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Artists on Trial: Roman Numerals and Thee Water MoccaSins

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Steve Tulipana has been one of the commanding forces of the Kansas City music scene for years. As a member of several prominent local bands and a co-owner of recordBar, Tulipana has more than made his mark in the community. Two of his bands, Roman Numerals and Thee Water MoccaSins, will be appearing at Middle of the Map Fest next week.  
 
The Deli: Down and dirty: 1 sentence to describe your music. What is it?

Steve Tulipana: Roman Numerals: Post-post-punk.
Thee Water MoccaSins: Electro-psych fractal pop.
 
The Deli: What other artists are you looking forward to seeing at MotM?
 
 
The Deli: It always amazes me to watch either of the bands perform since Billy Smith (Smith lives in NYC) isn’t in town often to rehearse. How do you make it work?
 
ST: We’ve all known each other a very long time and have very similar tastes so yeah, I guess it just gels easily.
 
The Deli: It’s always a big celebration when either band has a chance to play in town. Do you guys have any releases coming up?
 
ST: Roman Numerals: Probably not, though I wish there was a proper release for the last stuff we did.
TWM: Most definitely. Still hoping to release our album (From the Rivers of Missouri and The Banks of Fear, The Deli KC’s #1 album of 2012) on vinyl. I just finished a new “found footage” video I should be releasing any day now.
 
The Deli: Anything special planned for either of the bands for MotM?
 
ST: Roman Numerals is playing with our original drummer Pete LaPorte. We’ve not played with him in about 5 years. We’ll also be playing material from the first record, which we haven’t played in a long time. Probably will be some Joy Division tunes thrown in there too.
 
The Deli: What does supporting local music mean to you?

ST: It’s second nature to me. It’s vital. It’s air and blood. Without it I’m dead.
 
The Deli: Who are your favorite local musicians right now?

 
The Deli: Who are your favorite not-so-local musicians right now?

ST: Moonface, David Bowie, Frank Ocean are all on constant rotation right now.
 
The Deli: What is your ultimate fantasy concert bill to play on?

ST: See above.
 
The Deli: Would you rather spend the rest of your life on stage or in the recording studio?
 
ST: Stage. I hate the studio; too boring for me.
 
The Deli: A music-themed Mount Rushmore. What four faces are you putting up there and why?
 
ST: Kerry King, Dave Lombardo, Tom Araya, and Jeff Hanneman. Because it would be wicked hilarious and awesome.

The Deli: All right, give us the rundown. Where all on this big crazy web can you be found?


The Deli: Always go out on a high note. Any last words of wisdom for the Deli audience?

ST: Kansas City needs more weird. Get creative. Don’t chase trends. Express.
 
Roman Numerals is:
Pete LaPorte – drums
Shawn Sherrill – synth
William Smith – guitar, vocals
Steven Tulipana – bass, keys, vocals
 
Thee Water MoccaSins are:
John Bersuch – drums
Mark Hoffman – euphonium
Liz Kinninger – backing vocals
William Smith – guitar, vocals
Steven Tulipana – bass, guitar, keys, vocals
Wade Williamson – keys, guitars
 
 
 
 
Both of these bands will be playing at Middle of the Map Fest next week, and since they don’t play often, you won’t want to miss them. Thee Water MoccaSins will be playing Thursday, April 4 at recordBar at 11:00 pm, and Roman Numerals will be playing on Saturday at 5:00 pm on The Outdoor Stage.
 
 

–Michelle Bacon 

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Artists on Trial: Dead Ven

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As one of the artists of Kansas City’s Money Wolf Music collective, Dead Ven brings a rough-edged, socially conscious folk approach to the local music scene. We talked with frontman Ven Smith about what the band has in store for the year, including its upcoming appearances at Middle of the Map Fest and Center of the City Fest.
 
The Deli: Down and dirty: 1 sentence to describe your music. What is it?

Dead Ven: Street-folk, positive anthems of discontent for the working class. Woody Guthrie meets OI! a la Angelic Upstarts…? Damn. It all sounds so pretentious.
 
The Deli: What other artists are you looking forward to seeing at MotM?
 
Dead Ven: Besides all my Money Wolf Music family and all the great KC bands I see all the time? The Whigs—I’m a sucker for ’90’s, ‘00’s alternative, stoked to see White Lung and a lot of other bands I haven’t gotten to experience yet!
 
The Deli: Let’s talk about something you have coming up this year. What can we expect?
 
Dead Ven: Dead Ven has an ultra-limited 7" pre-order coming out in the next month or so on Money Wolf Music with punk legend Kevin Seconds of 7seconds. It’s a dream for me, growing up listening to 7seconds and all the the great hardcore-punk of that era—plus he’s a great guy and his singer-songwriter stuff is incredibly passionate and well-written.
 
The Deli: So, you guys are playing Center of the City Fest too? Busy!
 
Dead Ven: Wow, you noticed. Yeah, I think we’re the only band playing the "fest" and the "anti-fest,” haha. Dead Ven was asked back to return to Center of the City after playing the inaugural fest last year and prior to Money Wolf Music being given a stage at Middle of the Map. There’s a lot of backstory in there, but we’re happy as hell to be participating in anything and everything that supports Kansas City and all the music and arts contained therein. I think in the end, that’s what everyone involved in both is really going for: growing the scene.
 
The Deli: What does supporting local music mean to you?

Dead Ven: Go to shows. Buy the records. Eat/drink Boulevard at the bar. Tell people about shows and bands you like. Make something cool happen. Be excellent to each other.
 
