“Well the rain keeps pouring down, nobodys coming out. We’ll play anyway, until they shut us down!” – Someplace Along the River- The Overmountain Men

Sorry, I was looking out the window at the insane amount of rain we’re getting and thought those lyrics about summed it up. If you haven’t checked out the Overmountain Men or gotten a copy of “Glorious Day”, which came out the other week you should. It’s some great stuff! Hopefully you’re staying warm and dry on this rainy Friday. In the meantime let’s take a look ahead and see what’s going on next weekend in this edition of Next Week!

The Milestone Club- Andy the Doorbum’s 5 year anniversary w/ Andy the Doorbum, 25 Minutes to Go, Babyshaker and 2013 Wolves 2/12/10- Has it been 5 years since Andy the Doorbum first appeared on the Charlotte scene? Hard to believe it’s been that long! But you’ll be hard pressed to find a musician who is more beloved by the Charlotte scene in general. His go for broke intensity that he brought to solo acoustic shows first brought him to the collective attention of the scene. Then the cd’s came out. I wasn’t fortunate enough to get the demo, but I did get a copy of his first full length titled “Art is Shit”. It literally blew me away! Take the intensity he shows in his solo shows with an incredible depth. The collage of sounds were woven into a sonic tapestry and in my review last year I declared that it might be the best thing to come out of the local scene. Combine that with the fact that Andy has taken his live band on tour this past year and he definitely deserves more than just a tip of the hat from the local scene! He’s a Charlotte original and our scene is better because of the Doorbum! It seems like the local music community agrees with me as the opening slots on this show are a bunch of ringers. 25 Minutes to Go play some straight up rock / punk rock with sing along choruses and recently played a 5 year anniversary themselves. Babyshaker play a glammed out punk tinged form of rock with liberal sprinklings of the New York Dolls and they recently celebrated their 10 year anniversary. Opening is the always massive 2013 Wolves. Massive sound is not what you’re used to in a two piece but these guys will blow the top of your head off. Come out, celebrate and don’t forget to tip your local doorbum!! Admission is $6 for over 21 and $8 for under! Doors at 8pm and it’s 18+.

Ska/ Hip Hop Summit 2010

Tremont Music Hall- Stillnotdead.com presents: Ska/ Hip Hop Summit 2010 w/ The Thought Criminals, IED, Angry Banana and The Real Deal  2/13/10- I talked about this show earlier in the week but just wanted to remind you about it. Now that the dust has settled on the Tremont controversy and we know that it will definitely be around we thought it was high time to have another ska party at Tremont. The twist this time is that we’ve invited local explosive hip hop live band, The Thought Criminals to join in the fun. These guys mix up hip hop with every other genre they can think of and come across as a  modern equivalent of Parliament. Also on this party are local rock/ ska/ revolutionaries IED who have a brand new cd out that is incredible to say the least. If you don’t have a copy you a missing out! The real pleasure at this show is that we’re welcoming two touring ska bands to Charlotte for this show. Angry Banana from New Orleans and The Real Deal from Canada! So show up early and rock out to some great music at this all ages party we’re throwing for you at Tremont. It’s all ages, the cover is $7 bucks and we’ve gotten Tremont to waive the surcharge for the night! Hopefully we’ll see everyone there!!

I did also want to mention that there is a pop punk show at SK Net Cafe on Saturday February 13th as well. This show will feature We Shout Goodnight, Bracing for Impact and The Speak Of. The cover for this show is $3 bucks and the doors open at 9pm. I’m not sure about the age range on this one but it is probably 18+.  I’ve noticed that SK Net has been having quite a few of the smaller punks shows recently but the problem is you have to pay close attention as they don’t update their web calendar like they should. In a few weeks they have Murder Media coming back to town with Razorkat and I believe the Not Likelys. Anyway, keep an eye out for those shows. If I find out about them ahead of time I’ll definitely pass the word along.

Well that’s it for this week! Try to stay safe and dry and we’ll see you next time!

Ryan Dead

Last week we put up flyers for not one but two big shows! It’s rare for us to do two shows this close together but since that’s the week of my birthday, as well as Matt’s from Dead Bodies Don’t Drown, we decided to team up and keep the party rocking!

Dance the night away!

