Skull Valley

Art All Night 2017

Art All Night 2017, the 20th anniversary, was held from 4pm on April 29th to 2pm April 30th. It was at a new space on 36th Street, the former warehouse being torn down for the construction of condos already underway, rising into the Gibsonian future.

I went to this year's Art All Night during the early evening on the 29th, before I felt awkward and left. I came back at around 1am and had a much better time; I don't like being in crowded galleries when I am trying to look at art. I can't get anything from it with a surging crowd around me: it's both distracting and too forceful, discouraging examination and thoughtfulness. I also went back with my grandmother during the early afternoon on the 30th before everything closed. It was a little depressing afterward, with the hazy sweeping that follows a big party, but it was nice to bring my grandmother to something like this.

Art All Night appeals to me because it is a community endeavor. I hear a lot of people complaining about the "bad art", but they miss the entire point. This is a snapshot of life during each year, at least to those aware and interested in the event. It's a folkloric study, delta blues and the Hookman and the rituals of ancient sorcerers. I do think some of the art is hokey, and I wouldn't expect everyone to like everything. I don't think that's the point though either.

Here are some pics:

I do have two criticisms: the lighting in the warehouse is an ugly, ancient yellow and the bands echo too much throughout the space. I heard talk of making a more specific stage area with soundproofing so as to dampen the latter problem, and I hope they go through with it next year. It is interesting to hear the haunting echos, a ghostly reminder of the people all around us that we do or don't know, but ultimately it can make it hard to enjoy the event with louder rock bands.

I plan on submitting something for Art All Night 2018. Maybe I will see you or something you submitted there next year, and we can connect through the vapor trails of folk art. Maybe people will come for no reason other than to "snoot snoot" around. Let's all pretend to be famous for 15 minutes.

-Show Review , Gooski's

New Bands Night

Dear reader, on May 13th, I went to Gooski's to see some new bands; I'm sure you never would have guessed if I hadn't told you. Anyway, two of the three bands had a friend of mine among the members. And, being out of the loop for a second, focusing on work and game collecting and school, it was nice to see the start of something new that still included familiar faces.

The first band of the night was not a band at all; it was a dude playing an acoustic guitar. He called himself Johnny Honest and the Fucking Liars. It's a decent name. I really wish that Mr. Honest had a full band, because these songs were really calling for a backbeat. He didn't really play acoustic, folk songs, not for the most part anyway, these were full on rockers without the rock. The one song that worked well in this format was a downer about the heroin addiction and death of one of his friends. I think that Johnny Honest and the Fucking Liars would be really cool once there are some Fucking Liars to fuck around with. Right now, it's a little too bare, a bedroom practice with no curtains or blinds.

I had been hyped up about the next band, Aloe, and they did not disappoint. My friend Racheal, formerly of the legendary Skinless Boneless, started this band, and I was excited to see what their new songs were like. I couldn't hear the vocals super well, but Aloe is an awesome band! They sound like a better Skinless Boneless! The songs push forward, while still taking time to float around the lunar crater left by Sonic Youth or veer off into angular weirdness. Aloe does cool noise rock without going into metal territory. They reminded me a little bit of the band Multicult. The songs have space, and there is interesting interplay between the two guitars. I really enjoyed the drums, heavy and a little off-center, very post-punkish. The bass is also really solid. Sorry, I'm Dead will be playing with them on June 18th at The Mr. Roboto Project.

Last up was Smoke Wizzard, named after a Squirrel Hill establishment of burnable substances. My friend Ricky is in this band, but unlike with Aloe, I didn't know that going in. Smoke Wizzard is kind of what I expected from looking at the gear and the members of the band, loud and spacey doom/stoner metal. It's the kind of music that resembles the graphics from the side of an Atari arcade cabinet, something like Centipede or Joust, that stoner fantasy world of the 1970s that birthed Ralph Bakshi's Wizards and Gygax's Dungeons & Dragons. I didn't inhale though. It was a little too loud for me, given the small venue that is Gooski's, and Smoke Wizzard played a little too long. They could have cut it down 5 or 10 minutes. The guitar could have used more treble. The drums were a little off-kilter here again, which is somewhat appealing, though the drum parts were a little simple, even for all the sludging around. I really liked Ricky's solid basslines and echo-y vocals, despite some technical issues early on. Just like with Aloe, this was a great first show, and I will await Smoke Wizzard's next show.

