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Makeshift Shelters: only if you enjoy living

Felipe — Mon, 05 Sep 2016 13:30:27 +0000

If my time with Bear Grills has taught me anything, it’s that you can create Makeshift Shelters out of anything. You can hollow out a tree trunk (if you’ve got the time and the tools), you can weave those long stringy leaves together like a quilt with sticks and make a roof (if you know how to weave), you can hunt down some large game, cut them open and sleep inside their skin for warmth on a dark and cold night (if you can stand the stench), you can take a bunch of palm fronds and slap ’em together so the rain and wind doesn’t get you (climate & weather provided), you can dig a coffin sized trench in the snow (about 5 ft down), then cut in to the snow laterally and sleep in there (protection & warmth!), or you can do like Bear Grills and just sleep in hotels. (Bet you didn’t know I was such an outdoorsy guy and what not given my amazing manicure, huh?). Well these Makeshift Shelters are less earthy, but just as warm as the snow coffin. The D.C. foursome released their first full-length album, Something So Personal, last year to some heavy praise from folks like The World Is A Beautiful Place. They’ve been compared to Candy Hearts and even MCS and TBS, but to me it’s their slower cuts that bring it all together. Their second track “(This Song is Definitely Not About A Boy)” is really fun and catchy and spiteful (gotta love spiteful lyrics “i was pretty young and i was pretty dumb// because somehow you convinced me you were great”), and “Lighter fluid” are real highlights, although the whole album is pretty chill. The slower last 3 tracks “Overflowing” and “I’ll Be The One That Comes Around” and “Darkest Nights” really do it for me (ok, maybe I like the whole album :-/). Probably because the title “Darkest Nights” fits in to my earlier Bear Grills motif. And there’s nothing I like more than bringing it all together. RIP Steve Irwin.

Feli Says check it out on SPOTIFY

Pkew Pkew Pkew: the sounds of finger guns

Felipe — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 15:28:04 +0000

Keepin’ on our Canada kick, Southern Ontario punks Pkew Pkew Pkew (to be pronounced as if you were animating gunshots with your fingers…) are all about having fun and being mellow, like most canucks (except when it comes to their tunes). The Pkew x3 frontman posted a Craigslist ad trying to find bandmates and only one dude replied; a guy who spent most of his time in a TV theme song cover band (TV shows like Pokemon… not Good Times or Friends). As their friendship “blossomed over a love of drinking and anime,” they literally ‘got the band together’ and started started travelling around Canada playing shows in “stupid small towns.” They consider their new album, out this summer, an eleven song anthology that blasts you through themes of failure, nostalgia, growing up, staying young, and getting really, really, really hammered. The Pkews have been compared to other party rockers and fellow canucks, PUP, and Diarrhea Planet (from Ca$hville, Tennessee). Fun facts a-boot Ontario: Toronto the 4th largest city in North America, gets around 300 days of sunshine a year, rivaling Denver. Ontario also boasts the worlds longest street (or at least kinda used to), Yonge Street. It starts at Lake Ontario in the east and runs north and west through central and northern Ontario for 1,178 miles to the Rainy River on the Minnesota border. They claim the world’s longest freshwater beach at 8.6 miles and North America’s shortest railway, at 3.3 miles (they are really struggling for fun facts :-/ ) Also, and way cooler, they had a place called Camp X: a spy school to train the Allies during WWII. The official name was Special Training School 103 (STS103 operated from 1941 to 1946, then continued on in other forms) and pupils included James Bond creator Ian Fleming and Roald Dahl (think James and the Giant Peach, The BFG (that’s the silly looking CGI movie that’s out now), and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory). Ends up Ronald Dahl, before inspiring every kids book and movie ever, was an ace fighter pilot and total badass. After being sent on a flying mission through Africa, later to be told was totally in the wrong direction – they sent him to “No Man’s Land – he crashed his out-of-fuel plane, fractured his skull, smashed his nose, and lost his sight. He dragged his body away from the burning wreckage and passed out in the middle of the rocky desert. Eventually he was saved, didn’t regain his sight for a while, fell in and out of love with a nurse in Alexandria (classic move), returned to dogfighting in WWII (not like Michael Vick), became a dope spy, yaddi yadda. Anywho, Pkew Pkew Pkew have nothing to do with any of those things, except for their name, and I have a new respect for children’s story writers.

