Oops! I got so worked up with all the Appalucia going’s on at the Milestone Club that I left out a show!!

This Monday September 6th the Milestone is open for Labor Day with Harptallica, All Girl Boys Choir and KP Soloman5000. You may ask “what’s Harptallica?” The answer is simple it’s two girls playing Metallica on harps. I really can’t describe it any better than that. And as weird as it may seem to you, it actually works. It’s amazing to me how Metallica doesn’t sound unusual as an arrangement for harp. It ends up sounding like any other classical harp arrangement, which is a testament to the composing of the early Metallica stuff. ( Master of Puppets, Ride The Lightning..) In any case it’s cool way to end the Labor Day weekend. Also on the show is All Girl Boys Choir featuring ex Gore Gore Girls/ Kelly Osbourne Band/ Lillux and the wonderful soulful, stylings of KP Soloman 5000, also of 25 Minutes to Go. So if you’re looking for a good way to unwind after a long holiday weekend come to the Milestone and chill out to the tranquil sounds of Master of Puppets(??). Doors are at 8pm and admission is $8.00 for over 21 and $10 for under 21.

Okay, I know you will all be rocking the cookouts this weekend since it is Labor Day, otherwise known as “Summer’s Last Hurrah”! And really you have to ask, “Where has the summer gone?” I mean, it seems like yesterday we were talking about Memorial Day and now the kid’s are back in school, college is back in session and the early mornings are starting to feel righteous. But oh well, no use crying about the end of Summer. Besides Halloween is right around the corner and that’s my favorite time of the year!  In the meantime, there are some awesome shows coming up this weekend so put down the charcoal and gather round to see what’s going on this week in our special Labor Day edition!

Over at the Tremont Music Hall they are starting the holiday weekend early on Thursday September 2nd with LA, California’s Autolux, with Gold Panda and Cement Stars. Autolux seem to specialize in building an incredible wall of sound. Some songs drift on like ambient waves of sound in the middle of an ocean of tranquility while in other songs the waves crash into the shore with a spectacular effect. Heady stuff indeed! Gold Panda I’m not so sure about. It’s all manipulated riffs and beats and loops and it’s extremely trippy. I think this is how the rave sounds when you’re on a ton of drugs. Charlotte’s Cement Stars are more to my taste with some nice 80’s sounding synth, smooth harmonies and breathy lyrics. Honestly at times these guys remind me of the Petshop Boys and maybe straying as far modern as Radiohead. Should be a great atmospheric show to chill out to after a long week. Doors are at 8pm and admission is $10 in advance and $12 at the door with a $3 surcharge for under 21. Plus it’s an all ages show!

Friday September 3rd at Tremont Music Hall they host F-Dux with Edifide, Ghost Unknown, Hoodlumz and The East Derrelycs. East Detroit’s F-Dux honestly seems like a white DMX to me. Lyrics of murder and mayhem aren’t my cup of tea but he pulls it off well with some great production. Charlotte’s own Edifide seem like the odd man out on this bill. These guys appear to have taken a different path and actually apologize for obscenities on their previous releases, vowing to try to keep obscene subject matter and language off their newer stuff. I have to give it up, I really dig their flow and beats, and I have to give props to them for trying to be positive role models. Ghost Unknown, also from Charlotte, is a little farther out there lyrically and I’m not sure I totally dig it but it’s not bad. Also of interest is Hoodlumz who surprised me by being from Mooresville, NC. That’s right Racetown U.S.A., and I mean that in a Nascar type way. Hoodlumz are two white guys and a white girl who could use a little better production on their recordings but it will be interesting to see what they develop into. As it stands all I heard on the myspace was short clips of each of them spitting a verse individually, but they do get props for sampling Whitesnake’s “Still of the Night”! Also playing are the East Derrelycs, which I didn’t find a link for on the Tremont site so I apologize for not talking more about them. Doors are at 8pm and admission is $7 bucks plus a $3 surcharge if you are under 21. This show is also all ages.