-Album Review

Pink Muscles - "The Signal" album review

Back in March, I got a request to do an album review for an upcoming album. This got buried under other work stuff, which can be easy for me to do. Anyway, I found it again, so here we go.

Pink Muscles describes their sound as being influenced by "no wave, hardcore, death metal, thrash metal, noise rock, punk rock and horror movie soundtracks" and "built on layers of effected guitar, pounding rhythms, unconventional song structures and furious screaming to bring the horror to life". The band is the standard guitar/bass/drums, which is fine with me. This album, The Signal, is the bands debut release. It came out at the beginning of this month, and it is a concept album about monsters destroying the Earth and the people on it.

The album cover of The Signal is okay. I like the comic-tone, background image, but the style of the octo-alien in the center, like a pasted paper cutout, is not consistent with that background. This could be fine, though the composition suffers too; it's very busy and the leftmost octo-alien is very "in the way". I like the font for the band's name. Somehow, it seems a little too much like something in a mobile game; it contrasts with the hand-drawn look of the rest. The album title is kind of hard to see, but I like the placement.

The album starts with the very noise rock-y "Resumption". Like the majority of the tracks on the album, this song is like a gross, psychotronic B-movie. It has some cool guitar synth sounds, and some interesting horn sounds at the end. Also the lyrics describe something about "ejaculating in a pool" - yuck!

Next we have "Teenage Rainbows". This track brings more skronk and some cool warbly vocals. It reminds me of another band of space mutants called Moira Scar. I don't know if they are still together.

The third track is titled "Infestopus". It sounds a lot like Melt-Banana - screechy vocals and scratchy guitars. I don't like the vocals on this one, but I do like the melty horny sounds.

"Star Grove" is the fourth track. It's basically hardcore, and I was not a fan. I did like the lyrics "from the other side" and "cast in an alien life". This Misfits-esque track described a sort of alien epic. It was much less complex than the others.

"Man at the End of My Street" is a great title for a horror film. This one is like the Cronenberg version of The Fly. The vocals were too death metal-y, but I did like the lyrics. This one was very sonically interesting, being more musical and complex with a cool bass part. It reminded me of Sonic Youth on something like "Drunken Butterfly". The end and fadeout worked well.

The next track is "Black Market Tampons", which makes me think of buying a strange product and realizing it is something terrible. Again, it is a pretty good horror movie plot, the kind of urban legend that spread around yr neighborhood back in 1995. Anyway, I actually didn't find this song too interesting: it was too simple and the vocals are boring. The guitar does do some cool things, and there are some cool things. On the other hand, I feel like the "male pregnancy as horror" plot is a little transphobic.

Track 7 is "Battery Acid". This is a strong song, and I like it, at least the beginning, which is like a spacecraft making a landing. The later parts are not as good. I don't really like the vocals. If you are understanding the trend, maybe I would like this album better if it was just instrumental? Basically I don't like screamed vocals, and the lyrics are forced to fit into the rhythm too often. If these songs were more poetically told (wow what a pretentious line), I would like them better. "Battery Acid" does have an interesting break. It kind of sounds like a similar artist, Satan's God.

Track 8 is called "Party at Murder Beach", a title that reminds me of a movie I was just thinking of today called Beach Party Massacre. I have never seen that movie, but a friend's relative worked on it. It also lead me to discover the Insect Surfers. Anyway this track starts super strong with a melting, warbling siren and an uneven bass; I wish more of the tracks started this way. The lyrics sound like an alien abduction or "was it the drugs?" It's a definite 60s-70s throwback to surf/beach grindhouse, exploitation films complete with the surf guitar. It is a little too long.

