Hey what’s happening? I’m extremely tired from Punk Rock Picnic 3 and I’m processing videos as we speak. Hopefully I’ll start getting those online later this week. If you missed it, you missed out on the biggest party we’ve ever thrown. But don’t worry, it’ll be back next year! In the meantime, let’s take a brief look at what’s going on around town this week!

First off, over at the Tremont Music Hall the place will be rocking Saturday night, August 21st as Stillnotdead.com is proud to present the Overmountain Men with special guests Appalucia and Jeremiah & the Howling Owls. The Overmountain Men are of course led by the awesome songwriting of David Childers and features some really ace musicians including Geoff White, Robert Childers, Randy Saxon and Bill Noonan. The expertise onstage will become evident as they proceed to crank out a show guaranteed to blow you away. Appalucia in the meantime are regulars to the Country Tuesday crowd and play some authentic, mountain man/ hillbilly music. Columbia SC band Jeremiah & The Howling Owls were added to the show just recently due to Temperance League being unable to play. This is a big break for those guys, who already have a reputation as an outstanding live band. This should be tons of fun and a great night of Americana/ Roots/ Country music. Doors are at 8:00pm and admission is $8 in advance and $10 DOS with a $3 surcharge for under 21.

Over at the Milestone Club on Friday August 20th is a show that we will most definitely not see Creative Loafing at.. You see the Milestone Club welcomes the 201o Coney Island Cockabilly Roadshow. What is that you ask? Honestly I’m not completely sure myself. I do know it will feature Jelly Boy the Clown and the Squidling Bros. Sideshow, Jason and the Punknecks, Guitar Bomb, Viva Le Vox, Charlotte’s own Hick’ry Hawkins, The Holyroller Sideshow and Selia D’Katzmeow Carmichael. What that equals I have no idea other than it’s gonna be a night of bizarre sideshow acts and music that seems to have a trashy twinge to it. I’m sure there is one thing it won’t be and that’s boring, which pretty much means it won’t be in CL. Doors are at 8pm and admission is $10 for over 21 or $12 for under 21.

This Saturday August 21st I also want to mention that longtime Charlotte duo The Battle Beast are having their cd release party at Snug Harbor, the powerful two man (beast?) band will be joined by openers Stronghold Crusader and IED, who just rocked the house at the Punk Rock Picnic! This will be a great night of hard hitting performance art and music. Battle Beast have long been a main stay in the subculture of two man bands we seem to have a ton of here in Charlotte and what sets them apart from their colleagues is the amount of art they sneak into their rhythmic attack. Mood lighting and bizarre mask have been main stays at past shows so one has to wonder what new plan of assault the band will have for their cd release party. Only way to find out is to show up!

Well that’s it for this edition. Don’t forget about the Charlotte Zombie Walk this coming Friday that I mentioned in the previous article. Until next week, take care and we’ll see you out at the shows!

Thanks for the support,

Ryan Dead

Hi! Hope you’re having a good week so far! I’ve unfortunately got a bone to pick, so to speak and some bad news. So let’s get it out of the way first shall we?

It is with great sadness that I have to report that Elwood’s Music Hall is officially closed. Basically it was due to upper management problems and disagreements about the best way to move forward with the Music Venue/ Restaurant. I’ll leave it at that for now. I know more than I’m telling but will wait on an official statement instead of blowing up everyone’s business on the internet. As some of you know, I was working as an independent booker for Elwood’s and was happy to bring in such artist as The Overmountain Men, Appalucia, Hectagons, Jem Crossland & The Hypertonics, Roots Essential, Through Porchlight, Bums Lie, Carolina Gator Gumbo, 25 Minutes to Go, The Old Invention, Truckstop Preachers, Dr. DP & The Trainrunners and Buckmountain Stranglers to name a few. I would like to thank all those artist for giving me their time and for the most part, having some amazing shows. I think Elwood’s had a really great sound system and a great sounding room and it’s a pity we’ll never get to see it live up to it’s potential.

