I gotta say, I’ve been pretty stoked for Slow Southern Steel ever since I first heard of the concept a couple years back.  A documentary on the southern sludge scene starring Kylesa, Eyehategod, Sourvein, Zoroaster, Dixie Witch and Weedeater, to name but a few, directed by CT from Rwake, sure sounds like it’s right up my alley.  And now that the film’s finally ready for release, they’re taking the show on the road, with screenings in 19 US cities opening for Zoroaster and sludge supergroup Hail! Hornet (feat. Dixie Dave, T.Roy et al).  To say that I’m awfully tempted would be an understatement…

Suffice to say that this film wouldn’t be as big a hit north of the Mason-Dixon, and that’s why there aren’t a ton of Northeast dates, the closest being Columbus, or maybe Philly.  But hey, they’re hitting Columbus on a Saturday, so it might be worth the 11-hour bus ride (each way), or so I thought.  Until I took a look at the calendar.  The Columbus screening/gig’s on February 4th, after which the tour takes a day off… for Super Bowl Sunday.  Hey, if I wanted to spend an hour or two sleeping in the bus shelter, I could make it back to TO in time for kickoff, but that’s probably asking a bit much after getting on the 6 am bus outta town the day before just to make it to Columbus on time.  The other alternative would be to watch the game on the bus–hey, those Greyhounds have WiFi now, eh?–but that just seems kinda lame.

After all, the Super Bowl is best spent imbibing a cool beverage (or 10) in front of a big screen, not squinting at yer laptop on a bus fulla strangers.  I don’t see any affordable early flights from Columbus to TO either, so I think I’m gonna hafta skip this.  Now, if they had only hit Cleveland instead, I’d already have purchased my ticket.  Don’t ask me how that works, but the round-trip’s a whopping eight hours shorter…

Now, who do I hafta fuck to get a Slow Southern Steel screening up in The Big Smoke!?

Peace,

Greg

P.S.: Like what you read?  Follow me on Twitter and check out my blog!

P.P.S.: My new radio show, Gruesome Tunes, airs Sunday nites from 6 till 8 (Eastern Time) on Grip of Delusion Radio.  Tune in and drop out!

Last week marked the big PIPA and SOPA blackouts in the U.S. in opposition to bills being passed south of our border which would essentially censor the internet. The government is trying to sneak these bills in under the guise of helping to stop online piracy, but what they are really doing is trying to gain control over something that they shouldn’t be involved in, namely the internet. This starts with the guise of preventing piracy but continues into censoring the web altogether. I’ve noticed a lot of folks who are commenting that we Canadians shouldn’t be too worried about it because it’s happening down south but…take a look at the bill that Congress here is trying to get passed with regards to copyright reform. It would make things VERY difficult for folks to use digital music, video, etc. even if they purchased it legally. And these new more stringent measures were put in place, essentially, to please the U.S. who has been pressuring Canada for years to do something about its ‘lax’ laws. Not to mention the fact that many of your favourite sites may be gone because of U.S. law. If they take them down there, you won’t be able to see them here.

Anywho, I don’t mean to go off about politics, it’s not my bag and I really don’t have a head for the dealings that go on, but if it effects my music or my musical knowledge getting, it concerns me!

What I really wanted to talk about is something that really gets up my skirt (and not in a good way) and that is digital music. Let’s face it, digital music is here to stay and although we might never see the end of CDs completely and the welcome resurgence of vinyl won’t change much for the everyday music consumer, it’s time for everyone to face facts and get on board. What irks me in particular is that labels and promotions companies are now sending more and more digital files to stations, but don’t seem to know how to rip a CD properly or the difference in MP3 quality. So, here are a few quick tips for record labels, artists and those of you just generally curious, about submitting things to a radio station for airplay in the modern digital age:

1.    If you rip a CD, rip it at a decent bit rate. By compressing the songs to anything smaller than 192kbps, you are not only depriving the listeners of a good sounding song/album, you are also seriously messing with your artist’s (own) sound and livelihood. Putting low quality MP3s on the air makes songs sound awful, and who the hell needs to buy awful sounding music?

