Need a lot more me in the monitor

What do a Beekeeper, a Twinkie, a guy in a Gorilla suit,  people who molest children's costumes, and a zombie Bob Ross have in common?  Besides the start of a bad joke it would be the Halloween dance party at the Ramskeller. The Ramskeller is a full service bar located in the Lory Student Center on the CSU campus. That's right, a bar on a college campus. I didn't have one of those where I went to school, I feel deprived.  This was my first time at the Ramskeller and I liked it. Cool little place with a decent beer selection, cheap food, and good acoustics.  Their not known for doing shows, at least not that I'm aware of and I hope they continue to do more. I would definitely go there again. I'm not a big fan of the dance party scene. I don't dance, and it's for the good of mankind that I don't. White people dancing is like spandex, it's a privilege and not a right. If you don't believe me watch people on a dance floor sometime, it's just sad.  I'm sorry my fellow honkys but we have no rhythm and we only get worse as we get older, much, much worse. The only time I condone such activities is when it's done in costume, then it's kind of funny.

On to the music, there were three really good bands featured. The first was a band called Wire Faces A band that I had seen before, or at least thought I had. They were all dressed as Andy Warhol, so it was kind of hard to recognize them. But, still there was something different. I had to ask around. It was obvious that they had replaced their Bass player, but they seemed have changed their sound as well.  A change for the better I thought, not to say they weren't good before, they were. I talked to Nick Duarte of Post Paradise who was also in attendance with Cellist Amy Morgan and we both agreed that this was not the same Wire Faces that we had seen before.  I see good things for these guys in the future, I will go see them again. Wire Faces is a three piece made up of Shane Zweygardt on vocals and drums, Ian Haygood on vocals and guitar, and Menyus Borocz on Bass. I asked Shane how he would describe their sound since I am completely unable to put it into words, at least in a way that would do it justice. He described it as an experimental dance something, something that I didn't write down so I don't remember how it went.  Anyway, do we really need to pigeonhole every band into it's own genre? I think it was said best by Jello Biafra in the documentary Nerdcore Rising  "That the more we generify things it make what comes after that much less interesting". I just say go see them at their next show their playing the Old Curtis St Pub in Denver on November 20th. Make your own opinion.

The next band is one of my favorites on the local scene Pep*Squad.  Pep*Squad is fronted by Brett Schreider who has been a  fixture on the local scene for quite a few years, and member of other bands such as Stella Luce, The Slow Crash, and a whole slew of others past and present. Now prepare for an assault by Pep*Squad the ultimate party band for the end of the world. These guys will rock your ass off with songs about the upcoming zombie apocalypse and other important issues you need know about. Don't kid yourselves the zombies are coming, so start working on your cardio. They're a two piece in the studio with Abbie on drums and piano, but a three piece live. Their next show listed isn't until December 4th at the Meadow lark in Denver, you have plenty of time to prepare.

Last but not least the headliner Common Anomaly dressed as a bunch of greaser zombies. I've written about these guys before if you didn't read it I suggest you scroll down do so, these guys are good.  I had to leave during their set to go to Road 34 and check out a standing room only show by Other Side of Clearview playing the songs of Muse.  I'm not too familiar with  Muse but did recognize a few songs. The Other Side of Clearview is a band that I'm sure I'll be writing about in the future, so stay tuned.  It was a good night full of good music, great costumes and a lot of fun. Hopefully I saw some of you there, until next time get off your ass and enjoy some great music.

Start wearing Purple (the predictable title)

On October 23rd Gogol Bordello played the Aggie Theatre to a sold out audience, actually more like oversold. I've been to about a half a dozen sold out shows at the Aggie and I've never seen that many people. Despite the possible fire code violations it was still a awesome show. Since when rock n roll supposed to be safe?


Gogol Bordello is a muti-ethnic Gypsy punk band formed in New York City in 1999, with members who immigrated from eastern European countries such as Ukraine and Russia. Now I know what your saying. Why is a blog about the local music scene reporting about a band that is not part of the local scene? Well, if you have to ask that question then you're obviously not aware of the connection that Gogol Bordello has to our town. That connection being non other than local musician and member of legendary puck bands The Descendents and All,  Karl Alvarez who was a member of Gogol Bordello during the summer of 2006. Karl has also been a member of The Lemon Heads and can be seen around town in his band Underminer as well as a few other local bands that he is a part of. He's a busy guy you never know where he might pop up.

The opening act Apostle of Hustle were a quirky little two piece from Canada, but since they're not connected to our fair city that's all I'm going to say about them other than they were not a bad opener and you can check them out if you like. I'll have to admit this show was a little uncomfortable to stand through due to the incredible overcrowding. It was nuts to butts the entire time. But, it was more than worth putting up with a little discomfort to see such a great show. There was a good time had by all, and mostly by me. A great turnout is a good thing, because without venues like the Aggie our artist would have no place to play. Trust me, I've lived in towns where the opportunity to see a good show was rare thing. We're lucky to have what we have here, so get out there and support our local musicians and venues. There's some great local shows lined up for next weekend, hope to see you there.

 

 

 

 

...and yet again with the roller derby

Once again I shall veer away from the music world to write about roller derby. Get used to it.   I finally found a sport that I like, and I was not the least bit disappointed in Saturday nights bout at the Kill Floor in Greeley. The Slaughter House Derby Girls defended their home turf against The Junction City Train Wrecks from Ogden, Utah.  And no, the Train Wrecks are not all married to the same guy, I asked.  All Mormon/Utah joke aside it was good to see the great turnout. It seems like there are more and more people at every bout. I'm not sure if because someone is not following rules #1 and #2 or from the recent release of the movie Whip It ( a movie I have yet to see) but I hope it continues.  I couldn't tell you how the bout ended or what the final score was.  I had to leave shortly after half time, but the Slaughter House Girls were in the lead and really putting a beating on the Train Wrecks.