Next is "The Egg Lady", which is another cool name. Another vocalist comes through from the side like weird thoughts or maybe an actual other person, someone you only just noticed when they spoke. This one has better lyrics with more rhymes. It still isn't told particularly well. "There were alien heads" is a weak line; use more action verbs.

Track 10 is "I Wrote This Song with My Father's Guitar". There is a cool guitar part, but I don't like the vocals. The lyrics are funny. This song is short and the perfect length.

"The Master" is track 11. The lyrics get an "ehh" from me. The guitar is decent with some parts that really push forward. The drums are more prominent, and I like how audible the cymbals are. Screechy radio synths tune in at the end.

"Officers of the Universe" is next. The beginning is okay, but the drums are cool. Death metal/monster vocals are cheesy to me, but these really do sound like some angry mutants. I assume they are the titular officers, angry at a subordinate? It's hard for me to make out the words. The end is good.

"Heaven is For Real" is the penultimate track. The guitar downgraded up to a conventional, bedroom hardcore tone; it does improve later in the song, moving down the hall and out to the street. "Heaven is For Real" is very similar to earlier tracks, and the line "there is no God!" is nacho cheese. I like the fuzz at the end.

"Mouth House" is the last track; again it's a good name. There are awesome, ambient sounds at the beginning, cool sounds and more space. I'll take space over layers of sound any day. Vocals clear up to a downpour of still "ehh" lyrics. The plot is sort of like The Evil Dead. When I think about the vocals more though, they make me think of not wanting to go outside, feeling alone but framed in a horror movie plot. This is great! Also I like the horns a lot, and the ghostly, backing vocals add a dreamy, mocking, biting tone to the song. It's too long, though.

Overall, I liked some of the instrumentals, but this album is too brutal and dense for me. I like the songs that reach beyond just the horror movie plots, "Mouth House" and "I Wrote This Song with My Father's Guitar". I don't like these kind of monster vocal tones, though, and the instruments pounding along. When the songs reach their end, their are some great sounds; finally the space opens up for cosmic horrors to descend upon us, for spirits to invade our houses, and for the capturing of strange tones from space. I think I would like Pink Muscles live, and I am interested in seeing what they do in the future. The Signal receives a Neutral.

-Album Review

Mercury Uncovered Self-Titled Album review

Mercury Uncovered is a Pittsburgh band that I like a lot. I previously reviewed their demo album a few months ago; you can find that review here. The demo was pretty cool, but I like things that are more rough/raw. At the very end of 2016, the band released their first full-length album. I finally got to listen to it, and sadly I was not that impressed.

First off, I do not love the cover. I really don't like mixing color and black and white. However, I really do like the colors used on the album, and I do really like the grainy background of what looks like leaves. The subject matter also makes sense once you listen to the album.

The first track, "Scars", starts with a deep, oceanic synth and breathy vocals. The song sets the tone for the whole album and functions like an intro. It reminds me of a black metal album. Anyway at first I thought it was way too angsty, but, after listening to the whole album, it brings the whole thing together, tying into the themes of the later songs.

The second track, "Swell", is a harder and more rocking. The vocals and lyrics are good and there are some nice synth layers. The production on the drums is painful. Whenever there is a crash, the other parts of the track seem to go quiet. It makes the track hard to listen to, because there are a lot of cymbal hits. At the end, the synth also seems a bit too loud.

"We Are In Colors", the third track, is good. are we in colors is good. The vocals sound good. It's a more upbeat and energetic song, and it doesn't seem to suffer as much from the production issues on the last track. Again, there are some nice layered sounds to the synths. I feel like you could really hear new sounds with each listen.

