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Martedì
16:
da
Chicago, due nuove punk rock bands:
AMERICAN
HERITAGE
www.american-heritage.net
American
Heritage is a 4-piece based in Chicago, and their music can be described
as soft, pretty pop with a strong sensibility for ear candy. Members
include Adam Norden on bass, Michael Duffy on drums, Scott Shellhamer
on lead guitars and Andrei Cabanban on rhythm guitars. Imagine a mixture
of Britney Spears, the Verve and the Beatles! Fun stuff for everyone!
This release is loaded with goodies such as guest appearances by underground
hip-hop artist Brother El, and electronics weirdo Swimm Industries.
There's also 4 cover tunes of classic punk bands by AH, including vocals
by the bassist and guitar player.
American
Heritage - Through the Age of Quarrel and Into the Era of Putting Up
With It (Troubleman Unlimited)
With every new heavy metal album that comes out on an indie label, we
get closer and closer to the time when I can go to a record store and
walk up to someone five or ten years younger than me looking through
the selection of a band like American Heritage and say to him, "Yeah,
that band's okay, but you should hear Don Caballero. They were doing
metal when these guys were still in middle school listening to grunge."
American Heritage are much in the spirit of Don Caballero, bringing
the graphing calculator to practice with them as they create some ripe,
heavy instru-metal. If the cover art is not enough of a tip-off, American
Heritage separates themselves by being a snotty little punk band. Being
pure punks, the album starts with a computer voice singing about ladies'
panties to the tune of "God Save the Queen" and ends with some standard
computerized beats (what the fast forward and stop buttons are made
for, respectively). In between though, all you get is the metal, aggressive
and loud but never irritatingly so. Of course, like Don Caballero, American
Heritage do not create metal just to be loud; it is math metal with
much care towards making the riffs and rhythms complex and interesting.
They know when the volume needs to be turned up to 10, and when it is
better set at 8 so that more nuance can be heard--that is, however much
nuance can be heard when the volume is still way up there at 8. Even
during these "down" times, though, the band is plenty loud and plenty
fast; there is hardly any time to breathe as the music is so dense and
furious. There's a balance between being heavy enough to rock and so
heavy that a band comes off abrasive and unlistenable. American Heritage
is about as brutal and heavy as a band can get before it starts to get
on your nerves. So, when I walk into that proverbial record store five
years from now, I won't be able to laugh at the kid buying an American
Heritage record; I guess I'll be picking one up as well.
Description
: Disjointed, Depressing, Vertigo-inducing, Loud, Manic, Discombobulating,
Hysterical, Hyperbolic, 80% Accurate, Disgust-inspiring, Malignant,
Incongruous, Innately Bad-spirited, Contra-indie-rock, Imposing, Unapologetically
Aggressive, And Poorly-bred.
"This is the loudest fucking band in Chicago, hands
down!" --"why does everyone get cancer?"
Band
Description: Fuckin heavy! Metal, punk, rock, roll all in one. Toured
UK & Europe Fall 1999, returning again early winter 2000. We are cute,
metal, and a bunch of smartasses on top of it all.
Band History: Started Spring 1997. Ex members of Chicago math rocker
TETSUO & Brass Knuckles for Tough Guys. Friends with Kevin J. Frank!
(Whoa!) New CDEP out Fall 2000. All about the rock!
HAYMARKET RIOT
ascolta
"Conduit alarm" in mp3
The
phrase "Haymarket Riot" has recently gained a new meaning. Since the
late 19th century, the words have evoked memories of the tragic event
that took place in Chicago-a conflict between union workers, anarchists
and policemen that boiled over into four casualties and many more wounded.
Lately, however, the words "Haymarket Riot" have come to represent something
positive from the city. In July of 1999, four young musicians unintentionally
began to change the original perception. The new definition was born
through Haymarket Riot-a four-piece band from The Windy City. Billy
Smith, Fred Popolo, Mike Bennett and Kevin J. Frank are these four musicians,
who all still reside in the metropolitan area. The bands these players
have previously been involved with are well-known in the Chicago independent
rock scene, but to some might sound like a list of video games or wrestling
moves.
