Calling it rain in the Northwest feels somewhat redundant. It's never just raining. Maybe if we used synonyms or more descriptive nouns & verbs it would fit in my mind. Downpour, mist, spit, drench, sop, flood. Scatters, torrents, intervals. Soaked, itchy wet clothes, sticky, squelchy.
I haven't written anything in a while. Not for lack of things to write about, but for being too caught up in living those things, rather than documenting. However, my love of documentation and archiving of all things punk still burns pretty warm these days
Today, spending all day inside a warm comfort burrow of a house in eastside Olympia, with cigarettes and the internet at my disposal has made me nostalgic. I find my mind dwelling in the weird corners of loss and remembrance.
It's disarming when people you know, close or not so close, pass away, and you don't feel it. You know you should feel it. Feel something, right? But you don't and a couple days of pouring beers out go by, and friends are recounting tales, and still nothing. Then eventually it fades into the back of your mind.
Then a day comes when you're smoking on the front steps, all zoned out, or you walk past a piece of sidewalk, or see someone with the same hair from behind...and it just hits you. And you cry outwardly or internally and go through that stage of grief that took so long to get to you. So long, how come it takes so long? To go through these layers and these walls that we build up. If you're like me you built them up early on because it isn't cool to get emotional, and being tough is vital.
All my dead friends passed away from the same things. But we don't have to make synonyms for it, like the rain. That feeling doesn't need to be given different names. It's just kind of an empty spot. It's just that they aren't here anymore, and that's it.
______________________________________________________
I guess this post isn't in the usual Then The Cops style of "Come to this Show!" or "Hey these new bands are great and here's my top ten for the week!" but you can't be on all the time. Gotta be reflective too. It's a positive thing.
And now perhaps for something usual, a list of my drenched spit squelching Northwest vacation tape acquisitions, thus far.
KURRAKA demo :
Raw punk band I saw play in Seattle at the Highline. I believe they're from Austin, Texas. The vocals were super sick and reverb'd in just the right ways. The live energy was lacking but fuck it they were on tour and listening to the tape at home sounds awesome. At this point I would like to point out that the Highline's photobooth runs purely on credit card and boy did I max that shit out.
MURMURS Fly With The Unkindness:
Okay I had this tape already but this is the re-mastered version and it sounds great of course. If you don't have this tape already you should probably do your damnedest to get one. I'm really stoked to tour with them this summer down to Awesome Fest 7.
WET demo: Olympia band that sounds Nirvana as a fast punk band.
BROKEN WATER live: Remember up top when I was talking about all the different terms for rain in the Northwest? This band is kind of like one of those terms. Except made of people playing crushing tunes that make your insides choke and your skin feel warm at the same time.
FODDER Un Desplome: A band from Sacramento that played in Vancouver in maybe 2010, at the Alf House. I bought their tape then and mysteriously only ever owned the j-card & case. So I re-purchased it at Blackwater in Portland. I remember them being fast d-beat that I did some head mosh to.
DRAINBOW: From Phoenix, AZ. They recently played at Miami Beach, where I'm staying in Olympia. Noise-core grunge type tunes, dig it. I also was smoking for half their set so I'm kind of posing here.
BLANCHE BEACH: Also from Phoenix, AZ. A bit more on the poppy side, which I tend to like, melodic vocals, sporadic whoa-ohs. Kind of reminded me of MUHAMMAD ALI at times. The guitar player kind of looks like Morrissey. But he was a very nice person and I think we're friends now so I don't want him to take offense to that. If anything he is probably a lot nicer than Morrissey. If anything you should just listen to these bands and stop reading my lame reviews.
CRABAPPLE Softly: Very amazingly endearing pop punk band from California. Very a la SOURPATCH (members of in fact!), AYE NAKO, and for those of you who remember, CUB. This little blurb does not do justice to how much I enjoyed this band. Sorry.
More tape updates to come. I've still gotta go to the Bay on Tuesday, so I'm sure I'll find tapes down there...somehow? Thanks for reading. Sorry it's been so long. Real life vs. internet, real life always wins.
xolegs
p.s. My band SIREN SONGS is going on tour at the end of August down the West Coast and through Texas and the mid-west and stuff. With Murmurs of aforementioned greatness! So please come hang out with me and give me tapes to listen to.