"Emptiness", the fourth track, is also good. The production seems a little flatter, but it doesn't go in and out like the other tracks. There is a cool breakdown halfway through. The only thing this track really needs is more bass sounds from the synth or from the drums.

The fifth track continues the solid string of tracks. "Dreamspace" is a creepy track that works really well. The vocals and instruments are great. The synths remind me of Iggy Pop's "Mass Production". The, "okay", at the end is perfect.

I don't like the sixth track, "Practice". The pulsating drum/synth sounds are painful to me. Everything goes in and out. Just like before, the drums and synths seem to displace each other. It works with the lyrics, but I seriously have a headache after listening. Then it just cuts off at the end.

"Last", not the last song, was okay. It starts good, but, at about 20 seconds in, we get to headache territory again, sounds going in and out. This is where I started to really wish the reverb on the vocals was applied to all the tracks. I do think the track ends in a cool way.

"Desperation", the eighth track, is painful to me again. The drums are way too loud, though I do like the hi-hat stuff that is happening. Nothing seems to get displaced by other things. I wish the vocals were a little louder and the drums a little quieter. The beginning sounds like a Björk song that I like, but I can't think of which one it is.

The ninth track, "Retrograde", starts strong. When the drums come in and the synth gets really loud, things start to go in and out again. The drums sound a little clumsy here. I really like the synth parts during the quiet parts. I love the lyrics on this track, and the end is cool. It still gives me a headache, though.

The last track, "The Star", is awesome. I love the weird tape loop/noise stuff going on. The spoken word/poetry stuff is great and wraps everything up that started with the first track and album cover. It's a cool message and concept.

Overall, I like the songs on the album, but I hate the production. The music seems too compressed with a lack of higher frequencies, a lack of a sense of space (the instruments are sort of muffled and don't sound like they are in the same room), and there needs to be a more solid bass (it's either too booming or to quiet). I really wish there was reverb on all of the instruments instead of just the vocals. The songs could use more toms and fewer cymbals, but that's really a personal preference of mine in general. Anyway, songs are good, production is bad. It's a mysterious album that starts to reveal itself after a full listen; there are a myriad of colorful layers to the songs, both thematically and sonically, to match the colors on the cover. The album gets a Neutral.

-Album Review , Tour Announcement

Mercury Uncovered Demo Review

Mercury Uncovered is a "bitch house sad wave" band from Pittsburgh, PA; you could also probably use terms such as no-wave, post-punk, experimental, electronic, darkwave, or some other things like that. Being outside neat categories is cooler. The band consists of Kallen, on electronics/laptop, Kristine, on drums, and Rin, on vocals. They only played their first show in April, and I attended and reviewed the second show. Despite the recent formation of Mercury Uncovered, they are soon to release a full-length album! That's awesome! Call me cynical or mean or whatever, but I'm so sick of bands that don't take themselves seriously and just putz around.

Since the full-length is not yet out, let's talk about this demo of live tracks. Right off the bat, this is awesome; I think recorded music should reflect the live sound of band. I am not a big fan of overdubs or studio trickery, though it can work well.

The cover of the demo EP is an interesting collage of images. I don't know if it has any particular meaning to members of the band, though every time I look at that bear, I chuckle a little bit. I like the gritty look, and even the font is decent, which I can't say for a lot of stuff.

The demo EP consists of three short tracks: the hallucinatory speedway "Are We in Colors", the funeral sounds of "Dreamspace", and the whirlwind dance of "Practice". "Are We in Colors" works well as the first track here; it sucks the listener into another world. Compared to the other two, this is a much faster song, and it has a druggy, cyberpunk feel to it that reminds me of films such as Red Cockroaches and Akira. The lyrics don't use a standard sort of metre or rhymes (I am also not an expert though), but it works! Usually I do like more conventional lyrics, and I think that these are a little weird. They keep drawing me in! I really like that this track is more linear instead of circular, as most songs are. There is a powerful refrain, but it doesn't occur after each verse. "Dreamspace" is my least favorite of the three, but I do still like the song. The vocals are a little low in the mix, even more so than the other tracks, and the music is less interesting. I think that this is intended based on the name and the dark tone of the lyrics, which are a little bit awkward. The final track, "Practice", is surely my favorite. The chanted vocals and dance/disco beat remind me of Sonic Youth's "Protect Me You" or Harry Pussy. I really connected to everything on this last one.