This Friday September 3rd Snug Harbor host Lamb Handler w/ the Matt Kurtz One and Zoe Vette & The Revolvers. Lamb Handler are one of my favorites on the local scene, playing a smooth rock and roll sound that has recently been sprinkled with elements of country. Don’t let the jangle fool you, these guys are still the shepherd’s of rock in Charlotte! Also on the bill is the indescribable Matt Kurtz One. Imagine someone kicking out the jams like the MC5, but only having one member in the band. That’s right, one man to play drums, guitar, bass, keyboard and vocals, and he pulls it off rather well. I was really jamming off the videos on his myspace, you should definitely check it out. Also on the show is femme fatale Zoe Vette & The Revolvers, with a grrrlll power message and flaming crotches, what’s not to love. This will definitely be a hard rocking show and a really good time at Snug Harbor.

Thurday September 2nd the Milestone Club welcomes Greg Ginn and Gary Piazza with  Buck Mountain Stranglers and  Great Architect. In case you live under a rock Greg Ginn is the legendary guitarist for Black Flag and still records on SST records. The band nowadays plays country-ish instrumentals and is pretty out there. Still it’s a chance to check out a man who was a pioneer of American punk. Opening on this show will be handled by the hilarious Buck Mountain Stranglers and Great Architect.

The rest of the weekend at the Milestone Club who is a big 3-day festival the entire weekend. It’s the Appalucia Gun Club Weekend aka Lolappalucia, aka Buck Boswell Fest or “My Cold Dead Hands” fest. Whatever you want to call it, it’s going on all weekend at the Ghetto Fortress. It starts with a bang (pardon the pun) on Friday night September 3rd with 2013 Wolves, Hectagons, The Overmountain Men and Leadville Social Club. Saturday the 14th things definitely take a wilder turn with Gore Gore Luchadores, PPR, Appalucia, IED and Nesh. Sunday night the whole thing goes into overdrive with Andy the Doorbum, Babyshaker, 25 Minutes to Go, The Bout It Boyz and For Disaster. Whew! That’s a ton of bands on a holiday weekend. I think you should get a medal for going to all three nights of it and surviving. But at least you have Monday off…. Doors are at 8pm all 3 nights and admission is $8 for over 21 and $10 f0r under on Friday night and $6 for over 21 and $8 for under on the other two nights. And no there is no package deal to get admission to all three nights. Now that’s a show where you get more bang for your buck! Or is it more Buck for your buck! Just picking Buck!! Sorry couldn’t resist the pun!

Well that’s it for this week! You guys have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend and we’ll see you next week!

Thanks for the support!

Ryan Dead

Hey what’s up? I will go ahead and apologize for the short length of this week’s column, but it appears to be a little slower than usual this weekend. Of course, with the killer shows that have taken place the last few weeks we were bound to have a slow weekend sooner or later. In any case there are still some quality gigs going on including one colossal send off for a long time Charlotte band. Let’s take at look at what’s going on this week in Charlotte Music!

First off the Milestone Club will have a homecoming of a Charlotte fave tonight Wednesday August 25th when they welcome Wet Mango, Perfo, Human Pippi Armstong, Ovenrake and Rainbow Dragoneyes. Wet Mango features Christina Fuentes who was last known in Charlotte as Sonic Death Rabbit. This is her first Charlotte show since moving back to the left coast and she will be back with her signature Gameboy meets bass in yo’ face sound. It’s kinda techno, it’s kinda videogamish, it’s kinda indescribable, but considering all the attention that has been popping up with underground hip hop performers using nintendo sounds and in some cases even playing nintendos I will lay one more title on Christina and that’s pioneer. She’s been rocking the gameboy sound for a long time as Sonic Death Rabbit and now carries on the tradition as The Wet Mango. Also on the bill are Salisbury NC/ Chicago Ill garage rock band Perfo, casio keyboard enthusiasts and all around strange dude Human Pippi Armstrong and The Wet Mangos tourmates, Ovenrake. Ovenrake also uses gameboys and other sound chips to carve out bass heavy, unusual music. Lastly on the bill is Rainbow Dragoneyes, who also finds another way to take advantage of a nintendo sound chip. This is being billed as the Trans-American Chip tour, come check it out and be enlightened to a form of music that’s sure to blow your mind! Doors are at 8:00pm and admission is $6 for over 21 and $8 for under 21. 18+ only please.

