This week’s Flashback Friday comes from the begrudgingly goth kings The Sisters of Mercy. I have occasionally mentioned that I spent quite a few years immersed in the goth/industrial scene, a scene that is centered around the club. Long before pop rappers started talking about “da club,” goth kids were spending as much time as possible in the club. There was DNA/911/The Parthenon/Masquerade/The Edge/The Visage/Empire/Evolution/Tracks, and the lone remainder of that part of my past, The Castle.

For the first few years I would just lurk around the dance floor and watch the people dance while I got drunk. I wanted to dance but I was so sure that the moment I walked out there everyone else was gonna stop and watch me…..point….and laugh. I was sure of it. Every week I would drive to DNA giving myself the “this week is the week I dance” pep talk. Hey, I never claimed not to be a huge dork. Weeks came, weeks passed, pep talk after pep talk wasted..shit, I even practiced in my bedroom. It gets even more pathetic but I’ll stop there….I think you get the picture.

The pieces were put in place to change everything one weekend though. I met a girl at the club that happened to live in Tallahassee. We hit it off due to our common undying love for all things FSU football, and at the end of the night exchanged email addresses (super geeky high-tech back then). Over the next few weeks we exchanged emails and spent countless hours in IRC channels chatting. Soon it was decided that I should go up to Tally and hangout, and we could go to a football game and party. So off I went.

I get there on a Friday night and we go to this club that played goth and industrial upstairs on the weekends. There was no pep talk…she’s dancing with her friends, I’m drinking with some of her other friends. I had already noticed that tally goth kids did not dance like Tampa industrial kids and I suddenly realized that it did not matter who laughed, I wasn’t ever gonna see anyone in this club again after this weekend. Well, as Cooley says in that great Drive-By Trucker song “Women Without Whiskey”…whiskey don’t make you do a thing; it just let’s you. Suddenly, the tell tale chanting of This Corrosion starts and god damned if I ain’t out on the floor all of a sudden…dancing! I could not have possibly picked a worse song…ten minutes long, a freaking eternity for a limited moves self-conscious novice such as myself. Probably 7 minutes into it I gave up and went to order a shot but the seeds were sewn and I never stopped dancing after that. So let this be a lesson kids! Need to do something new, go to a foreign town and get drunk. With that I offer you Andrew and his goth voice, whether he likes it or not:

Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion

Two Cow Garage is a band I can root for… three completely awesome guys who write completely awesome rock music and play it with everything in them, regardless of the size of the crowd behind the monitors. If you can’t get behind that, then I dunno why you would even bother to read this backwoods corner of the internets.

Back in December I named Three as one of my most anticipated albums of 2007, so when it leaked to the internet I couldn’t resist the download temptation⁽¹⁾. I am happy to report my anticipation did not turn to disappointment … quite the contrary: this CD makes a beeline for my essential listening list.The signature Two Cow rock sound is in there: still brash, still loud, still walking the tight-wire between punk and alt.country . With this album, the band shows a maturity or perhaps a jadedness that the previous two did not. Yes, there are still the signature “growing up in a hick town and girl that got away” songs on the disc. Yes, they are fantastic. Shane’s growl on “Blaket Grey” and Micha’s story line in “Arson” are great, but there is a new element of wisdom in this CD. Seems to me there have been a lot of dusty miles, missed rent payments, strained relationships and “Am I doing the right thing?” contemplation between the previous The Wall Against Our Backs and this new CD, Three.

�The band’s apparent ’seasoning’ seems to have added just the right amount of a jaded temperament to their songs to really push them over the top; and my favorite tracks from the disc reflect it. “Postcards and Apologies” delves into how easily one can become a self-centered prick when there isn’t anyone around willing to call you out. “Should’ve California”, my current fave track, has Micah wondering about the things that could have been, had he chosen a different path in life … instead of “wasting all of his time in these basement bars in this rock and roll band”. His angst comes to a head in “No Shame”, when Micah laments that “things have never been worse”… a line you can imagine being written over a bowl aramen noodles while his current girlfriend is bitching about his constant absence. While he is right, there is no shame in just giving up and walking away. As a fan, I would have to say it would be a shame.

Two Cow has all the makings of a great band. I don’t feel I am typing hyperbole when I say they have the talent and band chemistry to be the next Drive By Truckers or Lucero. They made it through all the questions and doubts that turned into Three with “600 pages of regrets and hundreds unfinished songs” and 13 finished tracks with regrets of their own… regrets that you should hear. The new CD is set to be released on April 24th via Suburban Home Records. Till then, check out the track below, or go stream the entire CD over on their website.

