Rumors Heard in MySpace, Vol. II, Episode 5

Alright Waveriders, please take you assigned seats. As per usual, our captain on this wondrous flight through cyberspace will be none other than Racer X and by his side will be his faithful sidekick and co-pilot, the Redneck Wookie from Lakeside. Of course, I’ll be in the navigator chair, ensuring that these two yahoos will be pointed in the right direction. The Sheriff will be patrolling the cabin to make sure the more unruly Waveriders mind their own business and ensure the safety of the rest of our passengers. Woody will be taking your drink orders coz’, well . . . Woody can mix a mean Long Island Ice Tea. In flight entertainment will be brought to by The Fearless Rock Iguana and his presentation of Shadow Puppet Theater. The more you drink Woody’s magic elixir, the better the puppet show. The captain just got clearance (Clarence?) and we’re headed to the wild blue yonder, so you know the drill.

We’re going to make a quick stop in New York for a refill of fuel and drink (Woody ran out of olives and vermouth for the martinis,) so we’ll take this opportunity to stop in and visit one of our rocker friends. She goes by the name of Queen V and she’s released a scalding set of tunes entitled Death or Glory. Everything here is pretty much straight up rock ‘n roll with a dragged through the gutter type of grime to it. What first caught our attention with this disc was the who’s who of guest stars including the likes of the legendary Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead,) Vernon Reid (Living Colour,) and Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave.) To paraphrase one of those crappy sappy chick flicks, “You had me at Lemmy.” Anyway, getting past the star studded exterior of Death or Glory, there’s some meat to this recording. “Continental” is ballsy and the melody sticks with you like my sweaty gym socks slapped against the locker room wall, “Runaway” grits along with a raspy vocal performance, and “Cry For A Minute” shows an added dimension by slowing the tempo way down and demanding that we pass the whiskey bottle as a sympathetic gesture. “Cry For A Minute” is actually my favorite tune from the album because it’s a ballad-y bluesy tune, it’s heavy and it’s gritty, burning with passion and emotion, and selling the whole song is the vocal performance. Some will inevitably compare her to Joan Jett, and that’s fair, but our Queen isn’t putting another dime in the juke box, she’s grabbing the mic and rockin’ it. Most of her stuff is available to preview on her page, so check it out. www.myspace.com/queenv

The problem with stopping in New York is that there is so much going on here that we realistically could spend an entire columns worth of time hanging around town, digging through the bargain bins, looking behind the dumpsters, poking our heads in the basement bars, and finding every imaginable form of music. Case in point, the full on drunken punk vibes of World War IX. These guys take irreverent to a whole new level with tunes like “Intervention,” “I Was Drunk When I Met Ya’,” and the title track to their latest album “Portrait of Sobriety.” There’s something about this album that keeps me coming back, and it’s probably because it reminds me of that time when I was a kid in the mid 80’s hearing the Sex Pistols for the first time. Unlike the Pistols there’s no huge social or political message being spouted on about here, for the most part, it’s all about getting wasted and being pretty damned proud of it. And you know what? I’m okay with that. Check out their MySpace page and then swing by Zodiac Killer Records to pick up the album. Woody . . . how’re them drinks coming? www.myspace.com/worldwarix

Well, that transatlantic flight was something, wasn’t it? The Rock Iguana’s shadow puppet interpretation of My Fair Lady was otherworldly! So, here we are in beautiful Dublin, Ireland . . . not California, and I want to get you up to speed on this incredibly experimental, barroom bluesy, garage-y band called Killing Lazarus who dip their big toes in the constantly bubbling pool of prog rock. Check out tunes like “We Rot” and how they move that acoustic guitar sound through the wringer and create this sorrowful, yet vibrantly exotic epic tune. In the next breath, they bust out the distortion and fuzz boxes to, up the tempo and with the use of some beautifully executed textural sounds hand deliver the track “Hide and Go Eek.” Follow that up with the proggy, spaced out ambient tune “Germinate” and then drift into the low-fi acoustic, distorted vocal piece, “Split the Sky,” and you’ll hear a band that’s taking the tired musical formula and injecting a healthy dose of caffeine through its veins. Love the melody of “Split the Sky” . . . man, feel the emotion on that one! www.myspace.com/killinglazarus