If you are able to, check out Mercury Uncovered on tour this winter into next year. They are touring with friends Het Ward (hardcore) and nØthing (noise). The album will be coming out soon too. If the demo, and their live shows, are an indicator of what's to come, I am very excited!

-Show Review , Hard Rock Cafe

Guitar Wolf - Jet Rockin' Pittsburgh

On September 14th, 2016, the legendary Japanese "jet rockers", Guitar Wolf, played at the Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh. I saw the band once before in March of 2012, but to see that, I had to travel all the way to Brooklyn. Since Guitar Wolf is so far away in Japan, I was super excited to see that they were playing in the United States again, and this time in the city that I live in. They are probably the most energetic band I've ever seen. I knew that this would be a good show, even if other people thought the Hard Rock Cafe was a weird venue. Since Guitar Wolf are huge fans of American rock 'n' roll, it made sense to me in a weird way.

The first band to play was Pittsburgh's Thunder Vest, who I had never seen before. They are a really solid band, sounding sort of like a combination of the Dead Boys, the Misfits, Bad Religion, and the Ramones. That might be a lot of stuff, but I'm sure you can figure it out. The frontman in the band stuck the mic down his pants a few times, and there were some cool guitar solos. Definitely, check these guys out!

I didn't know that the next band, Hans Condor, was playing the show. It was a super sweet surprise, though. The frontman was a short dude who resembled Lester Bangs. He did not look like a rock star, but his guitar playing and wild antics were jaw dropping! He jumped up onto tables and stands, threw the mic stand around after twirling it around his head, and even threw his guitar to the guitarist from Thunder Vest before catching it in mid-air on the return throw! I couldn't believe these guys; it was so cool! They are fast, garage punk like Oblivians or the Dictators.

The crowd was restless after Hans Condor's amazing set. After half of an hour, Bass Wolf and Drum Wolf took to the stage wearing dinosaur masks. Guitar Wolf joined them, his mask with a greasy slick of hair. He dramatically chugged a beer into the dinosaur's mouth, creating a large pool around him as the liquid dripped from the jaws of the prehistoric beast.

Guitar Wolf had a wild sound, just like on their records. They played loud, fast, and loose, sometimes going into electrifying jams. The drummer, Toru, has the coolest style: he looks like a member of the Yakuza and moves his entire body when he plays. The bass player, U.G., really gets into the groove and does cool sweeps of his hair. Seiji, the guitarist is amazing and had a guy I met at the show come up and play guitar with them as he sang and danced. They played for an entire hour, sweating profusely.

After the show was done, and we had all gone to the merch table, Seiji returned to play his standard outro of Eikichi Yazawa's "I Love You, OK". His sloppy and out of breath playing shows a lot of heart as always, a dedication to rock 'n' roll and the fans.

After the show, I spoke with Toru and Seiji. They were both super cool. I didn't know what to expect, because Seiji always seems just like his stage presence in interviews. He was actually pretty normal, though. Toru was very humble. A woman I met outside mentioned how she had played with Guitar Wolf a long time ago, and Toru listened to her story about the original Bass Wolf, Billy, helping her sister after she had been cut by a broken bottle. I got Seiji to sign the 10" "Jet Satisfaction" record.

These guys really put all they have into their music, and they really appreciate their fans. Definitely go and see Guitar Wolf if you can.

