For all of you North American Waveriders out there, Happy Thanksgiving! We hope that you had your fill of turkey, football, family, and spirits. I wore my super elastic band trousers so that I could pack away as much good grub as possible. Rather than have turkey in him, Racer decided that ‘tis the season to be in Turkey. For the rest of the Waveriders around the world, well . . . Happy Whatever Holiday You’re Celebrating! We wish you all a peaceful holiday season as we are now officially on the high speed train towards Christmas. Buckle up! If you’re all wondering what to get me . . . I wear a 42 long. Anyway . . . back to the music. MySpace has again been bubbling with some interesting bits of music and news, so let’s get started, shall we?
Now available from Rock Ridge Records is the mega-talented Pat McGee. It seems that they’ve just acquired the rights to a number of his independently released albums, including the live General Admission from 1999. It features tracks from previous albums, From the Wood and Revel. Captured with his band, Pat soulfully strums through ten tunes, and all to the delight of packed houses at The Bayou in Washington, D.C. and The Birchmere in Alexandria, Va. Reminding me a bit of James Taylor, McGee plays some heartfelt soft acoustic rock. When listening to this album, pay attention to the bass work of John Small. Over the course of the first few songs, nothing really stands out, but about midway through, it’s almost as if he takes over the band. The dude’s got mad skills! General Admission features a couple of standout performances in “Can’t Miss What You Never Had,” “Straight Curve,” and the twelve and a half minute show closer, “Rebecca.” The album is one of those perfect Saturday morning albums. It rocks too hard for Sunday morning, but it’s mellow enough to get you moving around the house before heading out to enjoy your first day of the weekend. Keep it tuned here for more on Pat McGee. Word has it that he’s in the studio and nearing completion on a new album, which is entitled These Days and should be in stores March of 2009. www.myspace.com/patmcgeeband
Out of Livorno, Italy, The Wake has put together quite the little demo, and it’s spent a good amount of time rotating in my CD player. Sounding a bit like Porcupine Tree at times, The Wake incorporate some of the PT ambient sound with distorted and acoustic guitars, but retain a more straight up rock ‘n roll feel. Opening track, “Freeze” and “26th of May” are highlights as the two tunes show the wide dynamics of the band. Moody, dark at times, and melodic, these tunes give the listener a sense that there’s more to the music than one of two listens will give them. I’m uncertain on the availability of the demo, or if it’s actually being pressed as an official release. For more info, swing by their page and say “ciao.” www.myspace.com/wakeitalia 
Have y’all heard Motorhead’s new album called Motorizer? It’s good. Fueled by alcohol and a crumpled up half pack of Marlboro reds, Lemmy and Co. have returned with the high octane brand of rock ‘n roll that only Motorhead can produce. The tunes are the typical blues based hard rock that we’ve all come to expect from the band. When we received this album at the Ripple Effect, we welcomed it with a sigh of relief. After sifting through countless CD submissions, most of which did nothing for us, we knew that we could count on Lemmy to deliver us from our doldrums and give us something that we could really wrap our ears around. Basically, there are no surprises here, however, I want you all to remember, Lemmy is 62 years old and playing this brand of to-hell-with-you-I-don’t-care-what-you-say rock ‘n roll. And not just playing it, but living it. And then, of course, kicking our asses with it. www.myspace.com/motorhead 
From one of the oldest rocking bands to a couple of new groups, Illusion 33 and As Forever Fades are just beginning to get their noses bloodied by a sometimes harsh industry. But first and foremost, they’re out there writing, recording, and performing their brand of pop punk and metal, respectively. Now, say what you will about Poison, but I firmly stand by an early statement that I made that Look What the Cat Dragged In is one of the most fun rock ‘n roll albums of all time. I’m not saying to take it serious, just that it was album brimming with fun and upbeat music that you couldn’t help to smile to. I’m also not sitting here comparing Idaho’s Illusion 33 to Poison, but I do have the same overwhelming sense of happiness when I listen to the tunes from their new disc, Words in Stereo. Pop punk to the Nth degree, these guys come at you with such an upbeat and positive vibe that I can’t help but sit here shake my rump. In particular, the track “Late Night Romance” is a gem and makes for a fantastic soundtrack as I navigate my little Mario Brother across a virtual field of mushroom destruction and evil doing sewer dwellers. I should rescue the princess any minute now. www.myspace.com/illusion33 
