughts and get them to listen?  Without magic there is no music and without music there is no magic.

The magic starts when a songwriter, singer, instrumentalist scratches out a few songs about life on the back of an envelope.  The songs express an inner-vision from the writer’s experience that shaped the words written and the melody later employed.

Or, the magic may come when a musician strums a progression, plays a memorable lick, beats a compelling rhythm, or finds an intriguing tone or sound.  Some artists fit words to music.  Some  fit music to words. Some do both.

It is not, yet, necessarily “music.” Now, the artist may choose accompaniment - instruments, percussion, and harmonies. Today, technical magic is needed to make songs into music.  The songs must be produced - the tone of the instruments, the recording technique and sound processing all must be planned and executed.  The technical arts are applied.  The result may be mixed, re-mixed, mastered, remastered, scribed, formatted, pressed, compressed, expanded, sparkled, equalized, etc., before we, the public, ever hear the final product.  Music is not only built with many varieties of magic it can become magic itself.

Take, for example, singer, songwriter Marc Robillard and his new CD “Left London,”  scheduled for release on March 29, 2011. Robillard is a Canadian born, Los Angeles-based singer songwriter and this is his second album inspired from his time living in London.  The songs are all Robillard.  The technical magic came from Andrew Bojanic and Liz Hooper of The Wizardz of Oz.   These “wizards” have also worked with Vanessa Hudgens, Avril Lavigne, Britney Spears and Krystal Meyers. Here, they add a “pop sheen” to Robillard, an alternative rock balladeer in the vein of David Gray. The results are phenomenal. 

The words and feelings in the music are introspective.  Just the names of the songs are illustrative - “So Much More,” “Crazy,” ”Fall Away,” “Bleed,” “The Worst Day Of My Life,” “Conclude,” “Okay,” “EverStop,” “Without You,” “Ghost,” “Unfold,” “Love Song,” “Contagious.”  Based solely on the titles, without production, most of this stuff would be considered dark poetry.  (We have got to say Marc your London experience must have been one hellish event!)  No doubt Robillard has a great voice. (You probably heard part of “So Much More” on a recent Sun Chips TV commercial.) Yet, when the wizards get a hold of it, orchestrate it, mix it, produce it, and give it a pop sheen, it becomes accessible alternative rock music and it is transformational.  There is emotion and there is substance to the words and to the music.  

Bojanic and Hooper deserve credit as great magicians.  They apply their craft in a way that makes Robillard’s lyrical songs music.  There is magic in this music and the music itself is magical.  Listen and, if you play your cards right, I think you can even hear the wizards pull a rabbit out of a hat.

- Old School


Buy here mp3: Left London