The Milestone Club will also be the sight of the final show for The Lights Fluorescent, this Saturday August 28th. It’s been quite sometime since TLF came on the scene and slowly took it by storm. Rarely has a band erupted onto the scene in such a way as to capture not only the hearts of the critics, but the fans as well. Whether you liked them for the songwriting, or the wonderfully layered music or for their incredible live performances you have to admit one thing, this guys could do it all. I thought for sure that one day I would be writing about how cool it was to have an awesome indie/ rock band from Charlotte that made it onto the major, wiping away the “hometown of Firehouse” label that Charlotte has been stuck with. Hell even the Evett’s list Concord as their hometown. Anyway sadly, it wasn’t to be and now we must bid farewell to a truly great Charlotte band. This Saturday the light goes out, but hopefully only until someone else flips the switch.. Also on the show that night are a great assortment of Charlotte indie/ garage rock bands including Hammer No More the Fingers, Junior Astronomers, The Lesser Pauls and Perry Fowler. Make it out and come early, it’s gonna be packed. Doors are at 8pm and admission is $6 for over 21, $8 for under 21. 18+ only please!

Meanwhile over at Tremont Music Hall the media is all in a frenzy over the impending arrival of You Hang Up. Their show is Thursday August 26th and you may ask, “what is all the fuss over these guys?” To that regard I have one word for you…. Malcolm. As in, “Malcolm in the Middle“. That’s right Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz plays drums for You Hang Up. With all the media blitz that Frankie brings to the band you have to wonder, “Are they any good?” Well I’ll put it this way, it’s not exactly my cup o’ tea but it sounds as good as any other music I hear in the “modern rock” genre. The songs are passable, angsty but not dangerous and it’s all polished up nicely. So show up for the novelty and stay to hear stuff that 106.5 should be eating up, if they weren’t stuck in the 90’s… Opening are The Decour and Matchgrip. Doors are at 7:00pm and admission is $12 in advance and $15 DOS with an additional $3 surcharge for under 21. Oh yeah, and it’s all ages.

This Saturday August 28th Tremont Music Hall is hosting the Flat Tires with special guests Mad Brother Ward & The Dividers and Asound. If you remember back to the start of the year we had The Flat Tires and Mad Brother Ward on the first Stillnotdead show of the year and it was a blast! This time they are back and they’re not taking any prisoners! The Flat Tires are a relentless rockabilly/ psychobilly band that currently hails from Hickory, NC and have a great time blasting tunes down their audience’s throat. I don’t think you’ll find a rowdier rockabilly band in existence, hell they even encourage their own audience to hurl beer cans at them! Also no stranger to controversy is Mad Brother Ward,who will be backed by his band the Divders. This guy has been a staple on the local scene since early in the 80’s, appear and disappearing with equal skill. Still for all of his crankiness you’ll be hard pressed to find better straight up punk rock than Mad Brother Ward & The Dividers. Not only will they not worry about hurting your feelings, they scream in your face with an obnoxiousness rarely accomplished by so many punk bands nowadays. In an age where it’s cool to seem “defiant and snotty” as an image,  MBW are the real deal. Any local punks wanting lessons on how it’s done should report to Tremont this Saturday because Ward is definitely a punk rock icon and school will be in full session Saturday night. Opening are Connelly Springs NC band the Asound, who owe a huge tribute to bands such as Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer, in other words loud and sludgy! Doors are at 8:00pm and admission is $6 plus an additional $3 surcharge for under 21.

Well that’s it for this edition. We’ll have more next week with our special Laborday weekend edition! Also look out later this week we’ll start posting the videos from Punk Rock Picnic 3! See you at the shows!!

Thanks for the support!

Ryan Dead

Man how time flies! I can’t believe it’s already August! That means we’re less than two weeks away from Punk Rock Picnic 3! Jeez, I’ve got a lot of work to do to get that show ready but you guys don’t have to worry about that, all you have to do is show up! In the meantime let’s take a look at what’s going on in local music!

This Friday August 6th The Milestone Club welcomes Guttermouth, The New Threat, South Side Punx and The Not Likelys. Huntington Beach CA’s Guttermouth blast out high energy, melodic punk rock with clever, humorious lyrics. It’s rare they come through the area so be sure to get out and check out these guys! The New Threat are from Florida and have been around since 2003. These guys play it just like it should be, loud and fast with barely a break from the sonic assault. Also on the bill are local kings of street punk, South Side Punx and excellent working class punks, The Not Likelys. This is a great show with a couple of great touring bands and a good representation of Charlotte’s own local punks, check it out if at all possible! Doors are at 8pm and admission is $13 for over 21 and $15 for under.

