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Localized 159
WANTED
Writer for local music column. Requirements: love of music, beer, whining, harsh criticism; in-depth knowledge of Tampa Bay area original music scene from a first-person standpoint, above and beyond the stuff that actually makes it to your in-box; ability to lie, obfuscate, manipulate and shunt with a maximum of creativity; ability to sleep at night knowing most of the good stuff can never see the light of day; ability to go out to clubs at least two nights a week, not including weekends; a familiarity with Skinner’s principles of negative reinforcement. Requirements subject to change without notice. Coffeestain.com posters need not apply. Because you can’t spell. Forward samples and a list of Top Ten Reasons why you should be considered for the position to weakfish@compuserve.com.
Swallowed have called it quits. Shortly after winning Best Rock Band and Best All-Original Band awards from Sarasota's edition of The Weekly Planet, the four members amicably split in order to persue different musical and artistic avenues. Their final show will be tonight, Thursday, December 7, at Keegan's Clubhouse. Crizzy & The Punx will also play, but knowing our distribution methods, you're probably reading this on the can the following Monday, and missed the whole shebang… Local post-indie-pop-rock (or whatever the hell we’re calling it now) purveyors Pilots vs Aeroplanes will join Orlando stalwarts Bring Back Joel, Bughead, and Throcket Luther for a December 15th show at O-town’s Will’s Pub. Somebody said something about free beer…Spacious International spearhead and longtime Bay area original-music stalwart Gerald Hammill has, as most of you are aware, been living in NYC for the past several months. He scored a job as site editor for website Gigamerica.com, a sort of advertising/networking/database catchall page for unsigned and indie bands nationwide. He dropped us a line recently to say that the site was up and running, and urged us to put the word out. So feel free to peruse… Musician/performance artist/media manipulator/best man for hire Sir Millard Mulch will hit the road next week. Why, we’re not exactly sure; maybe he’ll play some music. Anyway, until the end of December, SMM will run rampant through the southern states, possibly with a band, or maybe just to praise his new endorsers, Steinberg (who make the Cubase recording and mastering software) and Q-Chords (who design and manufacture strange new hybrid and mutant instruments)…in SMM-related news, a sneak preview of Toxic Avenger IV, which features some of Mulch’s tuneage, has reportedly been scheduled for December 8 and 9 at NYC’s prestigious Anthology Film Archives. www.toxicavenger.com … Skatepark of Tampa will celebrate its eighth anniversary on January 20 with a big punk-rock show-type extravamaganza, featuring The Tim Version, The Unholy Alliance, M.A.Y. (packed with former members of Clairmel), and a couple of other bands. Remember, parking is always a bitch, and keep your cooler on the down-low… For The Gita, there is no show. There is, rather, Event, Spectacle, Cavalcade Of Stuff. Hence, You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out: The Ultimate Christmas Special, their latest massive night of miscellaneous entertainment built around four bands playing music. Will there be elves, you ask? Naturally! Will Santa put in an appearance? Of course! Will there be egg nog and presents for all? How the hell should we know? Go and find out for yourself, jerky. Barely Pink, The Charming Hooligans, and Chucky Luv will also play; it’s December 15 at The State, and six bucks buys a lifetime of memories. Look for The Gita’s concert/highjinks video early next year…Sarasota newguys MP207 are currently recording their debut full-length disc with Wes Price at Polysound. They’re keeping pretty much to themselves, so hit their website for some tidbits before they take over the world. www.geocities.com/mp207net … They say “modern psychedelic pop quartet featuring members of Hourglass Garden and Barely Pink”. We say supergroup. Five Man Trio will be at Tarpon Springs’ Neptune Lounge this Friday, December 8, with Universal Baby, and at Clearwater’s Club More with Big Sky and Barely Pink on December 30… Somebody seems to have lighted a fire under the sweet, poppy asses of Barely Pink. In addition to the two aforementioned gigs, the band opened last Monday’s Fastball/Bare Jr. gig at Masquerade for a screaming throng of, like, seven, and will be at Club More with Harvest and Randall