2.    Check your rip. Listen to the album/song yourself BEFORE you send it out to people. Almost as frustrating as low quality digital rips is bad rips. This is completely avoidable, and if you can’t manage to rip a CD without blips, farts, squeaks, squonks, etc. then ask the 7 year old down the street to show you how.

3.    Know who you are sending things to. I can forgive having something sent to the wrong name, or even messing up the call letters for the station, but if you are sending me your attempt at being the next Brittney Spears or LMFAO, then chances are I’m going to delete your email without spending too much time listening to it.

4.    Include some relevant information with your music. Yes, yes, it’s an AMAZING album recorded deep in the darkest depths of your mother’s basement but…what will really help people to get it on the air is much simpler: what type of music it is (without all the hyperbole), what tracks have profanity, what tracks should we focus on and what artists is the music comparable to. With that info, we can get the your music through the system and to the right people much quicker.

5.    A .pdf of the liner notes and decent quality shots of the cover art are more important that 15 band photos, regardless of how pretty you are.

That’s really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to digital music and servicing though. I know it’s a new format still and people are still finding their way around but if no one tells you that you’re messing things up, you’ll never know!

This time, the Swedish miscreants musta put their real names on their visas, so somebody at the embassy actually knows who they are.  (Apparently, they had troubles last year when they listed their band members as ?, ?? and ???…)  Mind you, most people in the know have some idea already, but I digress.  On this jaunt, they’re bringing their Rise Above label mates Blood Ceremony on the latter’s first North American tour–along with some hippy-dippy band named Ancient VVisdom (yes, two capital V’s!) from Texas.  I’ve seen the pictures, and they ain’t pretty.

In any case, I’ll be there with bells on tomorrow.  Debating whether to skip the openers as BC doesn’t go on till nearly 9, but at the same time, I don’t wanna be stuck at the back of the venue.  I heard the lineup in NYC went all the way around the block, so I might hafta skip the NFC championship in that case.

Eli Manning, don’t fail me now…

I’m also counting down the TOP 10 SATANIC/OCCULT ROCK/METAL BANDS/ARTISTS this week on Gruesome Views.  Ghost and Blood Ceremony both figure on said list, and I’ll be revealing the Top Two this weekend.  Check out the countdown here.

Peace,

Greg

Ghost, Blood Ceremony, Ancient Wisdom @ Virgin Mobile Mod Club, 722 College St, Sunday, January 22nd.  Doors @ 7, First band @ 8.  $15 advance.

P.S.: Like what you read?  Follow me on Twitter and check out my blog!

P.P.S.: My new radio show, Gruesome Tunes, airs Sunday nites from 6 till 8 (Eastern Time) on Grip of Delusion Radio.  Tune in and drop out!

You know how you throw your coat on a pile at a concert, and expect it to still be there at the end of the nite?  Well, when I did that at Duffy’s, I noticed some old lady–one of the “regulars,” I suppose–rifling through my pockets, so I had to hang on to my jacket for the rest of the nite.  Then there was that time when the “management” shut down a gig around 12:30 cuz they didn’t want the cops to show up.  Not that they were in a residential area–unless you count rooming houses.  Let’s just say that was the last Duffy’s gig I’ve attended.  Fuck that noise complaint!

Fortunately, it seems that quite a few bands that used to play that Bloor Street dive have moved on the 460 now.  A much better location, if you ask me–College and Spadina, literally right next to the El Mocambo.  Mind you, there’s really no comparison between the ElMo and this hole in the wall, for better or for worse.

For one thing, it really is a hole in the wall.  You know that front foyer when you walk into the ElMo?  Well, it’s bigger than this entire bar.  Suffice to say, the 460 stage is small, though there’s just enough room for a four-piece band.  If everybody’s up front, 50 people practically pack the place.  And while the lighting and decor leave a little to be desired (it’s a Scott Mission resident’s take on the Smiling Buddha), I appreciate the fact that they’re not a Molson-only bar–and that a bottle of Blue still costs about four bucks.  I’m not sure you can even say that of Sneaky Dee’s anymore…

They’ve even got pitchers of some local horsepiss (I think it’s Golden Showers Horseshoe) for 10 bucks.  It’s really not the tastiest brew, but hey, 10-dollar pitchers, right?  And for the record, I’ve heard their bathrooms smell better than Duffy’s–though I wouldn’t know, as I live within stumbling distance.