Sunday August 8th the Milestone Club will welcome Whatever Brains, Yardwork and Brain Flannel. Charlotte’s own Brain Flannel have a slight punk influence but with an ear shredding love of distortion, although the second song on their myspace seems to remind me of the Minute Men a little…Yardwork on the other hand takes much more of an indie-pop direction with their music. The melodic pop reminds me a little of the Flaming Lips, which is a definite compliment in my book. Although the Flaming Lips singer would never scream out the lyrics with the wild abandon of Yardwork. I definitely dig it and hope to catch them live soon! Raleigh’s Whatever Brains seems to fit perfectly between the sound of Brain Flannel and Yardwork, on one hand they are poppy and catchy but on the other they are distorted and fast as hell. Should be a great show, even if it’s guaranteed to make you late for work the next day! Doors are at 8pm and admission is $6 for over 21 and $8 for under.

Over at Tremont Music Hall I forgot to mention a show last week so I will take the time to mention it now. If you haven’t made plans for tonight and you like music heavy enough to loosen the bolts in the cars in the parking lot then amble over to Tremont Music Hall for the bowel shaking sounds of Black Cobra, Howl, Struck by Lightning and Machete! This show will probably set off  the richter scale so don’t be worried if they report seismic activity in Charlotte tonight. Of course, it’s always possible with the power of Black Cobra and Machete in the same place it may warp the fabrics of reality and bring about the end of the world for real. If that’s the case it’s better to be at ground zero ( The site of the cataclysm, not the club in Spartanburg!) so head on out to Tremont and hold on for dear life! Doors are at 8pm and admission is $10 in advance, $12 dos with a $3 surcharge for under 21!

On a completely different note, Tremont Music Hall is having an 80’s hair metal revival next Tuesday August 10th as they welcome Faster Pussycat withL.A. Guns and John Corabi ( formerly of Motley Crue). I have to admit I grew up in the 80’s surrounded by metal and punk. I actually had the first cd by sleazy Los Angeles rockers Faster Pussycat. It was a fun guilty pleasure and occasionally it still is. I was never into L.A. Guns though, even though my wife assures me that they are awesome. I’ve never heard of John Corabi, but I assume he was one of the fill in singers from Motley Crue. Basically I think it’s all good to wax nostalgic for one night and rock out with some 80’s metal/ hard rock. So put on your spandex ( just kidding, please dont!) and tease your hair and head on out to Tremont Music Hall. Doors are at 8pm and admission is $15 in advance and $18 dos with $3 surcharge for under 21.

I would also like to mention the benefit for Charles Inman that is taking place at Snug Harbor tonight. From what I hear Charles was injured in a car crash and Snug decided to throw a benefit to help with the medical bills. The lineup is stellar! It features Charlotte glam punk band Babyshaker, the sleazy sounds of the Troublewalkers and the rockabilly, greaser rock riot of the Belmont Playboys. The doors open at 8pm and the show starts at 9pm, which is early by Snug standards. Cover is $5 and goes to a good cause so get on out and rock out for a cause!

Also if you’re in the mood for rockabilly, head up to Puckett’s Farm Equipment Saturday night August 7th to check out the Bo-Stevens. These guys play some wonderful rockabilly/ western swing and would be a treat to watch in the “Bob’s Country Bunker” type confines of Puckett’s. I suspect the show will start around 9pm and cover will be $5.

Well that’s it for this week, I’ve got to get back to work getting Punk Rock Picnic 3 ready to blast off next week! Hope to see you guys at the show! Until then have fun and we’ll see you next week!

Thanks for the support,

Ryan Dead

Hey what’s up? I bet more than a few of you are feeling the after effects of the GBH / ANTiSEEN/ Outernational show last night at the Tremont Music Hall. By the way, if you went to the show send me a review! If I use your review you’ll get a prize!!  Btw, don’t forget about the Mr. Dibbs, Mr. Invisible, Thought Criminals show taking place tonight at the Milestone Club!! Go back and look at last week’s edition for a review of the show and then come back here to read this week’s edition. It’s okay I’ll wait……………………….. Oh, you’re back?! Cool, well now that you’ve been informed about what to do tonight let’s get on with the rest of the weekend!