Goodgame on December 8, and at Ybor’s New World Brewery with Derek Cintron on January 20; that last one’s free…While you were hanging out at The Mug, Seasons of the Wolf was busy securing distribution in Japan, and being featured in about a million metal zines, including Promethean Crusade, Drive, and Renegade. The band has also finished recording their third full-length, Nocturnal Revelation, which will be released worldwide via various imprints early next year… Nothing Promise is currently working on their third disc with producer/engineer Wes Garren at his Greenhouse FX Studios. Expect a February release. NP will play a one-off industrial/harsh electronica showcase at Ybor’s La Femme (formerly The Cherokee Club), along with several other acts, including the ballyhooed Grim Faeries, on December 22…Writhe, “a local all-star female fronted hardcore/metal band comprised of members of Nothing Promise, Cease, and Burden of Life”, has a couple of shows coming up at The Mug. They’ll appear with some other locals on December 13, and on January 5 will join an extremely ass-heavy bill consisting of Eyehategod, Speedealer, and Cavity… The Unrequited Loves are laying tracks for their next Facefirst Records release. If the cassette-only tuneage that’s currently making the rounds is any indication, it’ll be every bit as good as the two marvelous Nailbiters discs. Mike O’Neill is the man. They’ll be at New World on December 22, though it is not known at press time who will rawk with them. Facefirst would also like to inform everyone out there that there will be no Boxing Day Rebellion soiree this year, so go see Ronny Elliott & The Nationals and Crash Mitchell at Skipper’s on December 26 instead… attention kids with backpacks and blocky black glasses: your time is now. Atom & His Package will be at Orpheum, along with Dove (which features former members of a great heavy band from Lakeland called Syrup, but not the ZZ Top-wearing-Redd-Kross-outfits Syrup) and Dayton, Ohio’s Strangers As Heroes, on this Saturday, December 9. This gig is brought to you, of course, by Jack ‘aestheticized’ Spatafora and associates, as are the following:
December 15 – ‘an evening of forward thinking beats’ with Trace Element, The Slowing Room, DJ Matador, DJ Skinny, and visuals by Chris Rish @ Orpheum
December 29 – Jamaican History Lesson #3 w/The Strangeways, Rocksteady@8, Selectors @ Orpheum
December 17, January 7 & 21 – Free BBQ hosted by DJ’s Soft Rock Renegades & guests @ New World Brewery
The syndicate has some great stuff pending for the first part of 2001, so keep alert…The guy who invented death, and, er, Death, Chuck Schuldiner, is currently in the studio finishing the second full-length from his current outfit, Control Denied. Comprised of Schuldiner, drummer Richard Christy, bassist Steve DiGiorgio, guitarist Shannon Hamm and vocalist Tim Aymar, CD will be putting out the new one, tentatively titled When Machine and Man Collide, out on Hammerheart Records Worldwide, and promise it “will NOT contain any guest rappers, 7-string guitars, baggy pants or any other elements from so-called ‘New Metal’”. YAAARRRGGHHH… Harvest will be at Orpheum on Saturday, December 16 with Golden Vanity, a fairly new band currently being lauded by people that hang out at New World Brewery; I believe they also have a gig with Bite Size there on December 28. But backtracking to Harvest, they’ve also got a Sarasota gig scheduled at Monterey Deli (with Brother) on January 5. Rocco sez they’ve just finished a website overhaul, so please stop by www.harvestband.cc … In the do-not-miss-if-you-consider-yourself-even-a-bit-of-a-Saint-Pete-coolster category, Star Booty’s Second Annual Christmas Bash will be held at The Emerald again this year, on December 15. The underrated Loose Ends, the venerated Car Bomb Driver, and the wonderfully obnoxious Bastards will provide the soundtrack for your lowered inhibitions, inflated sense of self-esteem, and eventual moment of humiliation. Ah, Christmas…in other Emerald news, Fornikulture and Tranceboy will overrun the place on December 30, one week after Fornikulture’s December 23 appearance at Clearwater’s Gasoline Alley. Sorry, they didn’t specify who else would play the GA shindig. For shame… Sarasota’s Thread, “featuring the voices and songwriting talent of Tanya Radke and Radiofree Carmela”, not to mention bassist Doug Conroy (Magadog, Rocksteady@8), guitarist Dave Mishkin, and drummer Dave Townsend, will make their North-of-the-Skyway debut this Friday, December 8, at Yeoman’s Road on Davis Island. Recommended for