First off we have the Ska/ Hip Hop Summit 2010 at Tremont Music Hall! This event features local live band hip hop artist The Thought Criminals! If you haven’t seen these guys they are awesome, combining elements of Parliament with Wu-Tang with explosive stage presence, these guys have a really hard to nail down style and put on a killer live show. Next up is IED! Local fans won’t need a description but for those who are uninitiated, IED are local ska-core revolutionaries. They combine the intense qualities of hardcore with the uptempo catchy nature of ska, often switching seamlessly between the two styles within a single song. They recently released their long awaited debut cd and you definitely want to pick up a copy if you don’t have it! If those weren’t good enough reasons to come to the show we’re also proud to announce that ska/ punk band Angry Banana from New Orleans will be playing Charlotte for the first time! If you haven’t heard of them check out their myspace page at www.myspace.com/angrybananaska. Also on the show is Canadian ska band the Real Deal! That’s right international ska at Tremont! Check out the Real Deal at www.myspace.com/therealdeal! In my opinion this group of Canadian ska lovers have a high energy show that will blow you away! The real kicker on this show is that it’s $7 with no surcharge! That’s right it’s all ages, there’s ska and there is absolutely no upcharge for under 21! I figured it was the least I could do since this is basically my early b-day show so I figured I’d give all of you a present instead! Have fun!!

Happy Bday Matt!

Speaking of birthdays, it’s also Matt’s from Dead Bodies Don’t Drown. So we decided to team up and for the first time ever DBDD and SND present Matt’s 27th annual birthday bash! For those of you who haven’t heard of these parties, they’ve become legendary in the carnage and debauchery that is unleashed at them! This year will be no exception and may push the boundaries of just how far you can take a show, even by Milestone standards. Let’s look at the facts. First off, it’s Matt’s birthday. Matt founded Dead Bodies Don’t Drown so that should be reason enough. Second, it’s 3 days after my birthday so if you missed me at the Tremont show, catch me here! Third, check out the bands! Seriously, who parties like the South Side Punx? Nobody! If you party harder than these guys, you’re probably dead! IED? Oh yeah, fresh off the ska show at Tremont the week before IED are bound to bring their patented sonic fury! 2013 Wolves live behind a wall of sound that is unbelievable for a two piece! Plus you didn’t hear it here but there will probably be another local band playing the show unannounced. Which one you may ask? I can’t tell you but you’ll never see them coming because they’re sneaky like ninjas. Lastly, the party got a little wilder this year because Matt invited the Gore Gore Luchadores to come party. What the hell is that you may ask? Basically, take you average local girl on the scene or a Charlotte Rollergirl, who knows, and strip them to their undies or less and put them in a kiddie pool full of fake blood and gore and make them fight for their lives against the masked girls of Gore Gore Luchadores! These masked pretties don’t play nice and trust me don’t stand close unless you wanna look like your an accident victim! Who knows maybe the Gore Gore Luchadores will have a bday present for Matt! All this carnage will only set you back $5 bucks if you’re over 21 and $7 if you’re under 21. And sorry this one is definitely 18+!

Btw, I’ve heard that this is being declared a benefit with all proceeds going to Diabetes research in the name of Stuart Chamberlain, also of DBDD who passed away last year!

Okay so I admit I’ve had IED’s new cd for a while and never wrote a review on it. It actually hasn’t left my cd player in the kitchen, which is reserved for music to rock out to while cooking, a high honor in my house. In any case, a reader of Stillnotdead has beat me to it! Eli Culp recently got the cd at Throwdown Fest on January 10th and wrote this review of the cd. Check it out and let’s hope we hear more from Eli in the future!!

Whole-Hearted…Yet Half-Assed

Queen City hardcore ska

IED
Intelligence, Equality, Debauchery.

Although often viewed as the younger brothers to the Charlotte punk scene IED have obviously and relentlessly taken the scene by full force with their full length album: Whole-Hearted…Yet Half-Assed. Clocking in at just over twenty five minutes the album captures the essence of any live IED show. Its very rare that a band can transfer their energy from a live show to a recording, but IED has come very close. The album is full of raw, uncut energy. Each and every song is just as hard hitting as the last. This album blew away any expectations I had at ALL. First of all I wasn’t sure how good the sound quality would be. I mean how good can the sound quality for a punk album be without sounding to overproduced? Right? In this case quite good. The only thing that would be bothersome to the majority of people is that its almost impossible to understand anything Justin is saying, except of  my favorite track S.W.A.N., unless one is familiar with the lyrics, which brings me to my next point: the album packaging. When I got my copy from Kevin at the Throwdown Fest I was expecting to get an unmarked cd in an empty Suicide Machines case. Instead I got a cd case wrapped in plastic. I know right! Crazy! Also the album artwork is more professional then I think anyone was expecting. The cover picture depicting the lighter side of IED, while the back shows the side of them you probably wouldn’t want to run into walking down the road at night. On the cd insert there is a copy of the lyrics for all of us who are unable to make out what is being said. On the whole Whole-Hearted…Yet Half-Assed is a very good album for the majority of people who are into punk music. Obviously it isn’t made for everyone. I have a strong feeling that IED will be getting quite a bit attention from all over the state with this album. Lets hope so, not just for them, but for Charlotte as well.

