Maria

Jeremy Jay

Okay

Randazzo Robinson (and Messes)
"Echo Park folk duo Randazzo Robinson make music as light and lovely as falling snow." - Flavorpill

Oh My God
"Chicago's Oh My God’s dynamic prog-pop crams ideas into each song like a deliciously eclectic pick ’n’ mix...an irresistible cocktail of crunchy, swirling keyboards and jackhammer drums...a monumental feast of pile-driving hooks." —Kerrang (UK)

“(A) rock-hard, hyper-kinetic power trio...a sound that has been favorably compared to everyone from ELP, Weezer and Devo to the Cars, Deep Purple and Steppenwolf...a range that encompasses the space between flat-out rock and the subtler and more emotion-laden moments of great pop.” —Cincinnati City Beat

Raccoons
With members of Hand of Crom and Whales, Raccoons are "pop music cannibalism and a ton of guitar pedals" -- Nick Stone

The Faceless Werewolves
"Enigmatic, beguiling, and a little dangerous, Austin's Faceless Werewolves beckon with one hand while hiding a sledgehammer behind their backs with the other. If that sounds a shade cartoonish, it's no accident. Erica Barton and Kelsey Wickliffe's Betty Boop vocals dominate the Denton transplants' 11-song debut, conjuring a girlish innocence that masks the sinister impulses and very grownup desires lurking in the back of their minds: an irresistible amputee on "One Arm Man," claustrophobic restlessness on "What Are You Waiting For?" It's a sleight of hand pulled off to perfection on "My Weakness," opening as a spot-on reproduction of Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle" before becoming a runaway punk rock id that's equal parts come-on and confession. Doing his best Thurston Moore, Baldomero Valdez completes this bizarre love triangle with deceptive detachment; his understated cool on "Nothing" only squeezes the tension tighter. Imagine a midnight cabal of the Stooges, Bikini Kill, and Nancy Sinatra, and you're halfway there. From the most basic guitar-guitar-drums ingredients (no bass allowed), the Werewolves unfurl a disconcerting document of nightmares, obsession, and gunplay that's, needless to say, one of the sexiest local albums of the year. Medium Freaky is maximum rock & roll." - Austin Chronicle

(photo note: a picture with unicorn always get selected over the "naked in the bathtub picture with strategically placed bubbles and bottles of champagne" photo)

Howlin' Rain
They are equal parts dust, groove, folk, rock, dirt, mercury, earth, barn, chaos and gamble, beer, watermelon sugar, the Eel River and the great land that surrounds it, all sewn into classic Americana songs full of luscious melodies and hip grinding grooves. Howlin’ Rain is unfiltered music, lending to both its glory and its grit and blemishes. The band was formed on a whim, the album was recorded on a free wheel but the blood and sweat that went into bringing it all to life are omnipresent in every ounce of music. (bio)

Citay
"Citay really nail that rich acoustic-electric rolling tabla honey harmoney sound that all those heavy bands - Sabbath and Zeppelin, especially-used to do, back when all the best musicians were inspired by what the Incredible String Band were doing, and were still able (or willing) to express a feminine side to go with their preening barbarian or depressive wail aspects....Monumental."- Arthur Magazine (RIP)

(photo note: Warren is awakened by a call from the Howard brothers)

Get Him Eat Him
Absolutely Kosher recording artistes from Providence, RI, Get Him Eat Him:

Tuneful, guitar-driven rock? Check. Earnest, reedy vocals? Check. Sloppy playing and slacker vibes? Ch- actually, no, uncheck. Get Him Eat Him largely forgoes the happy (or apathetic) accident and the facile discordant smear, trafficking in deeply layered guitar lines you need a map to follow, processed vocals, and intricately sculpted melodies. Like all good indie rock, it vortexes a bundle of touchstones into a nervous, jittery coil-- you can hear proggy Built to Spillisms jostling against the hyper jangle of the Wrens, and a virtuosic Ted Leo shouting "power-pop!" to a snotty Elvis Costello's "new wave!" - Pitchfork

Cryptacize
Cryptacize's music began across the street from the C&H Sugar Factory in Crockett, CA, where Nedelle Torrisi (Nedelle) and Chris Cohen (Deerhoof, Curtains) lived in a tilted apartment. Constant dizziness and the smell of burning sugar became a permanent part of their psyches, and this is their #1 influence. One morning while brushing their teeth, toothpaste running sideways out of their mouths, Nedelle pronounced the word 'Cryptacize' and the house appeared to incline in the opposite direction. Soon after this strange incident, they discovered something even stranger on youtube - a percussionist named Michael Carreira. Having only seen his video, which was a closeup of his hands, they sought him out and miraculously convinced him to join their uncanny crusade. (bio)

(photo: Nedelle instructs the youth of today on how to sit down at a rock show)

Mammatus
The Hawkwindy whoopdiedoos, Sabbathy riffering, and Sleepy feedback drones attracted the attention of Holy Mountain Records in San Francisco and Rocket Records in the UK, who both released their self titled debut album on March 28, 2006. The artwork was done by the mighty Arik Moonhawk Roper, who also provided covers for such mighty bands as Sleep and High on Fire.