-Show Review , Howlers

Cheetah Chrome

On September 13th, 2016, just three days ago, I saw Cheetah Chrome play at Howlers in Bloomfield. Cheetah was in the legendary proto-punk Rocket From the Tombs with Cleveland weirdos that would go on to split into Pere Ubu and Dead Boys, Cheetah being part of the latter. The Dead Boys were fronted by the bony, gyrating Stiv Bators until they broke up in 1979, with Cheetah providing guitar alongside Jimmy Zero with Jeff Magnum and Johnny Blitz as the rhythm section. Afterwards, Cheetah moved on to doing session work, getting clean, moving to Nashville, and starting a family. The Dead Boys had a short reunion in late 2004, but it didn't last since Stiv Bators had passed away in 1990.

In 2011, I saw Cheetah Chrome play with Rocket From the Tombs. The band was great, but the opening bands were disappointing. You can read about that show here.

The show on Tuesday at Howlers was similar to the show with RFTT back then: the opening acts were not that interesting to me. I guess that's the point, - to see the big, cool touring super rockstar peeps. I think the show was a little disjointed.

The first band to play was Only Flesh, who are local to Pittsburgh. They look and sound like a nu-metal band from the same period that beget Slipknot, Disturbed, and Marilyn Manson. It was strange to see them with Cheetah, and I am not a huge fan of this stuff. I don't really like heavy syncopated metal riffs and beats, and I don't really click with BDSM lyrics that are sort of creepy at times. The thing is, even though this was strange for the show and not something I really liked, it ws cool to see. Only Flesh was really into what they were doing. The frontman does a good job; he has a powerful and charismatic presence. Throughout the set, the band got the audience involved, throwing balloons filled with glowsticks, spraying silly string, and unleashing a shower of sparks across our heads, giving Only Flesh's set a sideshow vibe. It was great! I think this band it actually really cool, even if I have sort of mixed feelings that stem from the actual sounds. It really shows when you actually care about what you are doing, especially if nobody else does.

Crash County Daredevils played second. I really dislike bands with names like that. I think you need more in a name, especially when it provokes images of tattooed muscle punk dudes, who are way into punk that they don't listen to the weirdo musick that inspired and went along with the early bands like the aforementioned Rocket From the Tombs. True to the name, Crank County Daredevils are sleaze-rockers from North Carolina with the tattooed muscle dude look. I actually liked a lot of the early songs. The vocalist realy belts out some screeching vox, but there is no sublety or dynamics - the whole set peaking in the red from start to finish. That's exactly the point though.

Cheetah Chrome and his band played last. The crowd was ready with sweaty excitement dripping. He started with "Big Cat Stomp" and then went into the pleasing "Sonic Reducer". Some guys near me started getting really rough we me, a tall lanky dude just kinda come out of nowhere and pushing me off to the side. He whipped his hair in my face until I pushed him away, but he continued pushing me and getting in my face. I punched him in the head and shoved him away; he backed down. After Cheetah and the gang were getting to the middle of the set with a bigger song that I can't recall at the moment, the lanky creep started getting in my face again like aggressively dancing at me. I told him to get his hair out of my face, and then we got in a big scuffle with my glasses on the floor and my teeth in some jerks hand. Cheetah told everybody to chill out. I stood away from those dudes, but I was on edge.

During "Amphetamine", Cheetah replaced one of the standard lines with "Stiv is shooting at the moon". He looked solemn in that moment especially, though the whole song is like that. The big dude made a point that the spot next to me was HIS spot to dance in. It was total passive-aggression. Whatever. Cheetah's band was great. My only criticism is that the other guitarist was a little too loud.

After the show, there were some more attempts to rile me up, but those guys went away for once. I got some pins and a tour poster from Cheetah, and he signed the stuff I brought. We talked a little about the RFTT show in 2012. Cheetah is fair and kind, though he is still rough around the edges. It was good to speak with him again, especially because at the RFTT show I jumped on stage to talk with him out of excitement. It was kinda rude. Anyway, I was very tired before the show, but I'm glad I went even with the bullshit.