Feli (& Steven Hyden) Say Listen

Moose Blood: drink it in

Felipe — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 15:56:25 +0000

Just got back from vacay, and what was waiting to ease me back in to the work week?, nothing but the long awaited album release from Canterbury four piece, and heavily FSL mentioned, Moose Blood. I saw them a few weeks ago at a tiny club (killer live, def go see them and grab some sweet merch) and they affirmed their status as a complete band in my book [you need to (1) sound good recorded (obv), but (2) be equally as good or better, live – sadly that is not always the case… cough cough Can’t Swim…smh]. 2016 has been ramping up to be the year of Moose Blood, so let’s get a few things clear. Their name: they knew they wanted an animal in their name and were just “mucking about at work trying to say as many silly names really” and MB just stuck. Well all that mucking about paid off, cuz they aren’t gonna be playing tiny clubs anymore. All I could think about while they were on stage, with 400 people screaming every word back at them, was that if they “pop up” just a tad, you’ll be seeing them everywhere. Hopefully they don’t go pop, though they won’t need to to get big.

Part of me hopes they don’t. There’s that bitter sweetness to seeing your small band become everyone’s band when they make it, especially when you see all the people you pride yourself on being a music snob over start to flood your shows and “ruin” that special band. But there’s a bit of a catch 22: you want them to be successful, of course, but then you as a fan lose that intimacy you share in a tiny underground club (see Fall Out Boy). You want them to make a living, so they can keep doing what they love (and more honestly, to selfishly provide you with more tunes you love), but there’s that part of you where you kinda don’t want them to be too successful; then maybe they’d retain that shard of what made you like them so much to begin with. And then you feel like a real sh*thead (or should at least) for wishing for that. Then you come to the conclusion you’re happy they go big (and then can tirelessly remind everyone you knew of them first – see Sum41), and just pray all the spinners and Dom and sing alongs with Wiz Khalifa don’t “change” them.

Moose Blood sold out their headlining US tour (even had to upgrade to larger venues in certain places do to such high demand), and are already selling out UK shows months in advance. Upset Magazine’s interview with them earlier this summer titled the article “MB’s second album will send them stratospheric.” Fans were already earmarking their new album, Blush, for a nod at best album of the genre before it even came out. I’ll say it’s prettttttyyy prettttyyy good. Idk about AOTY just yet… Tracks 8 and 9 slow it down a lot, and they coulda taken a few more risks with their hooks, but beyond that it’s real tight. It’ll be on repeat for a while.

Hot Mulligan is in full swing

Felipe — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 19:02:03 +0000

Keeping in tune (get it? “tune”? whatever…) with the Detroit, Michigan theme from last week, is a band from Michigan’s upper peninsula (which is beautiful btw, if you’ve never been), currently residing in Lansing. Anytime I see this band’s name, Hot Mulligan, not only do I laugh, but I think about a buddy of mine named Bill Welch (if you don’t know him, look him up). Bill likes to pretend he’s really good at golf, and he ain’t bad, but let’s just say this band’s name is very reflective of whatever he claims his handicap is. Hot Mulligan (like Billy boy) is pretty darn cool, and when asked what sets them apart from other bands, they said, and I quote: “ Our song titles are better than any other bands’ song titles. Also, we’re basically the only band from the upper peninsula of Michigan. ” hah! As for musically..? Some choice song names are “Jimmy Neutron Had a Dog So Why Can’t I Have a Friend?”, and “I Fell in Love with Princess Peach” (very Fall Out Boy circa 2005 of them). So there you have it. And here you have a newer song of theirs, that I can only image was written about those named in the title. Although their band name has nothing to do with golf, it’s still good that you all know you can probably beat Bill at it.

