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Jun 30th, 2009 - 13:40:33 |
subbacultcha
by Keith N. Dusenberry
It is the time of weekend rock ‘n’ roll barbeques and hot house parties — to which I say,"MORE MORE MORE!" Come on, kids — open your rented basements and backyards to the masses, risk the noise cop tickets and the blown security deposits — it’s summer, invite us (and a good lineup of bands) over for a party.
Last weekend, I caught Ann Arbor’s Charlie Slick at a house party in Woodbridge. Between the confetti, the glitter, the smoke machine and the dudes hanging from the light fixture (literally), I didn’t hear much of the music. But their — it was two guys, I think — Myspace (myspace.com/charlieslick) has four songs for you to check out. They’re pretty catchy in a hipster-kids-get-sequencer-and-then-do-electro-vocal-freakout-and-half-rap-over-it sorta way. Fun, dance-y, whatever.
But it’s the spirit I like most. CS had the crowd going crazy like they rarely do (anymore? rumor has it people in, like, the ‘60s danced or something) at rock shows. And Charlie Slick will be keeping kids dancing at their upcoming house party show in Ypsilanti on July 28, Barnfest in Ann Arbor on August 10 and The Elbow Room on August 24. It’s just a hunch, but I’m betting CS will play a few more house parties this summer. Keep an eye online. | RDW
kill your radio
by Aaron Rajala
Think progressive, think hard as a motherfucker, think crazy synth-type madness — think the Severnaya Complex. I’m not sure if I’ve made this presently clear, but if you combine crazy mind fucking sounds with blood curdling screams, I’ll probably like it.
Job For a Cowboy comes to mind as I stream “Same Old Shit” while stifling a huge erection and typing this very column. “Just by listening to our songs, I will have to say The Sawtooth Grin, Between the Buried and Me, The Dillinger Escape Plan, As the Sun Sets, The Number Twelve looks like you, PysOpus, and The Red chord,” they say of their frequent comparisons.
They’re better and could probably beat the hell out of every band listed above. We all know that’s how one should judge the tenacity of a band.
Anyway, I could rant on about how this band will rip your head off and raise it on a pike, how they will remove your heart with a spork and eat it like a Nacho Bell Grande, blah blah — don’t listen to a single contrived word that I say; see them for yourself. “We can’t explain our live shows,” they admit. “You will just have to come to one — you will not be disappointed, I promise that.”
Take that for what it’s worth, see them at the Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza on August 20 in Battle Creek, and decide for yourself. | RDW
dope
by Tom Matich
If I had to bet on a child prodigy, fresh-faced high school graduate Cameron Falsetti aka Chanes could be the next big thing in the Dilla-inspired Detroit beat mecca that includes juggernauts like Black Milk and Nick Speed. The 18-year-old Chanes has already put out a mixtape with Detroit celebrity DJ Young Mase and like any sensible sequencer, he put together his own Jay-Z Black Album mash-up, a killer fission of Death Cab For Cutie and Hova entitled Retirement Plans.
“The mash up mixtape was my debut mixtape,” Chanes says. “It was made specifically just to showcase my beats, and to get some exposure. I have been working with artists all over the city. I produced about 90 percent of the Detroit Takeover Three mixtape. It’s all original material where I did work with artists like Obie Trice and Royce Da 5’9. And as for a Stretch Money and Chanes track, you can definitely expect that. Stretch and I have actually been talking a lot lately, so you are going to hear that very soon.”
Did he just say Stretch Money? This “lil’ boy” is growing up quick. Myspace.com/akachanes. | RDW
electrophile
by Jean Johnson
There’s a Legowelt show Friday. What should you expect: “Lots of bad ass acid bleeps and brown bass lines — Chicago Dancemania drewsky meets Unit Moebius old school … The Hague style with some Detroitish melodies,” said Danny Wolfers, aka Legowelt. In addition to Legowelt, Danny uses multiple aliases. What’s his favorite: “The Smackos one,” Danny said. “It’s also the most adventurous, just me and my synthesizers. I create stories, fiction movies, which I turn into albums. I don’t have to worry if people will like it and buy it — but I never do that anyway.” Computer Day, a recent Smackos release, Danny described as “a lonely man in the mid-‘80s who buys a computer and starts programming a game called Forest of Doom. Meanwhile girls start disappearing in the town, and then a dark and tragic story unfolds.” Pacific Northwest Sasquatch Research, its follow up, has an even more obscure plot involving Bigfoot and various scientists, which sounds cool. “Of course there is also some Legowelt material coming out,” Danny assured, “mostly smudgy Detroit techno and Chicago house influenced stuff with dirty basslines and simple infantile melodies.”
The event, Members Only, also serves as a Bunker showcase. So yeah, check ‘em out Friday, July 27, at Fi-Nite Gallery. | RDW
british hype watch
by Keith N. Dusenberry
“Kings Of Leon tell of their enjoyment of Spain: Jared Followill tells us what they did on their days off” — NME.com on 7/23/07
Hahahahahaha! Who is writing headlines over at NME? Blimey! | RDW
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