I used to have my own comic strip in my hometown newspaper and in the college paper at Texas Stae. I kind of stopped drawing for a while because when it becomes a job it often isn't fun anymore. Anyhow, I've decided to start drawing again. I'll upload NEW and old in the coming days.
The sun radiated through the early morning clouds and light drizzle for the majority of day two at Monolith, which hosted a crowd sporting more neon than an American Apparel display window.
Rahzel, virtuoso beatboxer and former member of The Roots began his routine at the Esurance (Main) Stage at 2 p.m.
A line of almost 40 people long formed outside the Woxy Stage set up in an interior room of the venue’s lower deck, in hopes of catching indie-electro duo Neon Indian---which filled to capacity 30 minutes before show time. The band originally hailing from Brooklyn recently re-located to Austin. They are scheduled to play an ACL after show at Emo’s and Fun Fun Fun Fest.
During that time, garage/prog-rock group Monotonix of Tel Aviv, Isreal rocked in nothing but 70’s short shorts and chest hair at the Southern Comfort Stage. The setup was one which took place within the audience. Even before finishing the first song, singer Ami Shalev stage-dove into the crowd and gauchely crawled and climbed on enthused hipsters. Banned in several venues around the world including Flamingo Cantina located here in Austin, the trio are notorious for their over the top antics which include setting things on fire, beer spitting, climbing on bars and over-zealous interactions with fans.
Following the energetic performance we sat down with guitarist Yonatan Gat, singer Ami Shalev and drummer Haggai Fershtman. CC: What’s the origin of name Monotonix? HF: Too long to describe it, it’s a very complicated story. YG: When Haggai went to art school, when he was a teenager, everybody thought he was retarded... It’s just his lip went to the side a little bit. And he would say the same thing over and over again and everyone would say “you are very monotonic” and then we added the “x,” because he couldn’t say ‘x’. HF: This is the real story. YG: It’s the first time we tell anybody.
CC: How did you snap out of it? YG: He got a chicken bone stuck in his throat once and Avi gave him the Heimlich and ever since he stopped being a “retard.” HF: Monotonix! Monotonix… I could say the ‘x’.
CC: Where have you performed and what are your favorite and least favorite venues? HF: Austin is one of the best! YG: Austin is fun. We played good shows at a place called the Mohawk, we played SXSW. One of the venues we don’t like is Flamingo Cantina because we’re banned from there.
CC: How much lighter fluid do you go through in a tour? Usually you light your drums on fire. AS: Depends. Sometimes if it’s too crowd, we can’t use the lighter fluid. We have to talk to the venues, fire is sensitive issue.
CC: What kind of access do fans have to your music? HF: Combination of many things. Record company… iTunes, Myspace.. We have a Twitter that someone we don’t know is doing.
CC: Someone you don’t know is tweeting for you? YG: We have a fan twitter. HF: Yeah, he’s twittering! Haha…
CC: Israel is pretty far away. Do you have a US home base? AS: We have friends that we love, they love us and we see them while we’re touring. But home is where the heart is, like Frank Zappa’s song. Quite the opposite of their crazy, raucous stage personas, the trio was reserved yet charismatic. They are scheduled to play Emo’s (outside) Friday, September 25. You can buy tickets HERE!
Check out this amateur video we got of them at Monolith!
The Glitch Mob dropped dope beats on the Esurance stage while one of this year’s most anticipated acts Passion Pit rocked the Southern Comfort stage. The pavement slab in front of the stage vibrated and shook throughout the set, especially during the dance-y number “Sleepyhead.”
MSTRKRFT canceled their appearance at Monolith due to an untimely illness. Replacing them on the main stage were French alternative rock band Phoenix. They opened up with "Lisztomania,” the first single of their upcoming album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. In spite of the slow start, the band had the entire venue dancing with their jaw-dropping performance.
Concluding the evening were experimental-progressive rockers The Mars Volta. They commenced their powerful set with “Inertiatic ESP,” off their 2004 release De-Loused in the Comatorium. Their stage set featured an array of psychedelic colors and patterns on the rock wall behind them. They ended with “Wax Simulacra,” the first single off their fourth studio album The Bedlam in Goliath.
The third annual Monolith Festival was this past weekend at Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado. The two day fest was undoubtedly a hipster’s wet dream with acts such as Girl Talk, Passion Pit, Phoneix, M. Ward, Of Montreal, and Neon Indian to name a few. Despite a downpour of intermittent showers and temperatures in the upper 40’s on Saturday, indie-fans congregated for what has to be the biggest catalog of indie acts at one venue.
Pains of Being Pure at Heart played at the Southern Comfort stage amidst steady rainfall. In spite of the low temperatures and cold rain, they remained ardent and even joked that they were the ‘Rains of Being Pure of Heart.’
Ok Go played on the larger stage sponsored by Esurance. Mid set, Damian Kulash stepped over the railing into the rain with his guitar and told the crowd that this would probably be the only time they’d see him literally playing in the rain.