And if hanging out at a dark and dingy club when it feels like -25 outside is your idea of a good time, there’s a pretty decent heavy rock show happening there this evening, what with Enchantress, Ol’ Time Moonshine and Galaxies in the River taking the stage sometime after 9.  If I can get this cough under control for more than five minutes, you might see my freezing fat ass down there, as well.

Time to go raid the medicine cabinet…

Peace,

Greg

P.S.: Like what you read?  Follow me on Twitter and check out my blog!

P.P.S.: My new radio show, Gruesome Tunes, airs Sunday nites from 6 till 8 (Eastern Time) on Grip of Delusion Radio.  Tune in and drop out!

Tickets are now on sale online for the RAFFLE OF DOOM, running up till the end of March.  You won’t get this kinda haul from your local record store, that’s for sure.  Here, see for yourself…

This isn’t some lame office draw where they expect you to pay 20 bucks for the chance to win Leafs tickets, either.  Entry is just five bones, bro!  And I wasn’t kidding about that RB backpatch…

Alas, the timing of last year’s fest didn’t work out for me, but I’m gonna try to get my ass down to the Cheesehead state for this one.  Anybody wanna give me a lift?  I’ll reward ya with whatever stuff I’ve already got once I win this thing…

Peace,

Greg

P.S.: Like what you read?  Follow me on Twitter and check out my blog!

P.P.S.: My new radio show, Gruesome Tunes, airs Sunday nites from 6 till 8 (Eastern Time) on Grip of Delusion Radio.  Tune in and drop out!

Here are all upcoming dates by A Pale Horse Named Death:

HELL ACROSS EUROPE 2012 HEADLINING TOUR
11.01. A-Vienna – Szene
12.01. D-Munich – Backstage
13.01. CH-Zurich – Werk 21
14.01. I-Novara – Rock N´Roll Arena
15.01. D-Stuttgart – Die Röhre
17.01. D-Wiesbaden – Schlachthof
18.01. D-Cologne – Underground
20.01. IRE-Dublin – The Pint
21.01. GB-Belfast – Spring & Airbrake
22.01. GB-Manchester – Moho Live
24.01. GB-Wrexham – Central Station
25.01. GB-Wolverhampton – Slade Rooms
27.01. GB-London – The Borderline
29.01. B-Antwerp – Trix
31.01. DK-Copenhagen – Pumpehuset
01.02. D-Hamburg – Logo
02.02. NL-Kerkrade – Rock Temple
03.02. NL-Amsterdam – Melkweg
04.02. D-Bielefeld – Forum
05.02. D-Saarbrücken – Garage Club
07.02. D-Berlin – White Trash
08.02. D-Dresden – Groovestation
10.02. PL-Warsaw – Progresja
11.02. PL-Wroclaw – Firlej
12.02. CZ-Prague – Exit US

http://apalehorsenameddeath.com/

I suppose now would be a good time for a quick introduction then, wouldn’t it? I’m Jason Wellwood, aka ‘The Witchfinder General’ if you tune in to my radio shows on CILU in Thunder Bay, which also happens to be the campus based community station that I manage. After 7 years of working for independent music you’d think I’d have all the tricks down and not be surprised by anything, but nothing could be further from the truth. Between the industry’s lack of grasp on new technology, they myriad of crappy ‘artists’ that send stuff our way because they downloaded a copy of Audacity and have 100 fans on Facebook…the music industry and radio are both thrashing about pretty good trying to keep their heads afloat and I’m right smack dab in the middle. To say it’s an interesting time is a pretty big understatement, but really I can’t complain. I will though, and I hope you’ll check back to see if I have a good rant for you, or maybe an off the cuff album review (I have piles of stuff to listen to each week so you may even get a quick 50 word blurb on something you’ve never heard of) or at the very least an update on one of the 4 main radio shows I do.