Feli Admits Bill takes far fewer mulligans than he does :-/

Can Trash Boat be the Junk Boat of UK Punk?

Felipe — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 14:00:40 +0000

Just another killer band in the burgeoning UK punk scene? I think not! A Trash Boat, not to be confused (yet) with junk boats (above), which can be found cruising through Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, is a group of 5 young squires from Saint Albans, UK who got together in 2014 and immediately started making waves (boat pun intended). They put out a sweet EP quickly in 2014 called Brainwork, won some random music festival contest thingies, and just now put out their debut full length, and it’s really good. So good actually, that Dan “Soupy” Campell (ya, that’s the dude’s real nickname) from The Wonder Years decided he’d dip his hand in the producing jar. And so their album Nothing I Write You Can Change What You’ve Been Through is also his debut album as producer. Hopeless Records (their label) out of Van Nuys, CA has not so quietly been gathering up all the top UK bands (Trash Boat, Neck Deep, Moose Blood, ROAM) along with some killer stateside bands (The Wonder Years, Have Mercy, NFG, Sum41 – ya they are still around too and aren’t bad live, just saw them at Warped Tour… yes I went :-/ ).

Anyways, all of this was just a way to get to talking about junk boats and how awesome they are (and how they relate to Trash Boat). Junks trace their roots back to 2nd century AD China where they were efficient and sturdy ships (obvi since they are still around today) that traveled long distances and incorporated lots of technical advances in sail plan and hull design that were later adopted in Western shipbuilding. Cool right? Even Ben Franklin urged US shipbuilders to take ideas from junks for our own boats. They continued dominating the seas even in the 15th century with Zheng He’s treasure ship’s that were over 390 feet long. In comparison, Christopher Columbus’s ships (same century, remember?) were only about 85 feet long. Basically, junk boats are dope and were used abundantly for almost two millennia. I’m hard pressed to think of something else of such worldwide technical importance (used modern free-flooding design where the hull would auto ballast water in and out to cushion shock and reduce pitching).

So can Trash Boat be the Junk Boat of the UK punk scene? I’m sure they hope so, and they are off to a helluva a start. But for right now they are just trash (and my treasure). Maybe one day, if they work real hard, they can be considered junk. Wouldn’t that be something.

Feli Says Trash Boat isn’t Trash at all

reminiscing the death of Mixtapes in Grayscale

Felipe — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 19:17:19 +0000

Throwback Thursdays… A great way to remind everyone that although you may be sitting in your cubicle at your horrible job, bossman yelling at you over the useless tasks that will never be used, you’re eating the horrible salad you made at home that morning in the dark because no one can afford Sweetgreen, and you haven’t shaved in days (legs or face) because, well, why? what do I have to look forward to?; you ARE indeed FUN and COOL and #blessed and hey!, why not remind everyone online that I took that vacation that one time! Kk let’s scroll through the 800 pics I took that weekend two Februaries ago…. change the filter… aaaand POST! Fewf… for a minute there the internet may have forgotten about me!! #I’mHereToo. So that we don’t forget anything ever again, we can reminisce on loves lost through a band taken from us too early: Mixtapes. The Cincinnati foursome (2009-2014) did some good things with guy/girl vocals, and she even became “Pink Intruder” for the esteemed Masked Intruder. Aiding our throwing back to memories of yesteryear is Grayscale (and dope Philly band & thankfully still around), with a much needed covering of a Barenaked Ladies track (they might as well be broken up, let’s be real, it was all downhill after “One Week”) looking back at his old apartment.

“Why did they change the locks? Why did I have to break in? I only came here to talk.“

Feli Says go Grayscale

If you Can’t Swim, then don’t. Or learn. Whatever.