My other news is pretty funny. You see Creative Loafing had their Web Awards. It’s where you could vote for local websites. I encouraged you all to vote for Stillnotdead for best local music blog, since basically I think we’re about the only one. Well once the voting was finished Creative Loafing took several weeks to “look over” the votes and decided who they think should win. They announced their picks this week and announced winners in all but three catagories.  ”Best Commenter”, “Best Photo Site” and you guessed it “Best Music Blog” were announced as having “no clear winner” according to Creative Loafing and “instead of phoning it in or voting for ourselves”, Creative Loafing decided to not list any sites at all in any of those catagories…. WHAT THE FUCK? Seriously? What type of BS is that? I know a ton of people who voted for Stillnotdead.com as best music blog. I also don’t know of many (if any !) other music blogs in town. I mean, I didn’t really expect to win and I’m too busy to rig the voting but come on! If you have a bunch of people nominated, which is what they implied, and you have no clear winner. Wouldn’t the logical thing to do be to list all the top vote getters in that category?? No, instead of listing us and several other music blogs that could have benefited from the exposure, Creative Loafing continues to deny our existence and hype themselves as the only possible oasis of music culture in Charlotte. I guess they got their feelings hurt that their “Local Music Clog” wasn’t the runway winner in the category. And it would kill them to admit we even exist. Well to them I say screw you, you’re taste in music sucks anyway. You’re about as relevant to local music as MTV is to music in general. PISS OFF!

Okay, well glad that’s off my chest. Sorry to vent like that in public but I thought it was the most assinine way to handle the lack of a “clear cut winner”. Oh well. Whatever. In other news, I’m still waiting on my cd reviews but we should be getting some good ones over the next few weeks. I personally can’t wait. I would also like for someone to step up and volunteer to cover the local punk rock scene. In exchange for writing for Stillnotdead I will get you into as many local punk shows for free as I possibly can, and your friends would think you were so cool… I promise they would..

If you are into any other form of local music and wish to participate I also have room for you! Email me at snddesigns01@gmail.com. I would love to hear from all of you!

Now that we’ve handled all of that let’s take a brief look at what’s going on in local music this week….

Come celebrate Ian Stroupe’s birthday this Friday night 5/14/10 at the Milestone Club! His birthday celebration includes performances by 25 Minutes to Go, The Lights Fluorescent and Appalucia. The combination of these three bands makes it show of the week in my opinion! Expect a packed house and tons of great music. Doors are at 8pm and admission is $6 for over 21 and $8 for under.

Saturday night 5/15/10 The Milestone finally gets the chance to replicate the Mos Eisley Cantina, to which it’s often compared when it hosts the Star Warz Dance Party, presented by Gore-a-licious. This dance party features Angels on Acid, 3X!13 Live and DJ Slurp, DJ Sin and DJ Harlequin. Come dressed as a Star Wars character and may the force be with you! Doors are at 8pm and admission is $10 for over 21 and $12 for under. This show is 18+ only.

Sunday the 16th is the CD Release party for Emotron at the Milestone Club. Either you get Emotron or you don’t. I’ve never been able to get into the unusual and often gross antics of the Emotron, even if his quirky keyboard driven music is catchy. He does have an impressive lineup of bands playing the opening slots though. Moses Gigantus, Hectagons and the Lesser Pauls will all be playing as well as the comedic stylings of the Elder Statesman. Doors are at 8pm and admission is $6 for over 21 and $8 for under. 18+ only please.

This Saturday the 15th, the Visulite Theater welcomes Against Me! This is a last minute add on at the Visulite and no openers or details have been announced except it will be 16 and up, the show starts at 8:00 and admission is $13 in advance and $15 at the door.

Next Tuesday the 18th, Tremont Music Hall welcomes Agnostic Front! The hardcore legends will be playing Victim in Pain and United Blood in their entirety. Also playing are Outbreak, South Side Punx and the Rogue Nations. This should be a legendary show and not one to be missed. Doors are at 7pm and the show starts at 8pm. Admission is $13 in advance and $15 at the door plus $3 surcharge for under 21.

Well that’s it for this week. Drop me a line and tell me about your show and I’ll be sure to mention it. Take care of yourselves and as usual, thanks for the support!