A
collective resume for the four Haymarket members would read like this
(in no particular order): Orwell, The Traitors, Dempsey, Gauge, Traluma,
The Sky Corvair, Kiwi Waltz, Radio Flyer, Sweater Weather, Gila Bend
and Hubcap. "We picked the name 'Haymarket Riot' because it's a direct
link to our hometown," said bass player Fred Popolo. According to Popolo,
a sketch of the May 4, 1886, Chicago tragedy, swiped from a high school
library, somehow ended up hanging on one of the members' bathroom doors.
With the need for a band name, the picture and name almost presented
themselves. Haymarket Riot is not your typical band. They have a punk
rock essence to their music: They play with energy and are part of a
moderately-sized, intimate music scene. However, they are not like the
mohawk or anarchy punks of '80s popularity.
www.divotrecords.com/haymarket
The
four individuals look like normal 20-something-year-olds, with the exception
of a full beard and a few moppy hairdos. Where Haymarket Riot differs
from other groups is in the way the members undertake their music. Their
music is technical, yet can be simple. They play with genuine emotion
and drive that is easily transmitted throughout each lyric, rhythm and
melody. They aren't afraid to use harmonies and other musical rudiments.
One of the band's most important aspects is the way they perform live.
Their performance, as Popolo calls it, is "not a normal show."
Members of the group convey the power of the music to the audience by
jumping around and doing whatever it takes to keep things interesting.
"It is important to make the fans feel it ... We go down fighting,"
said Popolo. The bond the four have created has made it easier for them
to stay together and write such expressive music. "Our personalities
fit together, something special bonds. Playing together just works,"
said Popolo. Frank (guitar and vocals) and Popolo (bass and vocals)
had a feeling of musical chemistry when they first started to practice
together.
The band was formed on healthy terms: Monday night pool games between
the two lead to talks of forming a group. At this time, Popolo and Frank
were both involved with other bands, Six of One Half Summers and Traluma,
respectively. Each also had other people in mind that they wanted to
work with. Popolo had been jamming with Smith (drums and vocals), former
member of The Traitors and Hubcap. Frank played guitar with Bennett
(guitar and vocals), who was playing with a band called Dempsey. The
first time the four rehearsed, they began by improvising on a song that
Frank had been working on. The first jam produced "Castor Oil," the
fifth song on their eponymous first EP. Soon they were practicing two
or three times a week, and within a month they had created the five
songs that would compose their first release.
Word began to circulate of the collaboration and about 50 fans were
in the basement of a Milwaukee home for Haymarket Riot's first show
on Sept. 25, 1999. Since the initial warm reception, the band has frequently
been touring and writing music. They now have four releases, including
two EPs, a split 7" and a new full-length album entitled Bloodshot Eyes.
With touring and writing music, the group not only hopes to keep active,
but also wishes to preserve the music scene they helped create.
The Chicagoland post-punk rock scene began long ago with the assistance
of their old bands and Popolo's creation, Divot Records. Fred Popolo,
left, and Billy Smith rock out. Popolo started Divot when he decided
to assist in the release of a 7" record from a local band, Guttersnipe.
In 1994, when the group began recording in the studio, Popolo decided
to join them and get acquainted with the production process. He met
the staff of the studio, admired the hard work behind the scenes and
decided to do his part. He worked out a deal with the band to release
the 7" with his label.
The business aspect behind selling the first 500 records acted as the
primary learning experience for the company. One of the next releases
was a bigger task, but might have wielded more positive effects for
the punk rock community. At shows and over the phone, Popolo openly
requested songs from bands to put onto a compilation album. The release,
Ground Rule Double, not only became a business success, but also helped
to unify a community of underground bands and individuals around the
Metropolitan Chicago area.
Now, Popolo still maintains the self-built company largely along with
the help of bandmate Frank. The label is fueled by an Web site (www.divotrecords.com)
and a distribution company for its nearly 20 releases. The label has
successfully released music from bands like Braid, Lustre King, Hero
of a Hundred Fights, The Paper Chase and Sweep the Leg Johnny. Divot
has slowly expanded to audiences of other regions, and along with this
growth has erected a new limb of the punk rock family tree.
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