fans of “folk & acoustic music”. YAARRRGGHHH? Not quite…Unsung Zeros, The Thunder Bay Rockers, and Third Place will appear at The Mug on December 9. YAARRRGGHHH? Er, kinda…Shiver, Empty, Rinker, and B.U.N.Y. are at The State on December 8. YAARRRGGHHH? You know it, baby…indie heroes The Casket Lottery and rawk court jesters River City High are going to make an appearance at Tarpon Springs’ All Star Records (39332 US 19, 727.944.4883) on December 19. This is an all ages show, and the cover is six bucks. Make sure you bring your own oxygen, as it will likely be scarce once everyone and their backpack gets inside…Lickety Split will perform at not one, but two birthday parties during this holiday season – one for Cory Hoffman on December 9, and one for Terri Parsons on December 16. Sorry, folks, but these events are by invitation only…
This just in, on the Industry Movers & Shakers Tip, from our pals in Neurotica:
Whew! Man what a trip! Just returned from LA and it was amazing! The turnout at The Viper Room was packed, IT WAS ELECTRIC!!!!!!! We had a chance to talk to a lot of people about the future that awaits nEURoTiCa. We hung out most of the time at the LEGENDARY "RAINBOW BAR AND GRILL” on Sunset Blvd (Thanks to Mike, Mario, and the whole staff at The Rainbow Bar and Grill for making us feel right at home! We would like to extend a huge thanks to our new friends from Phoenix that drove all the way to LA to see us, and our all-time fan of the year, BILLY, for flying his crazy ass all the way to LA to catch our set at the Viper Room. That was very very cool! So kudos to you Billy! We played for a crapload of labels, interscope, island/defjam, capitol, columbia to name a few, and made alot of new friends, we will be following this up with a gig in New York (t.b.a.) , and then the 16th of Dec we will be playing with JACKYL at "Margarita Maggies" in our hometown of Sarasota, for the WYNF xmas bash, so you MUST attend.Tix are available at ticketmaster, and at the door, but it will most likely sell out, so get your tix now!!!! Oh yeah! This Friday the 8th of Dec we will be doing a big show at THE MASQUERADE in St. Pete, Georgia. If you live close by you will want to attend this one! It promises to be a juiced up blow out!!! We will be finding out how we did in LA as the days progress, but we hope tobe going back out again real soon for a Webcast in LA. THANKS FOR SUPPORTING US THROUGH ALL OF THIS!!! CHECK BACK SOON FOR MORE DETAILS ON OUR TRIP TO L.A. CHEERS!!! p.s. thanks to the guys of Harry Dash for making it out to LA to see us, and good luck to them on their showcase this past monday @ the viper room.
Ask, ponder, fret. Are plans afoot for some old-school warehouse kegs n’ bands type New Year’s Eve mayhem? Who’s involved? Could there be a couple of such events, to be held simultaneously, in the offing? Who’s next scheduled for a dive into the Faceless Industry Machine? Could they seriously be (gasp) NOT rap-metal? Probably not. Did Helium Bomb really convene for a one-off reunion show in Chicago a few months back? So, what’s up for next year?
All right, guys, that’s about it. Not too bad a year around these parts. Ashes of Grisum put out a fooking great disc and headed up to CMJ. Crossbreed got signed. Dumbwaiters finally got some great recorded stuff spread around. Jack Spatafora, Rich McSherry and a bunch of good folks brought some killer shows town. A lot of cool shit happened. Then again, The Chase Theory hasn’t graced us with their new CD yet. Neither has Tomorrow. Spiller is off somewhere in the ozone. Ya takes the Yin with the Yang. So quit bitching about what’s not happening to you, or more pointedly, what is happening to somebody else, and write some better songs. A hearty and heartfelt thanks to everyone who reads and supports this here birdcage-liner. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, A Most Wonderful Wretched Day Of Harlaroth, Eater Of Worlds, whatever. Have a great holiday season, and be safe.
Ravis’ Top Ten Albums of 2000
The Weakerthans – Left and Leaving, Hopeless
Queens of the Stone Age – Rated R, Interscope
Nada Surf – The Proximity Effect, Mardev
At The Drive-In – Relationship of Command, Grand Royal
Slobberbone – Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today, New West
Samiam – Astray, Hopeless
AFI – The Art of Drowning, Nitro
OutKast – Stankonia, LaFace
Elliott – False Cathedrals, Revelation
Greg Dulli/The Twilight Singers – Twilight as Played by The Twilight Singers, Columbia
weakfish@compuserve.com
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