Ryan Dead

Hey what’s happening everyone? This past weekend was awesome but it left me really tired. I hope everyone who came out to Tremont Music Hall this past Saturday night had a great time! It was insane trying to push 8 bands through in just 4 hours but we made it happen. It’s really funny that what started out as just a 4 band bill turned into a mini festival. Special thanks to John, Bamm and Matt from the Not Likelys for providing the p.a. for the side stage. Also a special thanks to those of you who came up and talked to me about music, the scene and life in general. I don’t always get out to shows like I should but when I do it’s great to talk to all of you. Also thanks to Eli, who will be reviewing some cd’s for us in the near future and my new friend Nick from Rockhill who will also be doing some review work for us in the near future! I appreciate the help and I certainly can’t do it alone!

In other news, alot of you asked me about the Creative Loafing Web Awards and honestly I haven’t heard anything yet. I know a ton of you voted and I appreciate your support. I checked this morning and they said that after everyone sent in their entries they would decide who to feature, whatever that means. In any case all we can do is sit back and wait. Hopefully they will say something about us, if for no other reason than it will get people checking out forms of local music that I don’t think get enough coverage in this city. I’m really hoping for the day when IED or 25 Minutes to Go become big news in Creative Loafing. And yes, there is a music scene outside of NODA.

Anyway, enough of my ranting, let’s get on with the music!

At the Milestone Club tonight is the Milk Jug Records Showcase featuring Izzy and the Kestronics, Summer Night Shade, Linus Van Pelt and Perry Fowler. Now if I’m not mistaken Izzy just played Snug the night before so I hope some of you still come to catch them tonight at the ‘Stone. They play some mean swing and will be a lot of fun.  Summer Night Shade features our own Val on violin and backing vocals and are a great acoustic trio. Linus Van Pelt are a good country, roots band that are also on Milk Jug Records along with Summer Night Shade. Opening the show will be Perry Fowler who is a one man acoustic storm. Doors are at 8pm tonight and admission is $5 for over 21 and $7 for under.

Elwood’s Music Hall- Lamb Handler w/ Dielectrics and the Mangles- 4/30/10- The shepherds of rock are back and this time they have a little jingle jangle in their step. I’ve long championed these guys as my pick for the best rock band in Charlotte and I still stand by that claim. Slinky, almost seductive vocals and snaky, melodic guitar lines weave a web over a solid rhythm section that never fails to draw you in. Also on the bill are Dielectrics, from Wilmington. I see them popping up on the local calendars of several local clubs over the next few months so this will be an interesting Charlotte debut for them. Also on the bill is the Mangles whose punk garage sound has caught my ear quite a bit over the last year or so. The vocals remind me a lot of the Ramones and they manage to be catchy without being “too catchy”. You guys know what I mean. If you’re in the neighborhood, come by and check it out! Doors are at 8pm and admission is $6 for over 21 and $8 for under.

Elwood’s Music Hall- Appalucia, Jem Crossland & The Hypertonics and the Old Invention- 5/1/10-  This is gonna be one cool Saturday night. The evening starts out with the Old Invention, who are in my opinion the best traditional bluegrass band I’ve heard in a long time. If you haven’t checked these guys out yet you owe it to yourself to check out music from a time when the world was a lot simpler and maybe pure. Jem Crossland & The Hypertonics are also purist but of a different kind. You see Jem mines the territory of early rock and roll. Sun records, Elvis, Johnny Rivers and Roy Orbison are all easy to see as influences of the Hypertonics. I also want to congratulate the Hypertonics as I recently spoke to Jem and he told me they’ve been together almost a decade. That’s an awesome accomplishment for an awesome band! Appalucia hasn’t been together that long, but hopefully they will stick around for the long haul as well. This band includes Corey Ziggler of Bout It Boyz, Andy of Andy the Doorbum, Geoff White of the Overmountain Men and Buck Boswell of Hectagons and Andy the Doorbum. These talented and diverse musicians all come together to play some killer mountain music, celebrating a time when the biggest worry was whether you got caught making a moonshine run. In any case this will be an excellent show and a good time. Doors are at 8pm for this one and admission is $6 in advance and $8 at the door.