On the darker end of the spectrum, we have As Forever Fades and their new disc, Words Unclear. Gritty, start and stop metal that, played at top volume, will clear your neighborhood of any unwanted vermin. But don’t take that as meaning that the music is bad. No, no. Far from it. As Forever Fades deliver a blistering set of tunes that show more musical dexterity than one might expect, and beneath the layers of muscle flexing angst, the band adds momentary bursts of melody to make things more palatable. The title track is a definite attention getter as it shifts from searing vocal screeches to some massively well timed and interesting breaks, and then the hardcore-esque breakdown around the 1:30 mark is solid. Good work, gents! www.myspace.com/asforeverfades 
Waveriders . . . this just in from Racer X. It looks like he’s stumbled on something as well. Pretty nice of him to chime in all the way from Turkey, isn’t it? Coming to us from the musical Mecca of Idaho (did he just read about Illusion 33 or what,) Audio Moonshine come brandishing their homegrown brew of countrified roots rocking and definitely captured the Ripple ear. "Slow Motion," from the new disc, Let’s Be, is about as perfect a country rock/pop song you'll ever hear, with a dynamite vocal hook, strong singing, solid guitars and a melody that won't quit. Heck, the crew even throw in a mouth harp for good measure. The rest of the album follows suit. If you've got the taste for some roots oriented fun, check out their MySpace at www.myspace.com/myaudiomoonshine and see what the folks are offering. Beats the heck out of everclear every time.
Thank you, Racer, for that wonderful commentary. Now, we return you to your regularly scheduled report.
I’m gonna’ focus on a little bit of local SoCal talent right now. This band is practically in my back yard, hailing from San Diego, Firethorn have been kind enough to get a copy of their album Pollution for the Fountain of Youth into our hands. Well, it’s been played and deemed worthy of our attention. Playing a blend of alt-punk, Firethorn downright rock it with high energy tunes such as “A Looker Named Lexi” and “Down on Your Knees.” The lads just got back from a short tour that included dates in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and a handful of other northeastern cities. Keep an ear to the ground for these guys, as I’m sure they’ll be lightin’ it up as autumn turns to winter. In the meantime, they have a bunch of tunes that you can check out on their page. www.myspace.com/firethornrock 
Also in San Diego music news, the legendary hardcore band Amenity is reuniting for a one off show on December 6th. They’ll be performing together for the first time in eighteen years and will be performing with Bumbklaat and Take Offense. The show will be held at The Warehouse on the corner of Newton and Beardsley in San Diego. This news got me pretty excited because as a young kid taking part in the local music scene, Amenity was one of the stalwarts and being at their shows felt more like being a part of something bigger than just a string of notes being put together to create music. It was more like being part of socio-political movement where equality was of foremost import. If you don’t know of Amenity, swing by their page and get a taste of “This is Our Struggle.” It’s an amazingly passionate tune that calls for change by peaceful means rather violent. The best line is “We’ll learn to meet hate with love. We’ll meet physical force with soul force.” Almost twenty years old and still coming across as vital. www.myspace.com/amenitysd 
Finally, King’s X has released a video for the tune “Pray for Me” from the XV album. I bring this up for two reasons. First, the song is mighty fine and highlights the soulfulness of the band. Second, and almost as important, I’m in the video. Now, I wouldn’t normally go tooting my own horn over things like this, but I’ve been to so many freaking concerts in my life and I’ve never once had the opportunity to see episodes of whacky frivolity like the band getting doused with shaving cream during their encore or a band celebrating a birthday with an on stage food fight. To actually see my own gleaming skull in a video for one of my all time favorite bands, well . . . that, my friends, is reason to give thanks. Happy holidays and we’ll see you next month! - Pope JTEPray
Comments