5/31/14

UPCOMING: Washed Out at The Crofoot 6/9



If you were fortunate enough to catch Washed Out's superb set at last summer's Laneway Festival, you probably already have your tickets for the upcoming show at the Crofoot on June 9. If you weren't there, then you have to check it out.  Washed Out is Ernest Greene, a young guy from Georgia (via South Carolina) who makes bedroom synthpop that sounds blurred and woozily evocative, like someone smeared Vaseline all over an early OMD demo tape, then stayed up all night trying to recreate what they heard.


Washed Out is touring in support of the latest effort (out now on SubPop) Paracosm,  which finds Greene expanding his sonic palette, resulting in the employment of more than 50 different instruments in a seamless assortment of sunny, laid back grooves. Doors open at 8pm and the music starts with special guests Wunder Wunder.Check out the single "Don't Give Up" from Paracosm and grab your tickets to the show right here.



5/30/14

KICKASS FREE VINYL FRIDAY: DUENDE! CAVEMAN WOODMAN & BAM BAM MOSS Record Release Party with VERY Special Guest THE BEGGARS - New Dodge Lounge Hamtramck - Sat 5/31/14

DUENDE! CAVEMAN WOODMAN & BAM BAM MOSS Record Release Party 
with VERY Special Guest THE BEGGARS

for you chance to win some sweet sweet vinyls


“For All Things Bad, Mezcal. For All Things Good As Well…”

Gangplank Recording artists DUENDE! 
announce their highly combustible release: MEZCAL.



MEZCAL was engineered by the master of knobs and sliders David Feeny at Tempermill Studios for Gangplank Records while voracious temperatures forced us indoors last winter. Bellyache Records has collaborated in the production of a collector’s vinyl issue featuring 250 pressed to black and 250 pressed to red. Artwork matches song in the inspired cover by Tato Caraveo and the photo on back is Detroit photographer extraordinaire Brian Rozman’s. Slasher Dave got on board to do the layout. 

On the album tracks “One More Time” and “Mezcal” feature Mckinley Jackson on keys. Think ‘The Politicians’ – “Free Your Mind” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5HDJSDYIvQ “Devil Do” was written by Holly GoLightly.

I recently took an advance copy on an extended road trip with me and listened thoroughly several times. I am so impressed by this album. I think this is a huge album for Detroit. Sounds like Jon Spencer and the Dead Milkmen playing with R.L. Burnsides ouija board in The Hentchmen’s basement!





Caveman Woodman and BamBam is “gnarly, swamp stomp, dirt covered, fur wrapped musical evolution.” Lineup is Frank Woodman on fender jag and Brandon (Bam Bam) Moss (Bars of Gold) on drums, playing primitive, fun, train-off-the-tracks rock-n-roll!




The Beggars have a new album being produced by Eddie Spaghetti of The Supersuckers that is set to release in September of this year. They’ll be on hand to get you out of your seats Detroit style in support of these other great acts!

The Event!
Saturday May 31st at New Dodge Lounge featuring the record release of Duende!’s – Mezcal and Woodman Caveman and BamBam Moss’s – 7” EP with very special guests, The Beggars!

Here’s the details:
* Pay $10 to get in.
* Receive a voucher for BOTH releases (courtesy of Bellyache Records).
* Bring the voucher to the merch table.
* Receive the "Mezcal" Vinyl LP by DUENDE! 
   & the Debut 6 Trk Vinyl 7" EP by CAVEMAN WOODMAN & BAM BAM MOSS! 
* Witness both bands perform live along with VERY special guests stars, THE BEGGARS!
* Go home and play each record LOUD... repeatedly! 

In case you are sans turntable (tsk tsk), both releases include free Download Codes, so you can play em on whatever modern day tech geek device you choose!

Here’s some more about the event:


http://gangplankrecords.com/ 



Jason Osburn is a Kimchi and craft beer fueled artist, graphic designer, chef, daddy, and writer. 
(not necessarily in that order) 
Owner/Ringleader of MiCraftBeerCulture Magazine 
and MCB's latest rookie draft choice.

