Dec 20, 2009

Descendents Vans From The Descendents? (WTF)



So I posted the other day about getting a pair of Descendents Vans for my birthday. Would have not been that big of a deal to post anything else about it but I noticed something odd about where the box came from. First, before I give it all away in the first couple of sentences, I will give you some back story. So I got a pair of Descendents Vans a few years ago when they first came out and I still stand behind my view that they are the coolest band series shoes that have come out so far from Vans. In my opinion all of the other shoes have looked like utter shit. The Germs ones looked alright but I hate the Germs too much to ever condone. So as every pair of shoes I have or anyone has I wore them out. Then I wanted another and it seemed that I couldn't get them for under a hundred bucks or in my size. So when my girlfriend got me some I was pretty stoked to say the least. After wearing them for a day or two I was curious as to where the shoes came from in case they had more. I checked out the box and it read, "ALL, P.O. Box 36, Ft. Collins, CO." Holy shit. So from the random knowledge I know about the Descendents/All I knew that some of them had moved to Ft. Collins, Colorado. When I say some of them I mostly mean Bill Stevenson and Karl Alvarez.



That leads me to believe that Karl and Bill house Descendents/All merchandise that they peddle for extra cash. Would make a lot of sense if this is the case but it would seem that bands of their caliber wouldn't waste their time. I for one, am exciting about the prospect of them personally sending off this stuff and it not just being marketed and distributed by faceless corporations. For the record, I also had a friend tell me that she ordered a coffee mug that came from the same location as my shoes. It could be much more complex than the way I thought it out but it does seem that they have some control enough to personally mail me a pair of shoes. Neat!!!

Dec 14, 2009

Forgetters @ The Milestone (12/14/09)

So the day started out just like any other day except for the fact that it was my birthday (24th) and I had to work at 6am. Work wasn't too bad but that's a relative term when you work at a very busy vet clinic. A few people wish me a happy birthday and a few others, who will not be named, think it is a funny idea to post my phone number online. This leads to a person sending me a picture of their penis which is very frightening and almost caused me to wreck my car. Bastards!

I get home and eat left over birthday food from a family party the night before and commence to studying for an exam the next day. I only mention the bday food because I had Meatloaf cupcakes and they are very delicious. After a few hours of studying my girlfriend comes over and gives me a present and takes me out to an all you can eat sushi place. The food is great and so is having a new pair of Descendents Vans. Fuck Yeah!



After this we head off to The Milestone and go see Forgetters, Blake Schwarzenbach of Jawbreaker and Jets to Brazil's new band. This is where my story actually begins, i only felt it necessary to mention it being my birthday because I try and interject myself as much as I can into my musings. The first band, Pinko plays and is really bad. Granted this is their first show so I shouldn't be too hard on them but I honestly doubt they will get any better. There seems to be a formula to being in a bad band. All the guys in the band are really talented and the set begins with a ripping solo. Solo intros are probably only a good idea if you are Yngwie Malmsteen and even that is highly debatable. They spend the rest of the set switching between grunge, dead milkmen-esque ramblings, metal and as mentioned previously, solos.

The second band is One Another (ex Minority Party, Columns) which fits nicely on the bill with Forgetters. They have similarities to Jawbreaker but just pigeonholing them would do them no justice. Definitely shows that they are a newer band but I really think if they move in the direction of what I thought were there stronger songs then they would be really great. Definitely a breath of fresh air in Charlotte where punk bands tend to be either weird or heavy.