First up Tremont Music Hall will welcome some more punk rock legends this Friday July 30th when they host Batusis with Prima Donna and the Mangles. Batusis features Cheetah Chrome formerly of the Dead Boys and Sylvain Sylvain formerly of the New York Dolls. The result of this combination is some really good, grimy rock and roll with edgy lyrics and just the right amount of snarl and grittiness. Alot of Charlotte’s young punk bands would do well to take notes from these veterans! Also on the show is Prima Donna, a band from Hollywood, CA who definitely look the part. They look very glam and rock and roll that could have been influenced by the New York Dolls, but more likely they got it from listening to Jet. I wouldn’t hold that against them though, I hear elements of Ziggy Stardust era Bowie and it’s pretty fun stuff. Opening the show in their first of two appearances this weekend is locals The Mangles. These guys are a great pick to open the show and haven’t gotten enough attention on the local scene. They have a gritty, garage rock style that lends a nervous energy to their slightly pop influenced tunes. To top it off the vocals kind of remind me of the Ramones and that is definitely a good thing. Doors for this show are at 8pm and admission is $10 in advance and $12 day of show with a $3 surcharge for under 21. And yes it is all ages so come out and witness more Punk rock history at Tremont!

The Lights Fluorescent will shine no more at the end of next month and in the meantime they continue their farewell tour with a stop at the Milestone Club. This Friday, July 30th,  the Milestone Club welcomes The Lights Fluorescent with Shotgun Lover and 500 Miles to Memphis. By now you are all familiar with the soon departing The Lights Fluorescent. This indie rock band captured the attention of the local scene, both critics and fans with their incredible live performances and dazzling songwriting but soon it will all be a memory. That’s a bummer, so be sure to check them out before they’re gone for good. Shotgun Lover are from the Nashville area and they have a slightly polished, garage rock type sound that is accented by an organ in the background and just enough honky tonk under the surface to keep your head bobbing. 500 Miles to Memphis have become like one of the family over at the Milestone Club and it doesn’t seem far to refer to them as “out of towners”, even though they are from Ohio. In any case these guys seem to straddle the line between rock, country and a little nod of punk for good measure. But they seem to handle at that tight rope walking with ease and almost at times sound like a younger, cooler Green Day dong the country thing. And no matter what you think of GD, it’s a compliment to these guys. If the music business was fair, these guys would already be bigtime! Doors are at 8pm and admission is $6 for over 21 and $8 for under 21. 18+ only.

Also at the Milestone Club this Saturday July 31st is Lamb Handler, Unnamed and The Mangles. Lamb Handler have long been a favorite of mine on the local scene, playing some of the best pure rock and roll to ever come out of the city. Unnamed are a power trio from Savannah Ga who seem to have cut their teeth on psychedelic rock. They blast off into a sludgy cosmic ooze of heavy rock goodness and should go great with Lamb Handler. I can imagine that their live shows are loud as hell. This is the kind of music you feel as well as hear. The Mangles make their second appearance of the weekend at this show and if you didn’t catch them with Batusis the night before definitely come and check them out in the up close and personal confines of the Milestone Club. Doors are at 8pm and admission is $6 for over 21 and $8 for under 21. 18+ only please.

Also wanted to make a quick mention that this weekend Snug Harbor welcome Future Birds, Pullman Strike and Clint Maul on Friday July 30th. I’ve heard alot of good things about Pullman Strike and hopefully they will continue to build a fanbase on the local scene! Saturday night July 31st Snug welcomes Babyshaker with The Vicious Guns and One Another. Babyshaker is one of my favorites and one of the few that are still around from when I played in bands. Hopefully the Batusis show will inspire them to continue to crank out high energy/ high attitude glam punk for many more years to come! Just remember if you’re going, Snug is 18+ and the shows don’t usually start till around 10pm!

Well that’s it for this week! We continue to gear up for Punk Rock Picnic 3, which is just a few weeks away! Tune in next week when we’ll take another look into what’s happening in the local music scene!

Thanks for the support!!

Ryan Dead

What’s up everyone? I had an absolute blast hanging out at the Luau at Tremont Music Hall this past Saturday! I managed to catch a couple of videos which I will hopefully have up really soon!  In the meantime, let’s check out what is going on in local music!

