Slow Warm Death

Okay, so I didn't really know how to write this post at first because I originally was just going to list the band  members and hope that people are like "whaaaaat??" when they listened to the album. But that seems less appealing now. But, with that being said, Slow Warm Death is a rough and tumble blues band from Pennsylvania (I think) that is made up of John Galm, a Rudich, a Geeting, and another cat. I imagined that people would hear those names and be like "OMG STREET SMART / SNOWING / ALL THOSE BANDS" and then download this, only to be surprised to find that the band doesn't sound like what they expected. I, personally, am glad that this is a departure from the sound which I previously associated with those dudes, because this shit is sick. I donno if Square of Opposition is going to release this, but I imagine they would, and if they do you should pick it up. That label deserves all your money, literally though. Just have him cash your paychecks. Check this shit out though, I put their bandcamp link down there so you dinks will maybe give them some money. Thats right. Word.

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Slow Warm Death

Jon/Dave

“Jon/Dave” (for lack of a better name) consists of ex-Street Smart Cyclist, Harrison Bergeron members Jon and Dave Geeting. They are known for being handsome, living in Brooklyn, and sharing a brain. These recordings were leaked on August 26th, 2010 as a mysterious mediafire link on the Street Smart Cyclist Facebook page. According to Dave Geeting, they are “unfinished but were never going to see the light of day and that sucks. Picture this with bass and vocals!” All “Jon/Dave” songs were recorded in Jon’s basement (RIP Brooklyn Cat House) in Bushwick, NY with Tim Korn in April 2009.

-Last.fm

My favorite thing coming out of the greater PA area right now. I heard they changed their name, or rather picked a name. I forget what it is/was but it had something to do with the mail. Is Ross (SSC/Snowing) in this band now? They played a show around Christmas and I was told Ross was going to play bass. I don't really know anything about this band. Dave Geeting told me about this band, in a round-about way, a long time ago at a Storm The Bastille show, where he described it as "Street Smart Cyclist on speed". That description is pretty accurate. Mathy-noodle instrumental jams, sounding somewhat all over the place but still solid as fuck. Both Jon and Dave are fucking amazing at their instruments, I hope they make more music and I can get my hands on it.


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Demo

Harrison Bergeron

Alright guys, here it is, Harrison Bergeron's demo. I know this is one that some people have been waiting on for a while. These guys recently played a reunion show which, unfortunately, I did not attend. For those of you not familiar with these guys, they were around from 2005-2006 and went on to form Street Smart Cyclist, Storm the Bastille, and Boy Problems, three incredibly good bands. These guys pretty much stand up just as well as any of those other bands, although you can tell they were a bit younger when they wrote these songs. Nonetheless, "Like Lightning Six Billion Strong" and "Darkness Washed Over the Dude" (awesome song title by the way) is some of the most epic shit I've ever heard. Really explosive guitar riffs and intricate drumming, with intense screamed vocals and melodic gang back ups. Check it the fuck out.

I'm pretty sure they released a tape at their reunion show limited to 100, but have no idea if it sold out or where to buy one. Try the band's myspace or their other project's myspaces.

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Dead Bergeron

Storm the Bastille

This is the first time I've personally updated the blog for maybe a month or two. I would apologize, but I was spending all that time having fun and making money, so I'll just say that I'll try to be better about updating, I've got a few posts in the works. This is one I've been promising to do for a loooong time, so here it is.

Storm The Bastille features members of Street Smart Cyclist, Boy Problems, Moister, and Harrison Bergeron, and started around the time that Harrison Bergeron was about to break up and Street Smart Cyclist was about to explode onto the scene.

EDIT: John Galm sez:

johngalm: pretty sure bastille and bergeron were happening way before SSC. sayin'.

The first few releases are semi-solid attempts at creating a mid-90's screamo sound. There are hits and there are misses. By the time the Turner Street Conspiracy split was released, STB had found some solid ground to stand on, and produced a record with a more accessibly lo-fi recording quality.

In 2006 Bastille recorded material intended for a 10" release, but never saw the light of day until a 2008 cassette release by Paul of Logs' Sleep Decay Tapes. These 5 songs are my personal favorite; chaotic, heavy, and blistering screamo with frantic drumming that sound like they were made to blow your tape deck up. The record has since seen a release on 10" by Ape Must Not Kill Ape.

The In First Person split is STB as their most evolved and experimental; "Found Comfort In This Fiction" broods and seethes as an acoustic guitar rides the momentum straight into "Suck It Up. Spit It Up.", which sounds like its just destroying your speakers.

These guys went on a short tour with Cassilis not too long ago, released a tape for the tour, and have been playing shows occasionally.

I've had the opportunity to watch them at Barclay House in Baltimore last summer when about 30 people were there, and I caught them at the Model Home in Philly when Suis La Lune rolled through the U.S. They do not disappoint, definitely check out a show. Nice dudes.

Myspace


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Demo 2005

...And Let the Future Be Told (2005)



Storm the Bastille 7" (2005)



Storm The Bastille/Turner Street Conspiracy Split (2006)





Dismantled (recorded 2006, released 2008)



Storm The Bastille/In First Person Split (2008)



Cassilis/Storm The Bastille Tour Cassette (2009)

SNOWING DEMO/Ad Lib Cafe/The Stomping Grounds 4/18/09

So for the past few days Lancaster, PA has been hosting the Launch Music Conference, some kind of weird conglomeration of bands playing in clubs across the city over the course of three days.

To be honest, when I jumped in my friend's van to head up to Lancaster yesterday afternoon I had no idea there was a music festival going on. I thought I was going to a punk show. When we showed up at the Ad Lib Cafe in downtown Lancaster, we were all pretty surprised to see a huge crowd of all different kinds of kids milling around Central Market and the Cafe.