Next is Forgetters. I don't know what to expect. Some of my friends think it is going to sound like later Jets To Brazil and say they don't really care. I like Jets To Brazil but I can see what they mean. On a side note, Neil Hamburger performed stand-up across town so some people I would have expected to see aren't present. When do you get a chance to witness a punk legend everyday? Alright tangent done. So first the line-up... Along with having Mr. Schwarzenbach , Forgetters also showcases the talent of Against Me's first drummer, Kevin Mahon and bassist Carolina Paquita, who from what I saw at the show is a very talented artist. So the band starts playing and it sounds as you would expect a Schwarzenbach band to sound like. Their sound and tightness was astounding and from little snippets I could ascertain his lyrics are still top notch. He didn't really seem to sing with the faux British accent like in Jawbreaker so that was cool. I remember being like 13 years old and asked if I liked Jawbreaker and my response was, "Yeah, but I'm not really into British singers." I was scolded and soon realized that Mr. Schwarzenbach was not in fact British. Bollocks. The music that Forgetters play is darker than Jawbreaker in parts and definitely not as poppy as Jets. To me it fits somewhere in the middle of those two bands. They don't have anything recorded yet so you are going to have to take my word when I tell you that they are definitely a band worth checking out and if you like anything he has done in the past then you won't be let down. I hear they have a 7" coming out this spring so I will be eagerly waiting for it.

Now I must go back to studying for exams and hoping that I have the chops to do well enough on these exams to graduate on Saturday. Yikes!

(note: the forgetters photo is not at the milestone and until a photo surfaces this is as close as you'll get)

Dec. 9, 2009

Some things did not make it into the current issue of SELF AWARE so now we can keep you updated a little more. I'm going to try and update this often and just add a record review or short interview but don't expect too much because I am still a lazy bum.



Algernon Cadwallader @ The Silent Barn (8/2/09)





Recently I decided to go vacation in the Big Apple with my girlfriend of five years to celebrate our five years of dating. I know, congrats to anyone strong enough to stomach my idiocy for this long. While we were there we decided to try and catch some shows. We heard about two shows, one was Bridge and Tunnel and the other was Algernon Cadwallader. Since we had already seen Bridge and Tunnel we opted for the latter so we could go to a baseball game (GO METS!!!). The show was in Brooklyn so we had to take the metro. I knew we were getting close to Brooklyn because it seems like the people on the train were getting more hipsterish as we went on. We finally get there and walk to the show space. I’ve never been to Brooklyn but it reminded me of St. Louis in the movie Summer Vacation. I expected someone to steal rims off a car and spray paint “honky lips” on it.

The place is pretty well hidden but we manage to find it alright. We enter the place and its just like I would have imagined. An old storefront converted into a living area and also converted into a neat little area to host shows. The lighting is dark the smell is musky, it feels like all the places I’m used to playing, I was in love already. The first thing that I realize is the show is like 90 percent female. This is weird to me but may not be weird to you. All the shows I’m used to are all 90 percent male. While I am not used to gynocentric shows it is still nice to see and something that I wish there was more of. More people start piling into this small space and the place is packed and it is hot. No harm, I mean it is August.

The first band up, is called, if I remember correctly, Tania. They play repetitive dancey electro-punk, I’m not into it and since I am totally not into it, I lose interest in the show fast. After what seems like forever, the band ends and I learn that the next band is called, Songs for Moms. While they are setting up and while the first band was setting up I realize that New York bands must take forever to set up. Songs for Moms finally start and they are a lot better than the first band, everyone is shaking and singing along and it turns out to be a really awesome set. Think Andrew Jackson Jihad with an all female line-up and maybe not as jangly or nothing like that at all. Next is Algernon Cadwallader, from Philadelphia, who I was really stoked to see. They were just as amazing as I hoped and really suggest you going to see them if you get a chance. Lastly another all female band, the third that night to be exact, plays. They were called Each Other’s Mothers and it happened to be there reunion show. They also have a member of Bridge and Tunnel so that is cool. Sonically they were a mix of Algernon and the Fucking Champs. I might be saying FC because they were instrumental and rocked hard but whatever. Everyone is sweaty partying hard and the atmosphere, while being really smelly, is very positive.


It was good to see such positivity in this space and really hope that I can see more shows where more females attend. There is definitely a place for more women to participate in punk rock as more than an attachment for their boyfriends. These women at this space genuinely seemed to care about the bands and care about the scene. Later on that night, on my way back from the show back to my hostel in Manhattan, all of my positivity is dashed asunder while drinking Arizona Green Tea. I realize to my dismay that Arizona is not in fact made in Arizona it is made in New York. For such a great show this instance really ruined my night. Liars. (Joshua Robbins)

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