I would also like to mention that Elwood’s Music Hall is also hosting the School of Rock Graduation shows this weekend. The first show is Stadium Rock and will run from 1pm – 3pm  Saturday and Sunday and the second show will be the music of the Who from 4pm – 6pm Saturday and Sunday. That’s gonna be one tired sound guy by the end of the weekend…

Snug Harbor is keeping busy this weekend with Benji Hughes, Super Ape and the McClintock G’s on Friday night but that’s just the warm up. Saturday night is Snug Harbor’s 3 year anniversary! All it says on their calendar is “FREAKY WACK PARTY“. Which honestly is what we normally expect from Snug Harbor and thank god for it! I’m really happy for all of the guys over at Snug Harbor and hope they have many more anniversaries to come!!

Well that’s it for this week. I’ll be back next week talking to you about local music, the bands and the venues that host them!

Thanks for the support!

Ryan Dead

So I wrote a review for the Overmountain Men’s show this past Friday at Elwood’s Music Hall in South Charlotte for overmountainmen.com. It was an awesome night of great music from not only the Overmountain Men but also opener for the night Appalucia. Both bands were extraordinary and the sound was excellent. As someone who went to David Childers farewell show it does me good to see him back onstage again and playing with a passion that many were afraid they wouldn’t get to see again. The place was packed with an audience of over 200 people and it was a night of music that we won’t soon forget!

Check out the review at www.overmountainmen.com!

And for more information on Elwood’s Music Hall check out www.elwoodsmusichall.com!

Ryan Dead

I know it seems a little early to be doing a Christmas edition but a few of the shows I’m reviewing are Christmas shows so what the hell. Anyway on with the show.

Btw, I forgot to mention there is a tribute show to the Clash at Tremont tomorrow night, 12/12/09. But if you go expecting to hear loving tributes to the Clash you’re probably gonna be disappointed. One of the bands actually asked me if I knew any Clash songs they could cover.. If you don’t know a Clash song you can cover then you shouldn’t play a Clash show period. Where are all the punk bands on the show you may ask? They are in Raleigh playing Throwdown Fest and probably weren’t asked.

Anyway, now that I’ve covered that base, on with this edition of “Next Week”!

Tremont Music Hall- Punked Up Xmas featuring: Pen 15, Bracing for Impact, King Sized Killers and the Chiltons 12/17/09- Their once was a band called Pen 15 who could drink their weight in beer. I used to love to have these guys play because their bar tab alone would make them worth having. Songs of drunken shenanigans follow as I’m sure you guessed. Bracing for Impact are slowly making a name for themselves with playing their own version of garage/punk rock pretty much non stop between here and Rockhill, SC. They could use some better recordings on their myspace though but it’s enough for you to get the general idea. King Sized Killers are from Shelby/Forest City area and play a bit crunchier but potent punk rock. Good production values aid this band as there songs sound pretty good on their myspace and the crunchy punk songs sound pretty good rattling around my office! The Chiltons are a Columbia, SC band that show up from time to time and rock the house. Crunchy 80’s punk with fun catchy lyrics and lead guitars that slinks over the top like it’s dying a slow death. “Devils Music” may be my favorite song I’ve heard recently. Merry Christmas punk rock style indeed! Doors at 8pm and admission is $5 for over 21 and $8 for under. All ages!

Through Porchlight at Tremont 12/18/09

Tremont Music Hall- Through Porchlight, The Lo and Beholds, Death Becomes Even the Maiden and Junior Astronomers 12/18/09- Through Porchlight has gotten my attention lately for their unique take on “indie pop” or as they refer to it on myspace “italian pop”. These kids are young but based on their catchy songwriting I think they have a future if they can hold it together. I couldn’t get the Lo and Beholds page to load but I’ve heard great things about them from other people who would know. Death Becomes Even the Maiden are another Columbia, SC band who are the exact opposite of the Chiltons in the previous article. Meeting the more modern standard of rock this guys do bring an uptempo attack with maybe a touch of early Franz Ferdinand. Junior Astronomers are a great live act and the only band on this bill I’ve seen in person. These guys have wonderful energy that shines through each tune with their bouncing buoyant riffs led by awesome vocals. This should be a good show indeed. 8pm doors and it’s $6 for over 21 and $9 for under. All ages!