I haven't written anything in a while. Not for lack of things to write about, but for being too caught up in living those things, rather than documenting. However, my love of documentation and archiving of all things punk still burns pretty warm these days
Today, spending all day inside a warm comfort burrow of a house in eastside Olympia, with cigarettes and the internet at my disposal has made me nostalgic. I find my mind dwelling in the weird corners of loss and remembrance.
It's disarming when people you know, close or not so close, pass away, and you don't feel it. You know you should feel it. Feel something, right? But you don't and a couple days of pouring beers out go by, and friends are recounting tales, and still nothing. Then eventually it fades into the back of your mind.
Then a day comes when you're smoking on the front steps, all zoned out, or you walk past a piece of sidewalk, or see someone with the same hair from behind...and it just hits you. And you cry outwardly or internally and go through that stage of grief that took so long to get to you. So long, how come it takes so long? To go through these layers and these walls that we build up. If you're like me you built them up early on because it isn't cool to get emotional, and being tough is vital.
All my dead friends passed away from the same things. But we don't have to make synonyms for it, like the rain. That feeling doesn't need to be given different names. It's just kind of an empty spot. It's just that they aren't here anymore, and that's it.
______________________________________________________
I guess this post isn't in the usual Then The Cops style of "Come to this Show!" or "Hey these new bands are great and here's my top ten for the week!" but you can't be on all the time. Gotta be reflective too. It's a positive thing.
And now perhaps for something usual, a list of my drenched spit squelching Northwest vacation tape acquisitions, thus far.
KURRAKA demo :
Raw punk band I saw play in Seattle at the Highline. I believe they're from Austin, Texas. The vocals were super sick and reverb'd in just the right ways. The live energy was lacking but fuck it they were on tour and listening to the tape at home sounds awesome. At this point I would like to point out that the Highline's photobooth runs purely on credit card and boy did I max that shit out.
MURMURS Fly With The Unkindness:
Okay I had this tape already but this is the re-mastered version and it sounds great of course. If you don't have this tape already you should probably do your damnedest to get one. I'm really stoked to tour with them this summer down to Awesome Fest 7.
WET demo: Olympia band that sounds Nirvana as a fast punk band.
BROKEN WATER live: Remember up top when I was talking about all the different terms for rain in the Northwest? This band is kind of like one of those terms. Except made of people playing crushing tunes that make your insides choke and your skin feel warm at the same time.
FODDER Un Desplome: A band from Sacramento that played in Vancouver in maybe 2010, at the Alf House. I bought their tape then and mysteriously only ever owned the j-card & case. So I re-purchased it at Blackwater in Portland. I remember them being fast d-beat that I did some head mosh to.
DRAINBOW: From Phoenix, AZ. They recently played at Miami Beach, where I'm staying in Olympia. Noise-core grunge type tunes, dig it. I also was smoking for half their set so I'm kind of posing here.
BLANCHE BEACH: Also from Phoenix, AZ. A bit more on the poppy side, which I tend to like, melodic vocals, sporadic whoa-ohs. Kind of reminded me of MUHAMMAD ALI at times. The guitar player kind of looks like Morrissey. But he was a very nice person and I think we're friends now so I don't want him to take offense to that. If anything he is probably a lot nicer than Morrissey. If anything you should just listen to these bands and stop reading my lame reviews.
CRABAPPLE Softly: Very amazingly endearing pop punk band from California. Very a la SOURPATCH (members of in fact!), AYE NAKO, and for those of you who remember, CUB. This little blurb does not do justice to how much I enjoyed this band. Sorry.
More tape updates to come. I've still gotta go to the Bay on Tuesday, so I'm sure I'll find tapes down there...somehow? Thanks for reading. Sorry it's been so long. Real life vs. internet, real life always wins.
xolegs
p.s. My band SIREN SONGS is going on tour at the end of August down the West Coast and through Texas and the mid-west and stuff. With Murmurs of aforementioned greatness! So please come hang out with me and give me tapes to listen to.