En route to our destination in Sweden we had to make an emergency landing in Norway. While the Sheriff diligently hands a roll of duct tape to the Red Neck Wookie for some oh so necessary repairs, we’ll stop in and visit a band that I stumbled on in recent days. The band is called Sarke and they’ve released an album called Vorunah that will remind some of you of bands like Khold. Well, that would be for good reason. You see, guitarist / bassist / drummer Sarke, along with vocalist / bassist Garde formed the groovin’ black metal band Khold, so one could see the musical similarities. The music is heavy as all get out, but the tunes have the power of the groove in that they’ll inevitably get the body swaying in time with the rhythm. The tune that caught my attention and wouldn’t let go is “The Drunken Priest” and then, of course, I stumbled on “Primitive Killing.” Awesome stuff! Before we get back on board the Ripple Effect crop duster and head towards our original destination, I’m gonna’ stop in at Indie Recordings and pick up a copy of Vorunah . . . on white vinyl. You should too . . . it’d be like this bitchin’ souvenir. www.myspace.com/sarkeofficial

The mechanical adjustments that the Redneck Wookie made seem to have done the trick and standing on the tarmac of Karlstad, Sweden’s airport has never felt like more of a blessing. There to greet us are our good friends Space Probe Taurus with the exciting news that they were getting set to start demo work on a bunch of songs that they had written. That can only mean that the near future should include a brand new album from the lads, which elicited so much excitement in Racer that he fell into a fit of uncontrollable hiccups. It’s not the first time, nor will it be the last. If you don’t remember the Space Probe Taurus review, then we invite you to go back to July of last year to read up on their self titled release, which Racer described as “ a full on assault of methed up, fuzzed out, biker garage rock, brimming with enough muscle and punk energy.” Oh yeah . . . and the music is even better than that. Swing by their MySpace page and see for yourselves. www.myspace.com/spaceprobetaurus

Keeping our passports handing, we next find ourselves landing at the Portela Airport situated in the heart of Lisbon, Portugal. I’ve never been to Portugal before, but I hear it’s lovely. The main reason we’re stopping off here is because word came across the wire that there was a band that we had to check out. The band is called Factory of Dreams and are masters of atmospheric progressive rock. Chief songwriter and mastermind behind the project Hugo Flores guides the music through the multiple twists and turns, moods and emotions, dynamics and dimensional interludes, while vocalist Jessica Lehto provides the ethereal vocals that gives the songs a bit of a gothic feel. Check out the track “Weight of the World” and hear how they take the classic proggy sounds and meld them with an industrial groove. Well worth the layover before our return trip home. www.myspace.com/projectcreation

With the NHL playoffs in full force, Racer thought it would be cool to make a stop in Toronto, Canada. I hated to remind him that the Maple Leafs didn’t make the playoffs this year. In fact, at this point, there are no Canadian teams remaining in the hunt for the Stanley Cup. Sigh. So, while we’re here we’ll stop in and see a band that I’ve known about for a number of years now. The band is called Hellhitch and they play this down south, blues-y, Skynard meets C.O.C. type of rock. The reason I bring mention to these guys is that one of the tracks that they have posted has, and probably will always be, one of those songs that gets me every time I hear it. The song is called “Broken Bones” and you simply need to hear it. Its infectious, it rocks, its soulful . . . it’s damn near perfect. www.myspace.com/hellhitch

Speaking of the South, I’ve pointed Racer towards the Mason Dixon line and we’re bee lining it towards Georgia. There are a couple of bands that we need to stop in and see while we’re here. First off, back in July of last year I made mention that the band Echovalve had to put the kibosh on their tour due to the almighty dollar kinda’ fuckin’ things up. Well, word just came down that they’re back in action. In fact, so much so that they’ve posted a new single on their page that demands your ears. The song is called “Because of You” and has a nice, slick production that enhances they’re groove oriented rock style. Their blog goes into greater detail as to who the major players are in this renaissance and everybody involved should take this brief moment to take a bow for your efforts. Good job, chaps! www.myspace.com/echovalve

A few miles east of Echovalve’s home of Atlanta, we come upon Augusta where we find the rockin’ metal sounds of L.I.E. They have a bit of a progressive vibe going on and have some intrigue. The musical passages have something there, though I think these guys teamed up with a quality producer would enhance the sound tenfold. But this page will give y’all a good idea of the thought behind this music. Cool compositions, strong musicianship, well thought out ideas . . . yeah, this could definitely go somewhere with a tighter mix. We’ll keep an ear out and keep everyone posted as to any updates that come out of their camp. www.myspace.com/lostrockonline

Finally, back home on the West Coast and if you’re not exhausted then you didn’t flap your arms hard enough. Last bit of news comes from Los Angeles, the new home Tommy Victor and Prong. Word has come to our ears that they have a new web site up and running that features a free download of an unreleased song from the Power of the Damn MiXXXer sessions. What you’ll need to do is follow the links and sign up for the mailing list. That simple. They then give you the keys to the castle, er . . . the code to unlock the ancient treasure chest, er . . . the password to allow for a safe and secure download of this mysterious track. www.myspace.com/prong. Now that we’re back home and I’ve stopped laughing over the Rock Iguana’s presentation of Spartacus, I’ll begin downloading in 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

See you next month!