The Milestone Club is hopping this week with several killer shows! First up on Friday July 23rd, The Milestone Club welcomes IED w/ Nemes, Sweet Hollow Drive and The Pink Wristband. IED is no stranger to anyone who reads Stillnotdead.com. Their hardcore meets ska approach has garnered them quite a fan following and they’re still riding high off the release of their debut EP ” Whole Hearted….Yet Half Assed”. This time they find themselves sharing the bill with a couple of out of town bands, Worchester MA’s Nemes and Long Island NY’s Sweet Hollow Drive. Both of these bands give off a kind of poppy vibe but take very different approaches to it. Also on this show is The Pink Wrist Band, the side band of Thought Criminals mastermind Mikal Khill. If you expected another hip hop set, think again as TPWB delivers acoustic driven indie, punk songs and yeah there may be small snippets of hip hop in there ( they view beat boxing as a percussion instrument!) but it’s definitely genre crossing, definition defying music! We could use more people on the scene who refuse to see borders! Doors are at 8pm and admission is $6 for over 21 and $8 for under 21.

Saturday the Milestone Club is busy again as they welcome the return of The Have Nots w/ Biggy Stardust & His Wretched Hive and Bracing for Impact! Several months back many of us were sad to see the demise of not only the Dead Kings but also Biggy Stardust’s other band, Biggy Stardust & His Wretched Hive. Fortunately Biggie couldn’t stay away for long and now he is back with as he puts it ” new band, same shitty attitude”. Don’t let him fool you, this band is fun and their attitudes may be shitty but the music is rocking. Think catchy but not poppy garage punk fronted by  the most obnoxious, anti-frontman you can find and you’ll get an idea of what to expect. Boston’s Have Nots are building a stellar reputation in Charlotte for putting on kick ass/ ska influenced punk rock. Come to the show and check out these imports who have been warmly adopted by the Charlotte scene. Opening the show is Rock Hill garage/ punk rockers Bracing For Impact. I recently caught them for the first time at Tremont Music Hall with Taj Motel Trio and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the show! Doors are at 8pm and admission is $6 for over 21 and $8 for under.

This last Milestone Club show is actually next Wednesday but I more than likely won’t do another preview column before that so I thought I would mention the excellent show going on there Wednesday July 28th. The Milestone Club welcomes Mr. Dibbs w/ The Thought Criminals, Mr Invisible, Playdough and Heath McNease. This will be an awesome hip hop show for the Charlotte music community and pairs two of my favorite local hip hop bands, The Thought Criminals and Mr. Invisible! The Thought Criminals are a 9 piece live hip hop band who take a Wu-Tang style influence and mix it with Parliament. The effect is jaw dropping, trust me, the live show is unbelievable and the rhymes are undeniable! Mr. Invisible are a 3 person unit who have been not only busy on the Charlotte scene but have been promoting their art as far away as the left coast recently. The first song on their myspace page is called “Rock Rock” and is really infectious. Their grooves are unbelievable, reminding me of little known 90’s group “Rise Robots Rise”. Be sure to check these guys out and be prepared to bob your head because I don’t think it’s possible not to, hell I’m bobbing my head here at my desk. Now that’s a groove!  Also on the bill is Turntable master Mr Dibbs and southern white rappers, Playdough and Heath McNease. Good jam for a middle of the week show! Show up and be surprised! Doors are at 8pm and admission is $10 in advance and $12 at the door for over 21 and $14 for under 21.

Moving over to Tremont Music Hall they have an excellent show Thursday night July 22nd as they host the Charlotte Music Awards Women in Rock showcase. This estrogen filled showcase features The Situationals, The Upside of Down, Sara Scott and the Amy Broome Band. Come check it out and support the women musicians of Charlotte! Doors are at 7pm and admission is $8 in advance and $10 at the door with a $3 surcharge for under 21.