A Stillnotdead Christmas 2 at the Milestone Club 12/18/09

The Milestone Club- A Stillnotdead Christmas 2 featuring 25 Minutes to Go, Appalucia, South Side Punx, Summer Night Shade and more 12/18/09- The end of our second year and that means it’s time for the second annual Stillnotdead Christmas party! As usual you’re all invited and this year we have a special twist, it’s all acoustic! That’s right it’s gonna be 25 Minutes to Go acoustic for only the second time ever and South Side Punx first ever acoustic performance! Of course acoustic comes natural for the mountain man renegade music of Appalucia, as well as the stripped down, urgent sounds of Summer Night Shade. As usual expect surprise performances like we did last year. In fact this year could feature a pairing you haven’t seen in quite some time. Who you may ask? You’ll have to show up and see, that’s half the fun of it! Doors at 8pm and admission is $6 for over 21 and $8 for under. 18+ only please.

Snug Harbor- The Lights Fluorescent, Harvard, I Was Totally Destroying It 12/19/09- The Lights Fluorescent still bear my title of “best live band in Charlotte” and that’s not a slight to any of the other awesome bands we have in town. These guys just get it right. These guys show all the signs of future greatness. Great songwriting, maturing with age/mileage, dynamic songwriting and the awesome vocals of Erika Blatnik. If you see one more band this year, these guys are it. Harvard are another up and coming Charlotte band that is on a roll. They just recently had their biggest show ever, selling out Tremont’s Casbah for their CD release party and for good reason. Their music brims with great production and expert songwriting. Soaring choruses with intricate instrumental flourishes and complex arrangements fill your ears and the affect is impressive. I Was Totally Destroying It are a Chapel Hill band with a fun name. As far as music goes it’s all totally competent indie rock, although a little more polished than I tend to like it. However it’s a very radio friendly sound and these guys wouldn’t sound out of place on a CW drama. Btw, I mean that as a compliment but I guess it would depend on whether you like CW dramas. Show starts at 10pm. Price is probably $5.

Okay that’s it for this week, tune it next week for our special year end edition. Also be on the lookout next week as I have some more cd reviews and I’m going to add a ton of songs to the media player on the main page so be on the lookout.

Ryan Dead

Okay November is moving right along and Snug is still standing after Ramonesfest. Now that the dust has settled from that, let’s move on to look at more upcoming local shows on this episode of “Next Week”!

The Milestone Club- Mike Hale (Gun Moll) Chris Wollard (Hot Water Music) and the Ship Thieves, KP Soloman 5000 11/11/09- Okay this is an interesting concept and I don’t know if they set it up like this or not, but this show features a lot of people who are famous for being in other bands. This is like “Solo project Night” at the Milestone. KP Soloman is of course, known for plucking the bass in 25 Minutes to Go, what you may not know is that he also has an acoustic side underneath all that. Course, you probably do know that because the Soloman has been burning up the bar circuit lately with his personal, intimate style of songwriting. Mike Hale is the singer/guitar player for Gunmoll but his solo stuff is exactly the opposite of the loud rock band. Intricate acoustic picking and introspective lyrics, sung with a husky voice makes for a mellow mood. Chris Wollard of Hot Water Music fame has banded together a bunch of his Gainesville buddies and are touring as Chris Wollard & The Ship Thieves. If you are coming expecting a roaring, loud rock show ala Hot Water Music you’re in for a surprise. This project is surprisingly folky, intimate and almost indie sound. This should be a fun night to watch guys who are normally loud and proud get all acoustic and emotional. Admission is $7 and doors are at 8pm.

Double Negative play the Milestone Club 11/13/09!

The Milestone Club- Double Negative, Grids, Moenda, Brain Flannel 11/13/09- Whatever I said about the previous show, this show is just the opposite. Not that these guys don’t have emotion to there singing it’s just angrier emotions. Double Negative last played with Fucked Up I believe and that show was damn near a riot. Expect no less this time. Raleigh’s Double Negative play a high tempo, full speed ahead music that will blow your mind. To put it mildly, Double Negative kick a lot of ass. High speed riffs with screaming, distorted vocals played with a wide open abandon that few bands achieve. It’s face melting to say the least. Grids are a Charlotte rock/ indie/ hardcore band that communicate via heavy riffs and clever (when you can make them out) lyrics. Slower paced than Double Negative ( that’s most bands btw) they still manage to have a heavy, reverbed almost ominous sound. Moenda is a Charlotte band featuring Davey Blackburn of Calabi Yai. Their sound is more like avant garde jazz noise meets relentless distortion. Not really my thing but at one time I would have loved it. It’s really gonna depend on how into John Zorn you are… Also playing is Brain Flannel, which features members of Logic Problem, Yardwork and Grids. Tickets are $6 for over 21 and $8 for under and doors are at 8pm.