5/29/14

PUNK ROCK BOWLING 2014: Memorial Weekend in Vegas

I'm not sure who thought combining bowling, punk rock, and cripling desert heat would be an excellent idea, but it seems to be a hit every year. Punk Rock Bowling happens every Memorial weekend in the city of Las Vegas, NV. It involves (and definitely never limited to) a trip to sin city, an optional bowling tournament, admission to the festival shows as well as the shows in the smaller venues and dive bars on Fremont St. with all sorts of punk rock bands from everywhere, and of course, the grimy drunken pool parties. Hotel room and $15 vodka slushies not included, but there are mohawks and cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon as far as the eye can see. Oh and cigarettes. There was certainly no shortage of nicotine creeping in the atmosphere at any time. In fact, if you didn't smell ciggs, beer and barf, you weren't within walking distance to the scene.





I always shoot for the Velvet Margarita in Hollywood, and the owners of that bar also own the new Backstage Bar & Billiards and the Fremont Country Club, both right next door to each other in downtown Vegas on Fremont St. The main acts like The Descendants and The Adicts were playing the festival stage, but some of the smaller and other acts were booked for the Fremont Country Club and Backstage Bar, or as locals call it, "Triple B". My dude and I rolled into town at 7am, delirious and grumpy as hell, and ended up checking into the wrong hotel. Turns out, we were comp'd at The Golden Nugget for the weekend instead. It's got a pool with a shark tank and a slide. Concerns? Nada. We slept for maybe two or three hours and then immediately got to work. It was an all-day and all-night shift, ending at sunrise every night...err morning, followed by having either a really late or a really early dinner in the casino with Exene Cervenka, then feeding an extremely intoxicated teeny-tiny Mr. T  some cold chili. Seriously. #Vegas















Some of the openers the first few nights I had never seen before or even heard of, but they were all pretty decent acts. I mean, with punk bands, you already know what to expect, but when they're opening for the fucking CROMAGS, you can expect a good time. And maybe some broken bones. The first night at FCC really lit up when A Global Threat took the stage. After that, the Cromags really tore it up. The pit literally took the paint off the floor. It was a sea of PBR cans, enough to make any recycler green with envy.






























The second night was a bit tamer, The Briefs being my favorite on the bill, but the band All headlined. The third night was a special night. It was really difficult to keep tight-lipped about the surprise set by COCKSPARRER! 40 years of punk rock! That's like 500 in "punk years". They headline the night before on the main stage at the festival and revealed they were the special guest at Triple B when their roadie cut the strings on their stage banner and it rolled down with the band name and logo. The audience roared. There were 10 photographers in the photo pit for this set with no room to move. Colin McFaull walked out and said "THIS is what Cocksparrer's all about!" referring to playing a smaller stage and the audience sardined together, all unified by the happiness of being in a more intimate setting with the band. Cocksparrer played at the same time Reverend Horton Heat played at FCC so I had to run back there in time to catch them. Both bands closed down the bar. The bar stopped serving while they were still playing and for the third time in a row, we left the bar at dawn, both of us pretty pleased with the fruits of our labor for the weekend. 






As with any Vegas trip, you're just as excited to leave the city as you were to arrive after a few days in it. In Vegas time, a few days is like a month. The heat was hot but not that unbearable. Both venues were strongly air conditioned, as was the hotel. Can't wait to see what next year will bring. 


Show Preview: Flint Eastwood BBQ The Crofoot Sat. May 31



Get your pistols up and ready! Those rowdy rascals, Flint Eastwood are throwing a BBQ party at the Crofoot this Saturday. If you haven’t been to a Flint Eastwood show, (and if you haven’t please come out of the cave you have been hiding in) they put on a show like no other with lead singer, Jax, always working the crowd up to a frenzied sate of euphoria. Along with Flint Eastwood are a number of great local bands including George Morris & the Gypsy Chorus, Monument, Monument. Rival Summers and more. There will also be free  food and games. This will be the party to kick your summer off right.  You can get your tickets without the fee here.