In the late summer of 2006 Mammatus returned from a very exciting US tour with their ultimate bros and label mates Residual Echoes. Eager to return to the ocean with which they share a spiritual kinship, they spent the remaining months of summer boogie boarding and finding secret spots along the coast to sit and think in. With the overwhelming majesty of the sea fresh in their minds, Mammatus began slowly tracking another album in their home studio, the Silent Planet. Wishing to explore more complex, dare we say progressive arrangements, the four songs that came out of these sessions left four minds almost completely drained yet excited and fresh. They emerged with “The Coast Explodes,” an homage to God’s mighty ocean, ripe with thick swirling riffs, uptempo sonic freakouts, harmonious soundscapes and even an acoustic guitar and flute campfire jam. (bio)

The Bad Trips
"The Bad Trips is the latest goings for one Grady Runyan whose proven himself a supreme pit master of barbequed Psychedelic brisket, havin smoked many an earhole in the legendary Monoshock as well as slaughterin all manner of burdensome beasts w/the most excellent petal-glorious sludge of Liquorball (listen to their live lp & then tell me it don't practically piledrive 'Get Stoned 'Ezy' into the mat. You can eat my______). Now he's runnin 'n gunnin w/The Bad Trips & while you might be able to take the man outta the marinade, you can't take the marinade outta the man. All the fuzzophonics & zoned riffage, the flambéd drums & rhythm... it's all there & honed to perfection (as usual). Only difference this time is The Bad Trips ain't layin waste w/sonic torches burnin off the fat of Hawkwind, Pink Fairies or Afflicted Man. No, they's crafted their 2007 blitzkreig to somethin that is extended, but also sharp & edgy. They seemed to've discreetly picked up some different stylings & tunings (just a little) than the smash/mouth action of Monoshock or Liquorball & at 1st I couldn't put my finger on it. But after a few plays it seemed to be that this lp was a perfect distillation between Paul Butterfield Blues Band's' 'East-West' jam & side 2 of 'From Pussies To Death In 10,000 Years Of Freak Out' by Flower Travellin Band. Grady 'n Jeff Grimes is like Mike Bloomfield 'n Hideki Ishima leadin messrs. Bob Anderson & Gordon Roberts (also known as 'the rest of the story') through statically charged parallelograms of improvised, psycho-gnarlic char.With that knowledge in my bonnet, I just keep listenin to it longer & longer & harder & harder & louder & louder. Rock, hint's of raga, molten leads, magestic rumbles, it's all there..." - Siltblog

Sharon Cheslow solo and with Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu)
Sharon Cheslow (born October 5, 1961 in Los Angeles, California) is an American musician, composer and artist. In 1981, she formed Chalk Circle, Washington, D.C.'s first all-female punk band. She was also in Bloody Mannequin Orchestra in the early 1980s and their recordings came out on WGNS. BMO combined hardcore punk with noise rock, no wave, and improvisation. With Cynthia Connolly and Leslie Clague, she compiled the photographic punk oral history book Banned In DC in 1988. It was one of the first books to document a regional American hardcore scene. In the 1990s she was in Suture (with Dug E. Bird of Beefeater and Kathleen Hanna), Red Eye (with Tim Green of Nation of Ulysses), The Electrolettes (with Julianna Bright), and a one-off project with Fugazi's Joe Lally. Her recordings came out on Dischord Records, Kill Rock Stars, and her label Decomposition.
She started studying intermedia arts at Mills College in the music department when she moved to San Francisco in 1990, and later began performing and exhibiting experimental music, sound art and installations. Her sound collages and explorations are documented on the CD, Lullabye from the Sky, released in 2002 on Decomposition under the name Sharon Cheslow and Coterie Exchange. It featured collaborations with Tim Green, Julianna Bright and members of Deerhoof among others. The project was the audio component from sound installations she had been performing. In 2003 Fan Music: Winds of Change was featured at Lincoln Center Out of Doors. Her videos to the tracks Dream/Construct and September Son are on two Kill Rock Stars video compilations. In 2004 she toured and collaborated with Yellow Swans, Inca Ore, and Chuck Bettis. More recently she has collaborated with Weasel Walter, Christina Carter, and Elisa Ambrogio (Magik Markers). - Wikipedia

Punk Rock Sideshow