STATLER BROS. @ HOME SWEET HOME - July 31st

If you follow this blog, you might remember a post a long, long time ago about a noise/free/jazz project called The Statler Bros. , that consists of Joe (Coin Under Tongue), John, and wunderdrummer David. Just to recap, The Statler Bros. use two feedback looping rigs, no "real" instruments, and a jazz drummer. Not feedback, like "oww, that high pitch sound is killing me!" more like "wow, this sounds like 2001, space invaders, and fax machine static!" They will be playing (and recording) a show tomorrow, this Friday at around 8:30 PM at Home Sweet Home, which is just south of the Bowery Ballroom. IF you like dive bars and taxidermy, come on by. Also on the bill is our friend NATE and Nature Program. After the show is complete, the audio recording of the show will be posted here for the bees that are too busy.

UPDATE!!! - (Live tracks added below.)

right click or opt/cntrl click to download

Statler Bros. - Unexpanded

Statler Bros. - Piñata

Nathan W. McKee - How Did We Get Here?

Nature Program - Live Jam (?)

Potato Survey Result Are In

After months of polling, we still couldn't decide which is the best way to serve potatoes. It ended up being a four way tie between Tater Tots, Mashed, French Fries, and Hash Browns. Please take the time to vote in our new survey, WHO IS THE GREATEST ROCK GUITARIST OF ALL TIME? (the survey is located on the right sidebar)

DBA Showcase Review from Radio Flyer

When: July 15

Where: Death By Audio "Obviously, I wouldn't miss a show featuring two of my midyear Bands to Watch in 2009 playing in their own home space, which also happens to be the city's best DIY venue. Yeah, hottt.

I named Coin Under Tongue a band to watch without having heard them live. It was a bit of a gamble, but the recorded material was so strong, it seemed worth the risk. And after all, the Death By Audio collective (A Place to Bury Strangers, Dirty On Purpose, Grooms/Muggabears, etc) has yet to produce a band that falls short of amazing.

But nothing prepared me for exactly how amazing CUT would be live. The band pumped the room so full of smoke you could barely make out the folks in front of you, let alone the stage. Then, as they slowly emerged from the murk, the band cranked out some of the heaviest, nastiest post-hardcore I've ever heard.

The distorted bass crashes through like a drunk mammoth but the man behind the sound, George Wilson (oddly enough, formerly of slowcore dream-pop outfit Dirty on Purpose) is anything but clumsy, shredding some deliciously difficult riffs. The similarly-lumbering guitar cuts like a slow-motion buzz saw while Joe Kelly howls death metal renditions of secretly lovable melodies.

The band seemed a little underrehearsed for the show, stumbling more than once. This would have bothered me more, but truthfully, it was kind of nice to see the band, though skilled, are not infallible virtuosos. I was also pleasantly surprised by the variety the band offered, some songs more gentle or even downright pretty, some faster and post-punkier, some cleaner and some noisier - you'd be hard put to accuse this band of always sounding the same.

I was excited to catch Jeff the Brotherhood knowing nothing about them, but just based on the fact that they were selected to play between CUT and Sisters. Tennessee duo set up on the floor, and though that might have been just to speed up the transition between their set and Sisters', it seemed to be an ultimate gesture of solidarity. Literally playing from the midst of their not-quite-moshing audience, the band made the fans as much a part of the experience as they themselves were.

The downside, unfortunately, was not being able to see the band, except when guitarist Jake Orrall climbed on top of the amps on stage for a moment of rock-hero posing. Still, it was worth it.

The entire set found me unsuccessfully groping for a reference point - though JtB doesn't sound particularly "out there," they aren't easily pigeon-holed either. There are guitar-heavy moments that take a page straight from the classic rock and metal book, while just as often, the band sounds like a tidied up lo-fi pop outfit.

Whatever it was, the songwriting was superb and the performance thrilling. JtB sound most like some lost classic from greatest moments of the 1980's American indie scene, but like a sonic chameleon, the band wouldn't sound out of place much of anywhere. It would just sound damn good. [MySpace] Rounding out the night was Sisters, another personal favorite. Last time I saw them live, I was impressed but not blown away. This time, the band left no question of their pure awesomeness. There's something awkward about the band's two members - I could just imagine them as dorky third graders. But if they ever were, they certainly aren't dorky now.

Banging out a constant stream of lo-fi gems, Sisters are punk rock in a totally unclicheed way. Though they have some technical skill and their songs are not simplistic, the duo seems more interested in crashing and smashing and making a racket than in playing carefully. I'm not a fan of the prerecorded parts, only because I like seeing music produced right in front of me, when I'm at a show. Still, those parts weren't too many or too involved, just an invisible third person when an invisible third person was needed.

