Frederick

Jon Mathews is doing all ages punk shows in Frederick, MD! Come Come hang out and check this shit out sometime.

All the shows are the first Sunday night of the month every month. Doors open at 7pm.

6 S. Bentz St.
Frederick, MD 21701

Ze Ultra Boys

ZUB is a drugged out experimental mess from the greater Frederick, MD area. They were most active in the mid 2000's, and after taking a three year long break played a small number of shows in 2009 before going back on hiatus or whatever you want to call it. Their sound incorporates many different genres of music, ranging from quasi classical guitar to pterodactyl screeches and involves everything in between, including kazoos and Dr. Ruth readings about not being able to blow your load. Maybe you could call it grindcore, maybe you could say they have post-something elements, but it doesn't really matter, all you need to know is that they are, in my opinion, one of the two most under-rated bands from Maryland(the other being Canary Yellow).

Ze Ultra Boys features members of Spermwhales/Man Pretty and Fuck! Don Flamenco. There may be some other bands that they play/played in, but I'm not sure. As far as releases are concerned they only have one album, which is called "We Are All Charlie Brown". They were supposed to do a split with мища and release another album called "The Fruit Is Swelling", but you may have to wait a while before anything gets recorded.

Sorry about the whole no video thing, but if I come across any I will put it up. Below is "We Are All Charlie Brown", which you can buy from their myspace for four dollars, and the song "Criptor Bronze" which I believe is only post-Charlie recording. If I had to put money on it I would say that Criptor is going to be on "The Fruit Is Swelling".

"Smoke my dong, suck my bong"-Brent Grant

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Criptor Bronze


We Are All Charlie Brown

Green is Mean

I don't really have any kind of formal information about this band at all.

What I do now is that they were a screamo/emotive post-hardcore band from the Frederick, MD area around the turn of the century. A friend of mine's old brother was friends with the group and gave him their music, and he in turn gave it to me.

The music is reminiscent of bands like Funeral Diner, in that it varies between loud, heavy parts with unrestrained, screamed vocals provided by multiple vocalists, that still retain a distinct melody followed by more mellow interludes featuring clean guitar tones; there are also parts which feature the shouted vocals over clean guitar parts. However, the band has a very original sound, with prominent, fuzzy bass lines and melodic guitar lines that often dissolve in almost punctuated riffs while the rhythm carries the songs along without making them sound spastic at all. The songs are technical without being too complex or show-offy.

I really like these guys, and I wish I knew a little more about them. I do know that some of the members now play in some bands from Baltimore which I somehow stumbled upon, but I can't remember their names and can't remember how I found them.

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Green Is Meaner Than All Your Bullies

DRUG MONEY

For some reason, throughout my whole life, I have had a great love for traditional American music. Maybe it was being raised on artists like John Prine and Bob Dylan, or maybe it's just the honky in me, but every damn time I hear a banjo twang of a harmonica hum I start tapping my foot. Throughout generations, folk troubadours and singer-songwriters have often been the voice of the workingman, the social outcast, and the progressive thinker. From Guthrie and his gang to Dylan and his inner circle, these individuals and their peers often become cultural icons. But for every great singer-songwriter or group who ends up getting written about in your high school history book, there are those great artists who's success never quite live up to their talent.

For Frederick, Maryland's own Drug Money, this has never been a problem. The quartet-turned trio consisting of Jordan Romero, Alex Zachreal (sorry if I butchered that Alex), and Alex Kaufman, (and formerly Justin Whittaker) write roots music that is as grounded in the folk tradition as it is grounded in the DIY punk tradition. Humble beginnings and a demo recorded on a laptop led to...the departure of a snare player and an almost equally humbly recorded full length on a laptop. The songs themselves seem frantic; even the down-tempo jams seemingly hang by a thread as if this were the last time that it may ever be performed. While the lo-fi aspect of these recordings may make some guffaw or turn their heads, one listen to an early Bill Callahan record should humble naysayers quickly - recording quality can hardly hamper an amazing song - most times it adds an aura of mystery, an embodiment of the rebellious spirit of the artists approach to recording.

The true accomplishment here is "Baby, Let Me Home" a sprawling LP recorded in Jordan's bedroom. But the demo cannot be dismissed. Missing from the LP is "Next Wednesday," a great singalong that has been retired at live shows, and the demo version of "8 AM" is far superior to the version found on the album.

These guys are some of my good friends, and I love them. Check out their music!

Interested in a CD? Check out their myspace, they probably have some.

MYSPAAAACE

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Drug Money Demo (2008)

Baby, Let Me Home (2009)