See, I host a series of radio shows that fell on me by default and I’ve taken them and made them my own under the umbrella tag of ‘Witchfinder Radio’. The shows are: Blowing Up The Lakehead (Monday 10pm-1am EST), CanKnuckle Tracks (Tuesday 10pm-1am EST), Anarchy in the TBay (Wednesday Midnight-1am), The Happy Go Lucky Old Time Metal Hour (Thursday Midnight-1am). Each show is a little different, Blowing Up The Lakehead is all new release loud rock from around the world and includes major and independent releases. CanKnuckle Tracks is strictly Canadian independent loud rock, Anarchy is all punk rock from around the world and The Happy GLOTMH is all old school loud rock, nothing newer than 1990. I won’t bore you with all the details and playlists every week, but if you’re interested you can find them here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Witchfinder-Radio/184368678252247 as they go up. On special occasions, I’ll post the playlists here, maybe entice you a little to come and see what’s up.

This week, we finish the Top 25 Non-Canadian Independent Loud Rock Albums of 2011 on Blowing Up The Lakehead and on CanKnuckle Tracks we have a special night. I’ll be playing the first 3 Woods of Ypres albums back to back in honour of the passing of David Gold. Next week, on the 16th of January I’ll be playing an interview I did with David Gold in March of 2011 as well as both Woods IV and Woods V on Blowing Up The Lakehead. I hope you’ll tune in and check it out.

See ya next time, and until then: PLAY IT LOUD MUTHA!

Witchfinder Radio: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Witchfinder-Radio/184368678252247
LU Radio (the station it airs on): http://www.luradio.ca
witchfinderradio@luradio.ca
Twitter: Witchfinder1027

Words by Jay H. Gorania; Harm’s Way photo by Steven Tippett

A stone’s throw southward from the railroad—on the “wrong side of the tracks,” of course—the show’s DIY venue was the gutted-out, rented-out spare space of an auto repair shop. Sometimes the car shop owners/employees are heard outside chatting in Spanish while they’re choking down cheap beer. The leather couches outside the venue stood out like a sore thumb from the interior’s rubble-like chunks of concrete, as well as the jagged poles and wires that wind down from the ceiling as though they’re reaching down to strangle or stab you. And there’s a blood-stained teddy bear. There is no rock star lighting, no rock star excess.

The venue had once been an underground black metal store. It was either here or at the other location at which the store was located (a few years ago) that an elderly Christian man who owned the property inquired about a dead chicken that was being carried around. “Is that for some kind of Satanic ritual?” Apparently it was, and the black metal shop owners were subsequently evicted, not surprisingly. Why would the scruffy-faced, barely-bathed heathen relating this story to me admit that to the old man? But I digress…

Fast-forward to 2011, the DIY venue was the crossroads at which two separate hardcore tours met for a much-anticipated eight-band bill. Take Offense started things off with a decidedly metallic spin on old-school hardcore, sounding like a bunch of metalheads doing their best to channel the spirit of the Cro-Mags.

Betrayal followed up with the kind of generic breakdown-after-breakdown approach that gives hardcore a bad name.

That hiccup aside, Harm’s Way picked up the violent thread Take Offense was sewing and figuratively jabbed the needle through the audience’s collective heart. The musical brawn and burliness took shape in the commanding presence of Harm’s Way vocalist James, a short, shirtless, muscular dude who looked like he was born to kick ass. Yet this wasn’t an exercise in tough-guy hardcore simplicity. Instead, Harm’s Way’s coarse music was down-trodden and essentially the backdrop for which James could unleash a session of primal scream therapy.