Two Cow Garage - Blaket Grey

Two Cow Garage’s Official Site, Two Cow Garage on myspace, Pre-order Two Cow Garage - Three

⁽¹⁾At this moment allow me to say something: As a rule, I support the notion of downloading, and do it from time to time. I never judge others for using their local p2p application instead of supporting a bloated record label that is just as happy suing you, raping internet radio and fucking their own consumer base. There are plenty ways of supporting bands and I tend to use the “go to shows and buy shit there” method. However, there are plenty of bands out there trying to get shit done with out the dick of a mafRIAA member in their ass …. Two Cow is one such band. The CD is out there and anyone with an ounce of knowledge can get it in 10 minutes, and if you do that’s awesome …. listen to it. BUT, If you like it … do your part when it comes out in April…and buy it. All of your dollars will be going right to the band … which will go right into their gas tank, and if you are lucky one of your dollars will bring them to your town, and then you can witness a rock show of epic proportions.

I do not even know what the friggin’ Fab Channel is but they have an entire Black Keys concert up for streaming so they can’t be all bad.

I was lucky enough to catch The Black Keys a year or so ago at Skipper’s Smokehouse here in Tampa. There were only about 200 people there. I suspect of they ever get back this way the crowd will be way up and the intimacy will be way down. I ain’t mad though. Those guys deserve every bit of success that comes their way.

Enjoy the show.

I read some sad news on the internets yesterday and thought I would pass it along. Apparently, Jon Snodgrass, co-vocals and guitars for Drag the River has left mid-tour. There are plenty of rumors and much conjecture out there already, but as this is an .mp3 blog and not a gossip site, I’ll quote the closest official source I could find. The following comes from one of the fellas at Suburban Home Records:

I have spoke to both Dave and Jon twice now. At this point, it is definite that there will be no Jon Snodgrass on the rest of the tour. Drag will continue to play as a 3 piece and as Chad will be the only vocalist, he will only be doing his songs.

As far as what happens after this tour, there is no official news at this point. I would like to think that after everyone has had time to think about it, things will work [themselves] out. Drag are just way too good for this to be the end. They have an entire album recorded and let me just say that it will blow people away.

So that’s it. Let’s hope cooler heads prevail and a little time heals all wounds. I sure am glad I made it to the last Lucero show in time to see them open though. Drag the River was a band I have just started getting into after ignoring them for quite sometime due to a misunderstanding. Hopefully all of this will just turn into a quit the tour thing and we’ll all laugh about it in next tour. For now I’ll have a whiskey drink and put It’s Crazy in the cd changer.

Drag the River - Fire and Flood
Drag the River - Tired and Fired

While we are on this sort of news. Mario left The Weary Boys to pursue his solo career. Neither Mario nor the band have said anything about officially so I keep hoping that it will all be a terrible joke and Mario will take the stage here in Tampa come April 26 but I do not think that will be the case. Again, there is rumor and speculation but I am not in the business of spreading such things so I’ll just reprint what I was told by Mario via email:

Basically, we are all still friends but I was just feeling like my heart wasn’t in it anymore especially in regards to creativity. I think the rest of the guys sensed this and started to resent me for it. It just seemed like I should quit before I became an enemy to my friends. So, I’m doing my solo thing now and I’m gonna see where it takes me.

Hopefully things will work out for both Mario and The Wearies. As I said earlier, The Weary Boys are playing New World here in Tampa on April 26. I am not sure what to expect of a Mario-less version of the band but you can beat your ass I’ll be there to find out. I also hope Mr. Matteoli manages to make it down to Tampa with the same frequency he did as a Weary Boy. Here’s to wishing the best of luck to both efforts.

The Weary Boys - Good Times
The Weary Boys - Baby Have No Fun

Mario Matteoli - Hard Luck Hittin
Mario Matteoli - Sun Keeps Beatin’ Down

Tomorrow we’ll try and lighten things up a little by talking about Tijuana hookers a donkey shows and a bad rash.

update: Jon left this message on the DTR message board today:

I did not quit Drag the River. Drag the River is Chad and I’s band….Chad is also my best friend.
I did however quit this tour….it had to be done.
…talk later, sorry everybody.

Well, that is good news indeed.

This cd goes straight to the Essential Listening list!

A lot of the people I hang around with have lost interest in Clutch. They contend the band has lost its edge. I am not of that camp. I believe that Clutch fully realized their potential with 2004’s Blast Tyrant and rate Blast Tyrant, Robot Hive: Exodus and their newest effort From Beale Street to Oblivion (March 27 release) as the three best albums of their career. With Beale Street, Clutch finally stops flirting with the bluesy Southern rock sound, and embraces it fully.

Neil Fallon’s trademark deep voice is as preacher-like as ever, and his lyrical pen has not dulled one bit. Personally, I think his humor really shines through on “When Vegans Attack”. As an aside: is it me or does the opening guitar riff sound like “Lil’ Devil” from The Cult album Electric?