Cramped full of hooks and bright melodies, Sisters' music is pretty hard not to love. They wouldn't even need such evident concentration and effort and such unabashed enthusiasm to win over their audience, but putting this great of a live show with this great of songs is a combination you don't want to miss. "

RADIO FLYER REVIEW LINK

Th' Haint - Download DBA Album of the Month -

It wasn't long ago, music had balls. Rhythms used to lurch, guitars used to twang and snarl, and singers used to howl. And when things got safe and boring, this album crawled its way out of the backwoods muck to haunt those that tried to dispose of its body. A front porch Jesus Lizard and a tool shed Cramps, the same dirt road leads to both. Don't send a letter though because the post office don't go up there anymore.

(download free album from MediaFire - link broken)

Brooklyn Vegan, Narnack, & Grooms in "This Week At The Loft"

From Brooklyn Vegan - "Tonight's show at Death by Audio should be deafening. JEFF shares the bill with noise-pop duo Sisters, who I've written about more than once already, and have become big fans of. Third on the bill are Sisters' Death By Audio Records label-mates Coin Under Tongue who make the kind of stoner, punk-inflected hard rock that Sub Pop used to specialize in, in the label's early days. (I'm talking Tad, Mudhoney, Das Damen). There's other influences in there too -- metal plays a big part, as does UK punk and postpunk I suspect. And there are some really nice guitar parts when the guys aren't stomping on the pedals but basically you're getting balls-to-the-wall, scream-the-chorus rock. It goes without saying Coin Under Tongue are really, really loud. But they've got songs to match the volume. They're finishing work on their new album, but have offered up a progress report of an EP that you can download at the top of this post. It rocks. (Thanks Bill!)"

Also, this other news item: Grooms have signed to Death By Audio Records and will be releasing their album Rejoicer with us. DOPE!

The picture above was taken this one time I went into the studio and found this guy changing his clothes - wtf!? Found out later it was Frank Sidebottom.

Other People's Music

A few weeks back, the bar known as Black Betty announced it was closing its doors forever. Actually, there's talk that Harvey Milk's Steven Tanner is opening a restaurant in its place - FUCK YEAH! I went down there to catch one last show and ended up recording two bands that night.

The first is Geezer On Diesel who are good friends of ours who play in several local bands such as The Shorebirds and Neckbeard Telecaster. The drummer's name is Geezer and he doesn't use a snare, which must attract a lot of women for them because I've had at least two girlfriends tell me they hate snares. Just big ass riffs pounding around like a two-ton brick of weed in the back of a pick-up rockin' dualies off-road, then breaking down in your driveway leaving an oil slick in the shape of Texas. Also, check out the 5th member of the band in the lower left corner of the photo, Freak Williams. Check them out here:

(right click/ cntrl/option+ click to download)

Geezer On Diesel - Here Come The Blood

Geezer On Diesel - There Is A Line

Then there's this two piece that consisted of a drummer and tuba player called Wolff. That's right Wolff - you asked for it and they put another F on that bitch. The tuba player runs his mic through all these samplers and effects to create a symphonic marching band of sorts from the ground up. It's pretty amazing that something this cool could be made from blowing.

Get in line here:

(right click/ cntrl/option+ click to download)

Wolff - Broken Words

Wolff - Eye Of The Tiger (yeah, that one)

Coin Under Tongue - The So Far EP - Free Download

UPDATE!: I ROCK CLEVELAND had this to say:"High Until We Die" and "Reception" by Coin Under Tongue

"Recording in A Place to Bury Strangers' Death By Audio Studios, it's almost too easy to draw comparisons between the Coin Under Tongue and APTBS. Hell, both bands share a love of love tooth-cracking discharges of guitar via extreme effects pedals. Yet, to leave the introduction with no more than notes of their similarities, is to ignore the fact that Coin Under Tongue are drawing from a far wider pallet than the feedback loving British acts of the late '80s and early '90s. On both "Reception" and "High Until We Die," Coin Under Tongue pair their love of piercing feedback with guitar riffs which are practically doom-like at times. And while I can't say I ever wanted to hear a band channel both Sabbath and Joy Division in the same song, now that I have, I'm wondering why no one thought of this combination sooner."

Coins have released an EP of the songs they have recorded so far for their 2nd LP, Reception, called The So Far EP. It was made available for download last week through Absolutepunk.net, or you can just go directly to the MediaFire link here and download it with one less click. Britt from Spoon just mentioned in an interview that he gets excited when he hears they are recording a new album. Coin Boyz are recording an album this very moment, and are in contract negotiations with Doug from Pursesnatchers and Annie from Au Revoir Simone to perform a pop collaboration with the band. The track entitled "Turnaround" (working title) will be a coed duet of pop worship. Stay tuned. (the photo above is from the DBA studio bathroom).