Next Tuesday, July 27th Tremont Music Hall welcomes GBH with Outernational and Antiseen! GBH are a legendary punk band with 30 years behind them since they first laced up their boots. You can’t really argue with that or the fact that these guys are still active and kicking ass all these years later! Their new cd, Perfume and Piss was produced by Lars Fredrickson of Rancid and is further proof that these guys have never stopped and don’t look likely to anytime soon! Also on the show is new buzz band Outernational, who played a couple of shows at the Milestone a few months back and stirred up a wave of praise from the local scene that is rarely felt. These guys are totally worth it! Their cd was produced by Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and their sound is an indescribably mix of different genres. The Clash-like groove of their song ” Future Rock” has made me a total believer and trust me it will convert you as well! Rounding out this excellent triple bill is our local legends of punk rock, ANTiSEEN. The boys from brutalsville are no spring chickens themselves with nearly 25 years under their belt. But don’t let that fool you, they will blow your head clean off with their sonic assault. This is one of the most serious bills I’ve seen at Tremont in a long time. If you miss this show, you miss a chance to see the past and (hopefully) future of punk rock and that’s heavy! Doors are at 8pm and admission is $12 in advance and $15 at the door with a $3 surcharge for under 21.

Well that’s it for this week! We keep crawling closer to Punk Rock Picnic 3 and I can’t wait! August is gonna be a lot of fun and I hope to see all of you at the shows! Until next week, take care!

Thanks for the support!

Ryan Dead

Hey what’s happening everyone? I hope everyone had a safe and happy Fourth of July. I know a couple of friends of mine didn’t and I hope they continue to keep their head’s up and not let the man get to them too bad. Also I would like to wish a speedy recovery to my brother who is probably reading this out of boredom right now. He unfortunately managed to smash several bones in his foot and as a result he is laid up for awhile. Hope you get well soon! In the meantime you always have youtube or hulu!

Well this week is a little light and as always there are more shows but I’m only going to spotlight 3 shows this week, here they are in no particular order!

Skipping ahead to Sunday, The Milestone Club welcomes THE THOUGHT CRIMINALS with RANDOM (AKA MEGA RAN) & K-MURDOCK (FOREVER FAMICOM) and BLEUBIRD. The Thought Criminals, besides being nothing to fuck with, are one of several local hip hop bands that have me really excited. Their sound can best be described as somewhere between Wu-Tang Clan and Parliament and I have never seen one of their shows that didn’t absolutely rule. Apparently Random is also known as Mega Ran and is known for making music comprised completely from 8 bit sound effects from the game Mega Man, this led to him actually being hired by the videogame company to play at comic con’s and other conventions. I’m guessing that’s similar to K-Murdock and his alter ego Forever Famicon. If you are a fan of 8 bit beats you should definitely turn out for this one as it seems at least this portion of the show will be an 80’s video game-a-thon. Also be sure to get there early to check out Bleubird, an emcee who performs with unequalled intensity and passion. Admission for this show is $8 for 21 and over and $10 for under 21, 18+ only. Doors open at 8:00pm

Puckett’s Farm Equipment is the place to be this Friday July 9th as they welcome THE MAD TEA PARTY with JT & THE DRAGPIPES. I caughtMad Tea Party on 91.7 the other day and thought they were really cool. What’s more awesome about their whirling dervish/ rockabilly/ hillbilly rock style is that it’s a two person show! I thought their approach to melody and rhythm was really unique and the way they made up for the lack of instrumentation was extremely cool, definitely something that would be wildly appreciated live. Also on the show is JT & The Dragpipes, who made their debut at Charlotte Elvis Fest. These guys will look really familiar to local rockabilly fans. The band features former Tommy Ray & The Rayguns front man Tommy Ray along with several of the Rayguns, add local rockabilly mainstay Jem Crossland on co-vocals and lead guitar and you have the makings of a really kick ass traditional rockabilly band. I haven’t got to check these guys out yet but I’m looking to rectify that really soon! Anyway, I don’t know the price or time but it’s a safe bet it’ll be around $5 and start time will be around 9pm at Puckett’s. And Puckett’s is 18+ only please.

Meanwhile over at the Tremont Music Hall on Monday July 12th they welcome AUTHORITY ZERO w/ WHOLE WHEAT BREAD and LIONIZE. Authority Zero are a Mesa, AZ punk band whose music rides the line between intense punk and  off kilter ska. Whole Wheat Bread are an amazing punk power trio that blast out intense punk/ rock anthems. Opening is Lionize, who play an interesting mix of dub/ reggae with small smatterings of punk rock on the edges. It’s definitely a cool vibe that emanates from this band and I really dig the organ which appears to be the glue that holds the sound together. Admission is $10 in advance, $12 day of show with a $3 surcharge for under 21. Doors open at 7:00pm.