Beale Street leaked to the internets waaaaaayyyyy back in February, so I was able to listen to it every day I was on my recent ski trip. I constantly found myself asking: “Is this Clutch’s best album ever?” It might just be. Beale Street is definitely their most consistent effort from start to finish. They way they have embraced blues riffs and blues keys … I have to say “yes”, despite the haterade of my friends. I love this fucking CD. There is zero doubt that I am adding it to my essential listening list. Starting right now Beale Street is not only my favorite album of Clutch’s fifteen year career, so far, it is my favorite album of 2007. Do yourself a favor: If you are a fan of …. oh, just get the album!

I recently got to see Clutch live for the first time ever @ The State Theater in downtown St. Petersburg. I wasn’t really a Clutch fan until Blast Tyrant came along, so I passed on a number of opportunities to see them previously. Sidenote #2: I have had tickets to shows that were cancelled due to hurricanes before… welcome to Florida I guess.

I wish I could tell you all kinds of things about their show, but I can’t. See, the show was at a venue I can walk to, and stumble from. Bad News. The whiskey poured *really* freely at the 5th Street compound before the show, so most of the details are, as you might imagine … lost.

I can tell you I pretty much loved it.

I’m not a head banger due to the simple fact that I keep the dome shaved … so in lieu of banging the head I stomp my foot. My heel hurt for days after that show. If I qualified as professional reporter I wouldn’t get that trashed before a show, but I ain’t. I am a professional drunk who happens to love good music and has a web site so sometimes you get the “great show, but can’t remember shit” review.

Clutch - Power Player
Clutch - The Devil and Me
Clutch - Electric Worry

Clutch Official Site; Clutch on MySpace; Buy Clutch’s new CD: From Beale Street to Oblivion

Perhaps one of the most influential metal albums of the 1990s, Vulgar Display of Power is said to have revitalized thrash metal, speeding up the riffs and rhythms and adding a harder-edged, grinding vocal flourish. Several songs from this release have become some of the band’s best known, such as “Fucking Hostile”, “Mouth for War”, “This Love“, and “Walk“, the latter of which reached #35 on the UK Singles Chart.

God damn. This CD hit me like a sack of bricks. Shit, even the CD cover was 100% brutality. Released way back in 1992, I didn’t think anything heavier or more brutal would ever be released, and I’m not sure that there ever has. Vulgar Display of Power was a pre-eminent CD in my life’s soundtrack for a good 5 years… this also happened to be a quite aggro period of my life full of bar fights and other mischief, and it is time to give it mention on this site. There are no cute stories to go with this Flashback Friday because Vulgar kicks the crap outta cute stories. There are only rock fists, blown speakers, bloody knuckles and fat lips to tell. I once saw Biohazard and Pantera together, and it took two months for the bruises to heal.

Pantera followed up Vulgar with Far Beyond Driven, which, for any other band, would have been a crowning achievement … but it just wasn’t Vulgar. Looking back, the heroin was probably already getting the upperhand with Phil. In my opinion they never released another decent album after Far Beyond Driven and over the years a lot of bad shit happened between the band members. In November of 2004 any chance of a reunion was extinguished when some piece of shit (whom I will not immortalize by typing its name) jumped on stage and killed Dimebag. My brother has always said that “good music is fleeting and should be enjoyed while it is there”. More often than not he is proven right.

In July 2004, Vulgar Display of Power went double-platinum.

Pantera - Fucking Hostile
Pantera - Mouth for War
Pantera - Regular People

“This is music wrought from blood and bone, concrete and steel, an inner-city voodoo for the disposed and forgotten.”
Originally championed by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Chicken Legs Weaver is Andy Weaver, Jane Howden and Mik Glaisher. The Band hails from Sheffield but writes a breed of music that could easily come from the delta of the Mississippi. The band has built a following across the UK opening for act as from all genres, including: The Buzzcocks, Electric 6, Hammel on Trail and 16 Horsepower. Chicken Legs Weaver hope their deubt CD Nowhere will fall on willing ears on our side of the pond.Andy Weaver employs a growl reminiscent of Howling Wolf or Tom Waits, which is distracting at first to say the least. If you are willing to let that low rumble grow on you, you’ll find it fitting for the slow, menacing moodiness that Chicken Legs Weaver serves up. By the time you begin to learn the words you can’t imagine any other style vocals over these songs.

Nowhere, their debut album, was produced by none other than Johnny Dowd, a man I referred to as the “Bad Santa of the blues” on this here web site. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got the CD, but with Johnny Dowd attached to the project I knew it was not gonna be a straight forward blues album. Dark as a new moon midnight, some times punk, sometimes gospel, some times blues and always primal, the CD does not disappoint.