The Milestone Club actually has two more shows that I wanted to squeeze in the column this week. Saturday 11/14 the Milestone welcomes the Lights Fluorescent, one of Charlotte’s premier indie rock acts featuring the amazing Erika Blatnik. Also on the bill are Hallelujah the Hills, Yep Roc records Drink Up Buttercup and The Lesser Pauls, whose PJ Harvey meets Sonic Youth meets Jefferson Airplane sound have me paying attention. On Sunday 11/15 the ‘Stone welcomes a night of heavier than hell music featuring the infamous Black Cobra, Black Tusk, Charlotte’s own heavier than your four piece duo, MACHETE! and psychedelic rock outfit Chylde. Should be a heavy way to start the week. Talk about a Monday morning hangover!

Btw, I wanted to mention that Rodi in Gastonia is 13 years old this month. Hard to believe that Rodi has been open for 13 years but it’s true and we wanted to pass along our congratulations to them! For the uninitiated Rodi offers up great food and free live shows for the acoustic minded. It’s an eating experience that is unique in the area and never fails to make a great, memorable night. For more info go to www.rodiworld.com!

I also wanted to give a brief mention to two shows coming up this week at Amos Southend. First off, it’s all tight pants and eyeliners on Tuesday the 10th as Amos welcomes Boys Like Girls w/ Cobra Starship, The Maine,  A Rocket to the Moon and Versa Emerge. This show is all ages (if it wasn’t there might not be anyone there!) and it’s $25 in advance and $28 day of show. Doors open at 6pm. It’s just the opposite on Saturday the 13th when Amos welcome Hatebreed w/ Unearth, Canibal Corpse, Hate Eternal and Born of Osiris. Jesus, I’ve seen Hatebreed and Canibal Corpse before and this show will be the heavy death metal jam from hell. If you don’t love violence stay away from the pit at this show because it will be fast and violent for sure. This show is 16 & over tickets are $20 in advance and $23 at the door and doors open at 7pm.

Snug Harbor- Dynamite Brothers, Babyshaker, Satan’s Youth Ministers 11/14/09- Somebody at  Snug Harbor are secret soul fans and I love it.  First Chain & The Gang and now the Dynamite Brothers. This guy have an organ to grind and harmonies to spare. This Chapel

Dynamite Brothers and Babyshaker 11/14/09

Hill party band get it all right with soulful vocals, singing about their love of women with a back breaking beat and great bass lines that will get your booty shaking. I don’t know where all these soul bands are coming from but you’ll get no complaints from me. These guys remind me of Three Dog Night and that’s a compliment! Babyshaker may not have as much soul but they definitely bring down the house with the swagger of lead singer Scott Weaver. Glam, rock, punk songs about whatever ails them is what to expect from these guys. And anyone who can last past the infamous 10 year mark definitely gets my respect! Satan’s Youth Ministers get my award for “name of the week”! This Alabama band specializes in psychedelic, garage rock with a nod of r&b. That’s all good as well. Noisy and fun these guys are a great way to start the party. It’ll be a fun night at Snug Harbor for sure.

Snug Harbor- The Dirt Daubers, Appalucia 11/15/09- The Dirt Daubers are Colonel JD Wilkes of the Legendary Shack Shakers with his wife Jessica and “Slow” Layne Hendrickson. They hail from Western Kentucky and play an ecclectic mix of Appalachian, ragtime and hot jazz standards and original music. That pretty much makes them a match made in heaven for Charlotte’s own Appalucia. This Corey Ziggler/ Andy the Doorbum project are also disciples of the Appalachian sound and this show will go great with a mega dose of moonshine!

Well that’s it for this edition of “Next Week” ! If you guys hear about a show and want to pass it along to us, send me an email! Bands keep the flyers coming! We’ll see you next time! Thanks!