At first, I was confused. But when our friend Raphael (bassist of We Were Skeletons) walked out to greet us and lead us in a back door to the upstairs stage area, I was comforted. The show soon started, with We Were Skeletons kicking things off with an absolutely awesome set. These guys have done nothing but grow since releasing their debut "Summers, and their new self-titled album (recorded by none other than Will Killingsworth of Orchid/Ampere at Dead Air Studios) which is slated for release within the next few months following the release of the Ryan Oatman EP, is full of desperate dual vocals, insane drumming and mind-bending guitar riffs. I hadn't seen these guys play since I booked them for a show in my hometown almost a year ago, and couldn't believe the difference. I had been bumping the new material Raf had sent over, and I loved it, but seeing it live gave me an all new appreciation for their growth.

Next up was 1994!, another Lancaster based band that have quickly become one of the darlings of the national DIY scene. This was also the second time I had ever seen them, the first time being at Barclay House in October of '08 (check the archives for a review of that show). I would have to say that this time they were far better, but that could be just because the crowd was incredible. The energy for the upstairs show was absolutely incredible. It seemed everyone knew each other and were friends, and everyone was having a great time jamming out the music together, a stark contrast from what I saw when I poked my head in to check out some of the downstairs shows: a few people, standing a few feet back from the stage, as boys in designer clothes tended to merch tables while frantically texting on sidekicks. Anyway, 1994! played a bunch of songs off their debut LP Thank You Arms and Fingers, (again, check the archives) and they sounded great. They also played a cover of Weezer's "My Name Is Jonas", which I had heard they occasionally play, so I was excited to see that. After their set I bought an LP from Mike (drums), and it looks great. You can get your own personal copy from Inkblot Records.

After the 1994! set, Forensics played, but I only caught a fraction of their set. From what I caught, I could describe their sound as loud, sort of metal influenced punk with gruff vocals. I believe that the singer of this band runs Magic Bullet Records. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Following the Ad Lib show, we headed over the The Stomping Grounds, 1994's house for an after show/party. Snowing played first, and once again I was amazed at the energy of the crowd. It was such a great experience to go to two shows in one night with such positive energy.

Snowing features members of Hightide Hotel, Street Smart Cyclist, and Boy Problems, and their sound is very much in the same vein; High-energy 90's-esque emo with noodly guitars reminiscent of Braid, propelled by John Galm's raucous vocals. The set ended with John smashing his bass into the drum set and diving in.

Next up was Boyfriends (formerly known as Barf Academy), featuring both members of 1994! and a dude named Bean playing the drums, and the crowd went absolutely insane, crowd surfing in a basement that had a ceiling that couldn't have been more than seven of eight feet tall. The vocal style in this band is similar to that of 1994!, since Chris (vocals/guitar in 1994!) takes care of vocal duties. I don't really know how to describe these guys except that there was a lot of delay going on and sweet melodic, chilled-out parts. I'd suggest giving their myspace a listen, but if you ever get the chance see them live, because they are awesome.

I missed whatever band played next, because I was seduced by the roof, which Mike had recently decked out with astro turf, railings, and a TV and VCR featuring none other than that epic of our time, Wayne's World. Soon the roof filled up, and everyone was talking and watching the movie. Once again, I was absolutely amazed by how awesome and friendly every single person we met was. Lancaster, you have an awesome, awesome scene!

At around 2:30 in the morning, most of those who had stuck around to drink and dance to the T.I. remixes being played in the living room headed back down the basement to watch one more act, Ring Finger. Ring Finger was one woman, backed by only an iPod. She had set up a quilt she had sewn herself, complete with robots and window detail, as well as an end table, a lamp, and several random items, which she explained was a re-creation of her living room. She explained that she used to be in a hardcore band, and the last time she had been on tour was in 1996, and that this was only her second show. She played a few songs, and I was a bit too drunk to decide whether or not this was good, or just the most bizarre thing I'd ever seen. She played a song that Aaron of Isis (off her iPod, Aaron of Isis was not present) had played guitar on, so I guess she has definitely been around the circuit and made some friends.

After saying some goodbyes, we piled back in the van and our DD Robbie (co-author of this blog) drove us home, where we arrived at 5:30 in the morning. All in all, it was an awesome, awesome time, and I got to meet some awesome new people and hang out with some friends.

Below I've posted the Snowing demo, Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit, which is going to be released on 7" pretty soon, so buy it when it comes out, asshole.




Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit (2009)

Hightide Hotel

Hightide Hotel is an emo band from the Lehigh Valley/Philly. They are made up of members of Street Smart Cyclist,
Every Monster Truck Ever, Hollows, Western Survival, and Snowing. Their style of music is more up-tempo, and is kind of like some of the midwest bands (Braid, Cap'n Jazz, blah blah). I've seen them live twice, once in a house in PA with Street Smart and Algernon Cadwallader, and again at Street Smart's last show with Slingshot Dakota. Their album, Porch Luck, is one of my favorite CD's. Hightide is also doing a split with the band By Surprise, which is being put out on Runner Up Records. On their myspace they have up two songs that are not on the album posted below. If you live in the tri-state area, you should go see these guys as soon as you can. Sorry guys, no videos today!

ch33rz and b33rz!


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Porch Luck (2008)

Snowing (Ex-Street Smart Cyclist, Boy Problems)

Check out what the boys from Street Smart Cyclist and Boy Problems have been up to lately:



While I'm stoked as fuck to see John Galm still making music, I fear that this may mean that the rumored Boy Problems break up has actually taken place. Either way, I can't wait to see what these guys do.

Check out Snowing's myspace here.

Check out our Boy Problems post!