Chicken Legs Weaver - Howling Road
Chicken Legs Weaver - Your Enemy Can Not Harm You
Chicken Legs Weaver - Paper House

Chicken Legs Weaver on MySpace, Buy the Chicken Legs Weaver CD

I have to thank Dan Auerbach(The Black Keys ),and if you are a fan of that bluesy garage rock sound currently being popularized by The Black Keys, then you need to thank him as well. Frontman Parker Griggs gave Dan a copy of the Radio Moscow demo after a Black Keys show in Colorado, and Dan liked it so much that he called Parker up and offered to produce their debut cd in his Akron, Ohio base me…..ERRRR…studio. Dan also took it a step further, leaning on former Black Keys home, Alive Records, to sign the band.

Over the years, there has been constant turnover in the band, and Radio Moscow is, for all extensive purposes, Parker Griggs. He is the guitarist/drummer/singer/songwriter on the debut cd. The current touring lineup is Parker on guitar and vocals, Keith Rich as drummer, and Zach Anderson on bass. Parker claims this is the most dedicated and tightest line-up to date.

The self-titled debut is 10 tracks of “garage punk filtered through the blues, with“. What does all that mean? I am not entirely sure but I like the way it reads. In my own words, I would have to say Radio Moscow’s debut cd is electric guitar fueled blues rock that can find a groove and ride it so hard it’ll scar your speakers. Think Wolfmother meets The Black Keys, and you’ll probably have the worst analogy in the history of music reviews, but I’m gonna use the fucker. For real though, this is a cd that forces you to stomp your feet and play air guitar from the second the opening bass solo of “Frustrating Sound”starts.

Radio Moscow will be bringing their monster sound and heavy grooves to The New World Brewery on April 20, thanks to the fine folks over at aespresents. Something tells me the guys will put on an early contender for show of the year. I’ll be there, beer buzz intact and you can bet your ass I’ll be wearing my foot stomping shoes.

Radio Moscow - Frustrating Sound
Radio Moscow - Deep Blue Sea
Radio Moscow - Whatever Happened

Radio Moscow’s myspace site, Radio Moscow on Alive Records, Buy Radio Moscow’s debut cd

Pensacola is like many a small southern town: Traditional, Republican and hard-line Christian. The town’s favorite son is Republican Congressman turned right-wing bobblehead Joe Scarborough. Reynosa’s high school, East Hill Christian, is “committed to a doctrine, which supports the infallibility of scripture, that the Bible is the ultimate authority against which all evidence is examined.” Judging from the songs on their new album Directions, that doctrine never really had time to set.

Named after the road on which their practice space is located, Reynosa is: Jordan Richards on guitar and vocals, Nathan Dillaha with guitar, Aubrey Nichols playing piano and contributing backing vocals, Josh Duff on bass and Josh Barnhill on drums. Formed in 2005 they write a mature form of Southern rock that belies their relative age, both as a band and as individuals, the oldest being 23. When I say “Southern rock” I think more Wilco than Skynyrd, more Ryan Adams than Drive-By Truckers.

This debut CD sports 11 songs infused with small-town monotony, bible belt mentality and late nights in bars … all served up over telecaster riffs and bass driven hooks that will leave you singing them long after the CD ends. The tracks open with the hard driving beat of “It’s All Uphill From Here”, and by the time Richards sings “… and I don’t want to but I will…” I knew there was an excellent chance I had found another gem of a Florida band. Directions was recorded live in a Gulf Breeze, Florida studio in an effort to capture the same intimate, energetic sound that is present in their live shows. The recording environment gives the album a rather refreshing and loose feel. It is rare you find a CD with no skip-by tracks, even more rare that it would come from an unsigned act out of the Florida panhandle, but here is is none the less. From the hooky-as-trout line “Find Some Faith” to the album’s stand-out and hardest rocking track “Goodbye Woman”, it is obvious that Reynosa put two years of songwriting to good use. They should be extremely proud of the results.

Reynosa are currently touring in support of Directions. I would encourage you to sample their efforts by listening to the sample songs below. If you agree with me, support them financially by heading over to CD Baby and purchase this disc.

Reynosa - Goodbye Woman
Reynosa - Find Some Faith
Reynosa - Trouble

Reynosa’s Myspace Page, Buy the Reynosa CD

We are sitting around the dining room table. The wife and her friend are gossiping and I am listening to the iPod. Suddenly, this song starts. I had totally forgotten it was on the iPod. I know Staind sucks and I know the radio played it into the dirt. They may still be playing it for all I know but I gotta admit….I like the song.

Staind - It’s Been a While