Eli Culp

Dance the night away with the Slackers!!

Stillnotdead just found out the Slackers are coming back to Charlotte!! Last time they played we had a blast dancing the night away and have a ton of videos on our Myspace Video page to prove it! The show will be at the Visulite Theater on Jan 29th and tickets are just $14 bucks!! For more info go to www.visulite.com for more details!

Here are a few shows that I wanted to add to the mix. Check them out cause they will be massive fun!

The Milestone Club 10/30/09 DBDD presents: South Side Punx, Brainworms, Jojo Taterhead Revival and Snacktruck- Dead Bodies Don’t Drown suffered a horrible loss earlier this year with the passing of Stuart Chamberlain, however they vowed to carry on the tradition of great shows and are getting down to business with this pre-Halloween bash. Advertised as “the party that won’t end until Halloween” , this bash will feature local punk rockers South Side Punx who will do their best to rock the house with their near riot inducing sing along anthems. Also appearing on the card is Jojo Taterhead Revival, a great ska/reggae band formed from the ashes of DSS. Also on this show are a couple of bands off of Rorschach Records. Brainworms are a Richmond , Va band that reminds me of the Meat Puppets early stuff. At times it’s quirky, other times it’s a noise fest, either way it’s straight up awesome! Snacktruck are also from Richmond, Va and the first song I clicked on was a strange instrumental that one minute sounded like the Ventures and the next minute rock forward like a really strange prog rock song. I get the feeling from listening to the first couple of songs on their myspace that these guys tend to be more than a little math rock. Cool stuff, will be interesting to see how this plays out live. It’s a riff-a-thon complete with off beat (on purpose) drums and no vocals that I can find on the first few songs anyway. It’ll be a very interesting night at the ‘Stone. Doors are at 8pm and admission is $5 for over and $7 for under. 18+ only.

The Milestone Club 11/2/09- A Wilhelm Scream w/ Living with Lions, The Riot Before and We Shout Goodnight- A Wilhelm Scream have toured with the likes of Rise Against, Strung Out and Lagwagon and in fact just got off tour with Hot Water Music. Now they are invading the Ghetto Fortress in a last minute booked show. This is a really good opportunity to check out a band that Alternative Press hailed as “the new heirs of the skate punk scene!” Personally I think these guys have a rocking sound. High energy tempo riffs with gruff vocals screaming out the lyrics over the top of the wall of guitars. Anybody that has a song called ” Bulletproof Tiger” has got to be cool in my book! Also on the bill is Living with Lions who have a little more melodic, mid tempo feel to them. However the song I listened to had a massive sing along “Woahohwoah” chorus so that should bring plenty of opportunities for sing alongs. The Riot Before are from Richmond, Va ( another band? What’s that 3 in one weekend?) And claim to be so not punk that it’s punk. Of course you can expect them to be punk with statements like that. Truthfully they rock pretty hard though. They lack the “really big wall of sound” that the headliners have but that’s a good thing. A little more stripped down but very melodic, these guys aren’t above doing a few acoustic sounding numbers. My favorite song is the very catchy, uptempo ” Youcantsexydancetopunkrock”. Fun stuff for sure. Charlotte band We Shout Goodnight opens the show and they claim they are “Charlotte Punk Rock” in big day glow letters. Truthfully this is more new punk than old punk but it’s still really uptempo melodic stuff. Seems more rock than punk but it’s good stuff and it kind of reminds me of another Charlotte band, The Junior Astronomers. This should be an epic night of rock at the Milestone Club. I highly encourage those of you who feel up to getting you ass rocked on a Monday to get out to the show and check out these awesome bands. The way things go in this town it will be a long time before most of these bands ever come through again. Doors are at 8pm and admission is $10 for over and $12 for under 21. 18+ only please.

Ryan Dead