Ryan Dead

Where has the time gone? Here we are at the end of September looking into October! There’s a lot of ground to cover this week, so let’s dive into the first fall edition of “Next Week”!

The Grids, Hectagons and more at Tremont Music Hall!!

Tremont Music Hall- Grids, Hectagons, The Art Department, The Lesser Pauls 10/02/09- I heard this was originally supposed to be a house show be ended up getting moved to Tremont. That’s cool, you’ll have to pay more but you won’t have to worry about the police showing up. In the meantime it’s gonna be a great night of indie/ punk/ noisy music. Grids are a really noisy hard hitting band of a sort of Shellac vein. Hectagons is another of Wyley Buck Boswell’s bands. He already plays/played in Hell or High Water, Appalucia and Andy the Doorbum. His partner in crime Richard Culp also plays/played in Zeus and Andy the Doorbum.  The duo was joined by Korey Dudley of Abe Reid & The Spikedrivers and Tropic Culture. Okay you get the point, everyone in this band has other bands. The important thing is they play really talented instrumental metal/ heavy rock music. We actually have quite an underground scene for instrumental metal/ rock here in Charlotte. You should do research into these bands, in the meantime check out Hectagons! The Art Department are from the DC/ Baltimore area and play some type of pop/ indie music that comes across as being a lot lighter then the previous two bands mentioned here. That’s not a bad thing, they are a very odd though. Think light, clean sound almost nervous sounding music with really high, fast vocals over the top. It gives the whole thing a very almost antsy feeling. I see on their schedule they are playing with the Meat Puppets in a few weeks, that makes perfect sense. The Lesser Pauls get better everytime I listen to them. Their song “Neon Jesus” always reminds me of Jefferson Airplane during the Grace Slick era. Another good comparison would probably be PJ Harvey. These guys have that slightly unpolished in a good way, garage vibe that reminds me of those bands. Check it out, it’ll be a fun show. Doors are at 8:00pm and admission is $6 for over 21 and $9 for under!

Tremont Music Hall- Zoe Vette and the Revolvers, Dirtbag Love Affair, Planet Piss and Famous Tragedy 10/4/09- Happy Birthday Zoe Vette! I got an email informing me that this is the official Zoe Vette birthday celebration so we wish a happy birthday to the leader of the Revolvers. They’ve been working hard over the past year or so to establish the Revolvers as a standout rock and roll unit. They put it all out there in a standout live show that will remind you musically of the Runaways but with more over the top theatrics to boot!  Dirtbag Love Affair have that grimy punk, sleazy rock and roll sound but seem very polished in what they do. Still they do have a few catchy songs on their myspace and it appears they tour their brains out so good for them. Planet Piss seem way more authentic and not just because I’ve seen the singer slice himself onstage. Probably the most over the top band on this bill Planet Piss have an insane stage show that features a mostly naked man. If you mind seeing a man bounce around in nothing but a really tiny speedo then this set may not be for you. Famous Tragedy open up this rock fest. Doors open at 7:30pm and admission is $7 for over 21 and $10 for under.

The Milestone Club- Lamb Handler, Mego and Grown Up Avenger Stuff 10/2/09- This is my 90’s throwback show of the week! Lamb Handler are all veterans of the 90’s Charlotte alt rock scene and play some killer rock and roll to boot. Silky vocals slide over slinky melodic leads over solid driving beats. This quartet retains the feel of some of their previous bands with a certain 90’s rock flair but still progressing to seem relevant nowadays. Mego are formerly known as Mego Dirge but changed their name for some reason. The guy from Creative Loafing says  they “combine a variety of styles- Taproot, Nirvana, Helmut- into something of their own” who am I to argue? Grown Up Avenger Stuff list their sound as a little bit of just about every genre that you can think of. However when I listen to them they sound like Mazzy Star. Not that it’s a bad thing, but they claim to sound like the Foo Fighters if they had a female vocalist. My opinion the only way they would sound like the Foo Fighters is if Dave Grohl took waaay to much valium. But they will be a really chill opener for this show and that’s okay too, even if they do think they sound like the Foo Fighters! Doors are at 8pm and admission is $6 for over 21 and $8 for under. 18+ only.

Happy 10th Anniversary Dead Kings!!