Felipe — Mon, 07 Mar 2016 14:00:33 +0000

The term “punk rock” really doesn’t mean anything specific anymore. AS IT IS, those words tend to be an easy way to encompass what is now a vast array of sounds and subject matter. People who aren’t Neck Deep in the scene tend to shy away (and immediately push away) from anything with that label, since, by definition, the genre is non mainstream, or “OMG what a throwback! I listened to that kinda music in high school… You still listen to that? I’m super grown up now and listen to Beck and Mumford & Sons while on Molly at Coachella.” Well these days are the Best Years to be in the (pop) punk world. Lots a really catchy super fun music. Some dark, some uplifting and happy. All just great tunes. And if anyone has come with me to a punk show, you’d know that punk fans are hands down the most friendly and welcoming of any genre show. You can go to just about any punk show alone, make Real Friends for 2 hours, then take off never to see them again. It’s legit. A welcome addition to The American Scene. The newest entrant, and a welcome one at that, is Can’t Swim. A Jersey quad recently signed to Pure Noise Records (blending punk, indie, alt, and post-hardcore) and debuted their first EP a few days ago: sweet song structures, and some serious raging bubbling beneath the surface. The Forecast for Can’t Swim is looking like Fireworks (had to get two more in). Meow.

Feli’s getting back to his roots

Elway will NOT play the Super Bowl

Felipe — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 16:42:47 +0000

As a way to honor their Colorado roots, the humble foursome named their band “Elway” – a word so commonly used in the everyday vernacular of the Rockies. So you can imagine their shock, when the band that [at the time] “routinely plays in front of about 30 people in a basement” received a letter from Mr. John Elway himself’s legal representatives telling them to go ahead and change their name – chop chop let’s go! Flattered, lead singer Tim Brown thanked the two-time Super Bowl champ for all the publicity, but would be keeping the name, especially since “we’re just guys living in a van, driving across the country, playing shows with next to nobody in the audience,” but insisted he’d give Johnny-boy a raise if this PR helped them at all. Elway’s new album “Better Whenever” is real solid, lots of positive reviews, and is solid Midwestern-style rock. They accompany a lot of other dope Midwest bands on Red Scare Records (great name, btw): the Menzingers, Masked Intruder, Direct Hit!, the Copyrights.

(If ur looking 4 REALLY good Midwestern emo-rock, go str8 to Peoria, IL (now retired) The Forecast. They’re in my Top 5.)

Did Peyton use HGH? Feli Says who cares

State Champs: Around the World and Back LP

Felipe — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 22:49:23 +0000

Albany boys, State Champs, are super f-ing fun. The 5-some have been kicking a$$ for a few years now, and are back at with their third(ish) full length, “Around the World and Back.” The latest album grows up from their formative years – to be expected though, right? As you grow up you write less about murdering ex-girlfriends and silly tween sh*t (a la A Day To Remember, and they’re totally crushing right now) – but haters always gonna hate. It’s still a great time, and their live show is getting more and more raucous, especially, because as mentioned, they are “super f-ing fun.” Saw them back to back nights when they passed through NYC a couple weeks ago, a stark difference from last year when they were converting arms-crossed-head-nodders in to crowd surfing fire starters. Now it’s REAL rowdy and lively. Sadly we don’t live in Australia/Japan/UK when they tour with Neck Deep…. ugh

Feli Says Listen to these choice tracks!

Neck Deep – Life’s Not Out To Get You LP

Felipe — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 14:46:33 +0000

“Do you intertwine cult favorite movies with classic emo/pop punk themes?” – Umm… Duh Dufus! Just listen to Kali Ma where we reference the shit out of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. “Well fine then, do you take solid pop punk stylings from Blink 182, New Found Glory, Rufio, and other gems while making them your own with clever lyrics and super catchy hooks?” – Obvi! Have you even listened to our music!? Jeez Louise… This Welsh 5-piece has been crushing the pop punk scene since they got started in 2012, won the Best British Newcomer award in 2014, and their new album further solidifies their awesomeness – an instant pop punk classic. Neck Deep’s new LP was produced by ADTR’s Jeremy McKinnon, has a 91 on Metacritic, and is just all around dope. If you don’t believe me just click below… It’s ok to be proven wrong sometimes. ;-)

All those Spotify listens..? That’s just me. #wwfs