If Harm’s Way’s desolate energy provided the soundtrack to someone committing a crime and spending time in prison, New York’s Backtrack provided the soundtrack for that person’s “getting out of jail” party, a much more interactive performance typical of what one would expect from a hardcore show. Anthemic and energetic, driven by bare-boned simplicity and plenty of negative space between and within the riffs, Backtrack’s fist-pumping mania was only that much more enjoyable because of vocalist James Vitalo’s hollering that found idiosyncrasy with its relatively high-pitched nature. In other words, he doesn’t sound like the billion dudes in metal and hardcore who are nothing but generic, third-rate rip-offs of Phil Anselmo.

If you take the balls out of hardcore, then you’ve got Hundredth. No one was pointing a gun to my head, so I didn’t have to listen to their generic cry-baby cop/bad cop melodic hardcore. I gladly left the building.

Stray From the Path’s take on hardcore was both contemporary and catchy, referencing metallic hardcore post ’95, augmented with explosive blasts of noisecore here and there, as well as early millennium metalcore. Drew York, more of a yeller than a screamer, spat out lyrics with a quick, barked delivery, doing a sufficient job of rousing the crowd. And true to the picture-perfect image of a hardcore show, fans regularly lunged forward to scream into the mic extended by the vocalist.

At one point, however, no one knew the words, York’s eyes flipping right-to-left as though he was on the lookout while stealing from a cookie jar. Awkward. A moment later he found some dude who knew all the words to pick up the dropped ball. Sweet relief!

The much-hyped Trapped Under Ice followed suit, and they certainly did not disappoint with their jarring, teeth-grinding music that transitioned from old school hardcore muscle to Biohazard-like metallic hardcore/hip hop groove. You could fight to their music, you could dance to it. What sets Trapped Under Ice apart from the pack is that their songs stay with you, entering your eardrums and gnawing on your gray matter.

A hard act to follow, but Terror is an intimidating live act regardless of how someone feels about their music. Frontman Scott Vogel, formerly of the legendary, now-defunct Buried Alive, was in fine more, ruling the crowd that already paid him the blind-eyed devotion that a preacher at church might receive. It was “maximum output” throughout their set, and an hour or two beforehand, Vogel went bonkers while watching one of the opening bands at the side of the stage, grunting and punching yours truly in the torso. Hardcore!

Every rose has its thorn, though. While their prototypical hardcore numbers were well-crafted and powerful, their more recent thrash metal-flavored material was forgettable and generic, for the most part, in spite of the proficiency with which they were played.

A last-minute addition of Letlive, a rocking post-hardcore act, seemed to excite the crowd. It was well played; it was passionate; and it made me feel embarrassed for their talented but ridiculously melodramatic singer. The last time they played here he fell before my feet in a pile of sob and emotion. I’m not sure what he was sobbing about, but I was mourning the death of Clint Eastwood—figuratively speaking, that is. In other words, when did men lose their balls?

For 10 albums that don’t appear on everybody else’s list, click here.

As far as concerts are concerned, I know there are some folks who struggle to attend ten live events in a calender annum.  Suffice to say, I am not one of those people.  Though it feels like I cut back on my concert consumption in 2011, my envelope full of ticket stubs seems to suggest otherwise.  I will say that I didn’t get out of Toronto for as many gigs as I did in years past–last year in particular–but the ones I did travel to see were well worth the trip.

For the 10 gigs that melted my face, click here.

…

Well, since Kyuss first took the stage a couple minutes past midnite on New Year’s Eve, I think I can safely say I’ve seen my top concert of 2012 already.  Yuuup, I paid 200 bucks to see ‘em play two sets at Cherry Cola’s.  Worth every penny!  And now, since I used a lotta words from my Hellbound writeups in compiling each list, allow me to self-plagiarize again for a moment:

“Does this list make you wanna dwell with Denizen or climb Witch Mountain?  If so, I’ll be spinning some tunes from all of the aforementioned albums on my podcast, Gruesome Tunes, this evening from 6 to 8 pm (Eastern Time) on Grip of Delusion Radio.  I’ll also be putting it up for download within the next coupla days, so keep your third eye open.”

As Phil Anselmo would say, “Happy fuckin’ New Year, ‘n all that fuckin’ shit.  Now go buy my record!”

Peace,

Greg

P.S.: Like what you read?  Follow me on Twitter and check out my blog!