The Milestone Club- Dead Kings 10 year Anniversary show 10/3/09- Has it really been 10 years?? My own band My So-Called Band attempted to reach the 10 year plateau but fell short by about a year or so before imploding in on ourselves. But Jeff Williams has quietly ( and musically not so quietly!) been plugging away at it for 10 years now as the Dead Kings. Along the way they’ve developed a reputation for a wicked sense of humor and satire mixed with an ever escalating stage show. They actually built a stage set to look like Hell at one show! These guys will do whatever it takes to throw the most insanely over the top show and I’m sure this will be the spectacle to end all spectacles. Musically they are a solid rock and roll outfit somewhere in Motorhead-ish territory. Jeff has also developed quite a stage persona as Biggy Stardust, some of you will recognize him as the voice of conservative reason on the political section of our forum. Unabashedly politically incorrect and on purpose obnoxious Biggy and the Dead Kings deliver. And the flyer like one of their cd’s is dedicated to “Hot Black Chicks”! Come out and pay tribute to one of the hardest working groups of road warriors in Charlotte, kudos Biggy! You earned the hard way!! Opening are Dirtbag Love Affair (again??) and the King Sized Killers who are a punk band from Shelby NC. Doors are at 8pm and admission is $7 for over 21 and $9 for under. 18+ only please.

Neighborhood Theater- Colin Hay ( Men at Work) 10/2/09- I had to mention this show because I absolutely loved Colin’s vocals in 80’s group Men at Work. The thing you may not know is they had a few small hits here during the 80’s but they were huge in their native country of Australia and they still are. Still Colin’s been doing solo work and I love his acoustic take on Men at Works ” Overkill”. Find it and download it and you’ll see what I mean. He has an absolutely haunting voice and is a great pop songwriter. Come for the nostalgia, stay for the songwriting. It’ll be a fun night for sure! Show starts at 8pm and admission is $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

Puckett’s Farm Equipment- The Straight 8’s, The Tremors and Diamond Jem & The Ace 10/2/09- Shows like this remind everyone why Puckett’s is the high temple in Charlotte’s rockabilly scene! The Straight 8’s are rockabilly with a healthy dose of surf and they are bound to rock the doors off the place. The Tremors are one of my favorites from Greensboro with a psychobilly sound and the vocals of Jerry Lee Lewis on meth, these guys always keep your feet tapping. Diamond Jem & The Ace are the side project for Jem Crossland and it goes even further into traditional rockabilly territory than his other band, the Hypertonics. Stripping it down to just guitar and bass Jem mines the early Sun records catalog for inspiration and comes up with some of the most pure rockabilly you’re gonna find anywhere!

Snug Harbor- Joe Buck Yourself, Appalucia 9/30/09- Appalucia continue the never ending recruiting drive for their musical militia with an appearance at Snug Harbor. These traditionalist play their own blend of Carolina mountain music as filtered through the minds of Andy the Doorbum, Wiley Buck Boswell and Corey Ziggler.  Joe Buck meanwhile is a maniac. Flat out, I know no other way to say it. He’s the side man to Hank III and is developing a hell of a following for his solo act as well. Menacing and over the top, his one man band act is something to behold. This is a hell of a way to end the month of September, that’s for sure! 10pm starting time, price unknown.

The Not Likelys, Princess & The Criminals and Jojo Taterhead Revival at SK Net Cafe!

SK Net Cafe- The Not Likelys, Princess & The Criminals and Jojo Taterhead Revival 10/3/09- Anyone who was at Punk Rock Picnic 2 will agree that the side stage performance of the Not Likelys had some of the wildest pits of the whole show. And why wouldn’t it? The Not Likelys bring a mix of punk and ska blended with a working class work ethic. Basically they rock and it’s hard to stand still when they are belting out killer punk classics! Also anyone who was at that show will attest that Jojo Taterhead Revival had one of the best Charlotte debuts of all times! The crowd ate up this brand new ska/ reggae group comprised of former members of DSS. Add Princess and Criminals to this show and you have a great punk/ ska show that is only $5 bucks!! No surcharge? No shit! Show will start at 9pm so get out there early because from what I’ve heard Jojo Taterhead is opening so you don’t want to miss out!!

Come to the show or Michael Cain will put a cap in your ass!!