While I'm on the subject of half time, one of the things that made this bout so special was that The Butcher Babes, Greeleys brand new junior league team put on their first bout for the halftime show.  The next generation of roller girls are getting started and they're working hard.  Once they're old enough to get their first tattoos they'll be ready to take over and show the old timers how it's really done. With the cheers of proud parents, fans, and the rumors that Fort Collins is planning to start a junior league of it's own I think maybe it's safe to say the future of roller derby is secure.

Until next time, get out and support local music. Keep an eye out for the my next post featuring Gogol Bordello.

Teenage Pregnancy and Cassette Tapes

Local musician Magic Cyclops threw his Teenage Pregnancy Test Cassette release party at Hodi's Half  Note on October 15th. Yes, you read that right a cassette and not a CD release.  With that cassette tape you received a pregnancy test along with some other goodies. While I have a problem putting Magic Cyclops into word that's not a problems shared by a few others and they may not be all that pleasant about it. Magic may just be an acquired taste, either you'll love or hate him. I don't think there is a lot of middle ground there. I've always viewed Magic as more of a comedy act than a musical one, which I believe is what is intended.  Magic is a one man show with him singing songs with titles like "Teenage pregnancy don't do it" and "online predator" over tracks played on an Ipod.(a replacement of the Casio keyboard he once used) Magic is a funny character to watch, the music has an 80s sound reminiscent of band such as Devo. Magic does shows all over Northern Colorado from the Fort to Denver, but before you go look first to see what kind of show it is. Magic does a lot of DJ work. If it's a DJ show it's mostly him spinning tracks, you need to go to a actual  Magic Cyclops show if you want the full Magic experience.


Magic may have been the star of the show, but there were few other acts worth mentioning. Two other bands shared the bill those being Boner and Half Head.  Neither one of these two I have other heard of before. Fortunately for me I ran into two reputable source on the Fort Collins music scene. Those being Ben Ptytherch of Motorhome and Ted Hill host of My Bird on KRFC 88.9fm to fill me in on the details.

Boner

Boner is a band fronted by a classically trained Cello player who has a dirty mouth. Which is evident on songs such as "Be happy your weren't aborted". Their a little Rock n Roll and a little country with elements of  a few other genres throw into the mix. According to Ben their guitar player is one of the best in town. While just seeing him play one show wasn't enough to convince me to agree, the guy definitely does have skill. I couldn't find a website for these guys to get more info and trying to Google them will lead you to all kinds of bizarre things. I'll keep a look out for these guys, I like them and want to see more.

Half Head

Half Head was the opening act and these guys were OK. They were a simple loud rock band with elements of punk. Some songs had a good sound, others not so much. Both guitar players took turns at singing and I wasn't very thrilled with the vocal delivery. Ted referred to Half Head as being a Fort Collins super group comprised of a bunch of bands no one has heard of. I think he was being sarcastic. The handful of people there to see them seem to be enjoying themselves, so maybe they weren't that bad. Anyway go see them and make your own opinion.

 

All together this was a good show, I had a good time. Hodi's has a great lighting system as well as a good sound system. Unfortunately they fall short in a few other areas. This had to be the most disorganized show I ever seen, took forever for to get started and the time between sets was a little long. Which wasn't such a bad thing since it gave me time to run across the street to the Surf side to get a drink. It's a common practice since Hodi's drink prices are on the expensive side. Well, until next get out there and support the scene.

Black and Blue Balls

There were a few good shows over the weekend, unfortunately I didn't see any of them. But on Saturday the 10th  I managed to make to Roller Land to see the Black and Blue Ball, a roller derby bout between the Chanel Cartel and the Death Row Dolls. I know this is supposed to be a music blog, but well this is my blog and well you know. Anyway, if it's any consolation to you local musician White Cat Pink was in attendance as was Jill Brzezicki.

I am in no sence of the word a sports fan. I really couldn't give a swinging dick about your favorite sports team or what happened during last nights game, I could really care less.  For some reason I like the roller derby, maybe because it's a challenge to photograph. Who couldn't like a sport where you have players with names like Mustache Rider, Iggy Cocks, or Iona Switchblade. If you watched roller derby on T.V. back sometime around the early 90's this isn't the same thing. That was just a fake rip off created by some T.V. execs as a way to make a quick buck.  This is the real thing.  This is flat track derby and there is good documentary about the birth of it called "Hell on Wheels". Go check it out there's another bout in Greeley on the 17th.

Post Paradise cd release party

September 25th saw the cd release party of Post Paradise's new cd "From Here to Anywhere" at Hodi's Halfnote. Matt Martin wrote a review for the Scene Magazine which sadly is not yet on the website. To the right is a picture of my copy which I'm listening to enjoying as I write this. It's pretty damn good.  Unfortunately I was not able to stay for their entire set. Which is a bummer because this is an awesome band to see live. But, You can see  at the Chippers Lane North in Fort Collins on Oct 1st at 10pm and I suggest you do.


Post Paradise is made up of:
Nick Duate: Vocals and Guitar
Amy Morgan: Cello
Josh Freed: Bass
Craig Babineau: Drums



Before Post Paradise was Common Anomaly who put on a phenomenal performance. Common Anomaly emerged on the scene about two years ago and in that time have really made name for themselves. I've known them pretty much from the start and they just get better with each show. Along with Post Paradise this is a must see band, and you can see them on October 9th at Road 34.





The show was opened by a band called The Nurses. The Nurses are a newer band that I was told is from Loveland. I didn't get a chance to learn much else about them, but they showed alot of talent and I will definetly keep an eye out for them in the future.