Meanwhile, Hamilton Leithauser of The Walkmen crooned tracks off the You & Me album on the upper level Southern Comfort stage. Almost like lightning the mellowed-out crowd broke into a dance at the start of “The Rat,” the hit single from the band’s debut album Bows + Arrows. Following The Walkmen on that stage was iron-masked DOOM, whose set up took longer than 30 minutes due to technical difficulties.
After a raging set, the masses made their way towards the main stage where Girl Talk, aka Greg Gillis remixed and mashed up samples ranging from Missy Elliot to Flashdance to the Jackson 5. Rain poured heavily throughout the set while presumably over 100 fans crowded Gillis on stage.
Ending the evening were the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. While the audience had thinned out to almost a 3rd of the seating due to weather conditions, the confetti, extravagant stage décor, and Karen O’s multi-color bell sleeve romper were more than enough to rock the house. Among the songs played were "Heads Will Roll," "Zero," and “Maps.” The encore was "Y Control.”
Here’s some amateur video we got of the YYY’s performing Black Tongue:
All photos courtesy of Mary Rehak. Go here to see more shots from the festival. We'll have a recap of Sunday at Monolith up shortly...
I came across a good find the other day. After a few listens I came to the conclusion that the four tracks were from a long lost Pink Floyd and Leonard Cohen collaboration. ...I'm just kidding. The artist solely known as Gary W. put forth 4 tracks from his debut album.
The first track commences with a futuristic sound which quickly dissolves into a soft tangy guitar riff. Gary’s, cigarette smoker vocals transpire an emotion of devastating lost love.
“Remember me,” exhorts the pleading question of recognition. The singer inquires “Do you remember, Do you remember loving me? Do you remember, do you remember me?” The slow pace track offers soft guitar picking and subtle cymbal tapping.
The third track, “Wonderful Things,” is the catchiest and more uplifting of the other tracks. It inhibits an almost innocent and juvenile attribute.
“You are you are,” reverts to the dark corner of a broken heart. The lyrics are admiring of the muse, but clearly express the singer’s distress. A Pink Floyd-esque electric guitar solo commences midway through the track and blends with the sorrowful vocals.
From the Future is the first full length debut for experimental trio Lord Scrummage. The Detroit based band is made of Conor Edwards, Alex Lauer, and Ben Christensen, all current members of indie rockers Benny Stoofy.
The term “scrummage” stems from the genre which refers to a collective group of musicians in the Detroit music scene who share an underground experimental sound.
The first track entitled “W.W.D.D.” takes world music to a whole different level with its infused tribal drums and hindu sitar rifts over faint female vocals. Despite being a mere 2 minutes, the track proves to be an appropriate instrumental interlude into an experimental cough syrup world.
The melodic instrumental arrangements in “Clyd Moop How Did You Know,” further propel the listener into an abyss of laser lights and imaginative space rock.
“Abe Lincoln’s Skeleton,” is a mind altering substance in the form of 70’s science program keyboards and haunting vocals that highlight the plaintive psychedelia of the piece while remaining an organic layer in the fabric of submersive consciousness.
The track “Captain Rat,” begins with an ambient Final Fantasy piano riff admist lyrics about animals before transporting the listener to a simulated Rainforest Café experience topped with bird squawking, lion roaring, insect buzzing goodtime. Like many of the tracks on the album, the analog-synth clouds billowing around barely lucid vocoder vocals offers the listener an escape from the “real world.”
Truthfully, Lord Scrummage is the equivalent of licking an entire LSD sheet and finding yourself sitting between Dan Deacon and Deastro at a Black Moth Super Rainbow show.
Moodagger is the full-band debut by Deastro, real name Randolph Chabot. Hailing from Sterling Heights, MI, Chabot began writing music at age 13 and recorded three previous albums in his parent’s basement. Now 22 years old, Chabot has become notable for his live performances. The recently released album is a euphoric, synth-driven neon fantasia of swooning dream-pop fitting an epic videogame soundtrack category, particularly one which would incorporate or house a Final Fantasy or Space Harrier theme. The first track entitled, “Biophelia,” commences with an 8-bit beat, similar to an old school Final Fantasy IV Super NES start menu loop. The ambient intro transforms into an electro-pop synth cantata permeated with incessant drumming and rocket blasting sirens. “Toxic Crusaders,” details the self-acceptance of a mutant do-gooder born with one eye who pleas for his love to be reciprocated. The track incorporates a toy piano whose simple melody conveys a juvenile innocence. “Pyramid Builders,” is a starry-eyed instrumental piece fusing an array of rhapsodic futuristic loops and beats. The eighth track “Daniel Johnston Was Stabbed In the Heart With The Moondagger By the King of Darkness and His Ghost is Writing This Song as a Warning to All of Us,” remains to have the longest title ever, coming in at 29 words! The 14 track album includes two bonus tracks, “The Shaded Forests (Gift Giver’s Version),” and “Tree Frog.” While “Tree Frog” sounds similar to the other tracks on the album, “The Shaded Forests,” stands out in that it sounds more fully constructed; created and performed by a band rather than just a keyboard and computer.
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