That’s it for this week! Be sure to keep an eye on our Facebook page as we will continue listing bands for Punk Rock Picnic 3 leading up to the flyer unveiling next Friday!

Thanks for the support!

Ryan Dead

I found these pics while browsing facebook, they are from the recent Punk Rock Toga Party at the Milestone Club! Special thanks to Dana Haidar for letting us use them!! Click on the image above to view the gallery!

What’s up?! Just when you thought you were rid of me, I come crawling back for more!! Back from my stint in Folsom Prison I’m rowdy and ready to go!! Special thanks goes out to Mikal Khill for helping out with the duties while I was gone doing whatever it was I was doing.. He did a great job and hopefully we’ll see more of him in action in the future.

I also wanted to take the time to mention two HUGE shows we have coming up in August. First up, we have Punk Rock Picnic 3 at Tremont Music Hall on August 14th! If you were at the one last year, you’ll know this is a huge party with two stages and FREE FOOD from Summer of Meat! I personally can’t wait for that one. We’re still finalizing the line up but I will start announcing bands soon, I promise!  Also on August 21st, Stillnotdead.com presents The Overmountain Men with special guest Appalucia and Temperance League! This will be an awesome night of great music and tickets for this one are already on sale!

But that’s way out in August! In the meantime we need to see what’s going on in local music! Let’s check it out!

Diversity is the word of the weekend at the Tremont Music Hall! Thursday night they will be hosting a night of stand up comedy with Aaron Karo. Admission is $8 in advance and $10 at the door with a $3 surcharge for under 21. This show is 18+. I love a good comedy act but that night happens to be my 3 year wedding anniversary so I will be preoccupied. Someone should go and tell me how it was! On Friday night, Tremont welcomes Harvard with Empires, Lights Resolve and One Another. Harvard has been red hot since the release of their new cd a few months back and show no signs of slowing down. It’s good to see a local band having some success at a time that many local bands appear to be fading out! Admission is $6 with a $3 surcharge for under 21 and this show is all ages!  Saturday night Tremont welcomes Slick Idiot featuring former members of KMFDM with special guest Mona Mur and Angels on Acid, who played the Star Wars dance party last month at the Milestone Club. Should be an interesting night of industrial dance, probably a good reminder of what it was like in the upper room of the Pterodactyl Club back in the 90’s. If you don’t know what I’m talking about you were probably too young… Ask me about it sometime, I’ll fill you in.. Anyway, admission for the show is $8 with the usual $3 surcharge for under 21 and the show is all ages.

Over at the Milestone Club things are hopping, as usual. It seems Milestone has been on a roll for a while now, booking some great shows and hosting some really over the top parties. Here’s hoping it continues!  This Thursday June 17th Cataclysm continues the resurgence of the local hip hop scene with their Weekday Crunch! This week they will feature Maf Maddox, JJ Bass, A Moss, 10 Teal and DJ Selecteh E. Plus they boast “live B boys and B girls”. I really dig that we have such a strong push going on right now with the hip hop scene in Charlotte. I know I’ve been vocal in the past for it but I think we could have something really new and cool going on and hopefully we won’t screw it up. Anyway this leads me to my official PARTY OF THE WEEK!!! As I’ve mentioned, the Milestone is known for some wild parties and this one may be the wildest of them all!  This Friday, June 18th is Punk Rock Toga Party 2: It’s Kyle’s Birthday!! Kyle from 25 Minutes to Go will be celebrating his birthday at the wildest toga party imaginable! 25 Minutes to Go will be displaying their incredible ability to drink obscene amounts of alcohol and still play a full set! It’s like their mutants or something…. Maybe it’s their ninja training? Who knows? Also playing at the party are Burning Streets, Bracing For Impact and the Dielectrics. Admission is $6 for over 21 and $8 for under 21 and everyone is of course encouraged to wear a toga! Doors are at 8pm and unfortunately this one is 18+ only.

I will mention that if you can’t get your fill of the Overmountain Men, then you can check out David Childers playing a special solo show over at Snug Harbor Sunday night. He, along with Randy Saxon and Robert Childers will be opening for The Handsome Family. David always puts on a great show and is one of the best songwriter/ performers to ever come out of this area. It’ll be a great show and a treat to watch.

Well that’s a wrap! It’s good to be back and I look forward to some killer shows in the coming weeks! Thanks for the support!

Ryan Dead