The Deli: Who are your favorite local musicians right now?

Dead Ven: Wow, so many. Of course all my (obligatory self-promotion) Money Wolf Music labelmates— there’s so much talent there, but recent discoveries? I just saw The Electric Lungs and they put on a hell of a show, The New Riddim made me "skank" for the first time in a decade, love Bent Left, Smash the State and The Rackatees (Lawrence) bros and their ethic about making stuff happen. I also just had a chance to play a stripped down set with Gregg Todt; that dude is so intensely good.
 
The Deli: Who are your favorite not-so-local musicians right now?

Dead Ven: Bob Fucking Mould put out a new record this year. Bruce Springsteen put out a new one last year. Also, I could list about a hundred more punk bands that are currently slaying. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I still love Tim Armstrong and Chuck Ragan and Hot Water Music.
 
The Deli: What is your ultimate fantasy concert bill to play on?

Dead Ven: The one where all my best friends spend part of the show in the crowd and part on stage and we all sing along with each other’s songs. Also, if I could play claves for The Foo Fighters.
 
The Deli: Would you rather spend the rest of your life on stage or in the recording studio?
 
Dead Ven: Stage, all stage. I’ll never be a “recording artist.” That’s not my jam; I’m in it for the community, the experience of sharing with good people. I greatly prefer hearing the noise of a show over myself in some earphones, plus I get tired of my songs really easily.
 
The Deli: A music-themed Mount Rushmore. What four faces are you putting up there and why?
 
Dead Ven: Neil Young, Ian MacKaye, Bruce Springsteen. No explanation, but god that makes me feel old. And… Fred Durst. Yeah, Fred Durst for sure.

The Deli: All right, give us the rundown. Where all on this big crazy web can you be found?


The Deli: Always go out on a high note. Any last words of wisdom for the Deli audience?

Dead Ven: RISE ABOVE. STAY WILD. FOREVER TRY.
 
Dead Ven is:
Ven Smith
Nathan Long
Ethan Taylor
Justin Penney
Dennis Hinaris
 
 
Check out Dead Ven at Middle of the Map Fest next Friday, April 5. They will be playing the Money Wolf stage at 8:00 pm at Westport Coffeehouse, followed by Dollar Fox, The Latenight Callers, and The Hillary Watts Riot. They will also be playing at Center of City Fest at The Black & Gold Tavern (formerly The Newsroom) on Saturday evening at 9:15 pm. 

–Michelle Bacon 

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Album review: Claire and the Crowded Stage – Technicolor (EP)

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Technicolor opens with the quirky and cleverly written “Tower of Babel,” which sets an intriguing backdrop for the EP. And two things are immediately made clear about Claire and the Crowded Stage. First, the band’s handler, Claire Adams, does not need a crowded stage to capture an audience’s attention—her voice alone will do the job. And, second, nothing about this band is superficial. Its music is a unique combination of raw emotion and refined sound. The nine-piece, coupled with Adams’s knack for songwriting and compelling vocals, radiates with talent and versatility.  

Adams’ vocals haunt the heart-wrenching “Tower of Babel” [and “Tower of Babel (minimal mix)”] as she sings: “I never lost you / You were never mine.” The strong piano, clarinet, and accordion parts make the ballad memorable and unique. The album’s title track, “Technicolor,” is perhaps the most danceable track on the EP. It carries a rolling-‘20s-esque feel—breaking out into the jitterbug certainly wouldn’t be inappropriate. “Songbird” starts slow and instrumental with an exotic sound unlike any other on the EP. About halfway through the track, however, the tempo, chords and mood change completely and the song becomes very upbeat. It’s another example of the group’s ambidextrous abilities.

Claire and the Crowded Stage is full of enduring talent that will only get better with time. This isn’t just a group of musician friends who are aimlessly plucking away on guitars or noodling around on a piano. Their sound is purposeful and polished. They weren’t thrown together by accident; this crowd was brought about to give local music a good name.
 
Technicolor, the group’s second EP, was released January 5. Claire and her crowded stage comprises: Claire Adams (vocals, ukulele and guitar), Katelyn Boone (bass and keys), Pete Lawless (accordion and saxaphone), Meredith McGrade (electric guitar), Katy Guillen (electric guitar), Stephanie Williams (drums), Jerod Rivers (drums), Brent Jamison (keys) and Teri Quinn (clarinet and guitar). As is par for the course of being a musician in Kansas City, several of these band members can be found hopscotching from lineup to lineup and venue to venue across the city. 
 
You’ll be able to listen to Claire and the Crowded Stage on 90.1 KKFI next Wednesday, March 27 at 11:15 a.m. Members will be performing live on Mark Manning’s weekly show, Wednesday MidDay Medley. The group will next be crowding the Coda stage on Friday, March 29 with Rev Gusto. Facebook event page here.
 
Here’s a video from the title track, "Technicolor":
 
 
 
–Alex Peak
 

Alex Peak is a magazine designer by day and a music listener by night. To her, stumbling across great new music is even better than finding a $10 bill floating around in the laundry.

 

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On The Beat with Blaire Geenens

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Blaire Geenens is an integral part of the depth, dynamics, and sheer force of Clairaudients. Check out our interview with him, and check out the band performing acoustic tunes this Friday, March 8 at Uptown Arts Bar. Catch the beat right here!

 
–Michelle Bacon
 
On The Beat is an exclusive feature from The Deli Magazine-Kansas City that showcases many of the talented drummers in the Kansas City area. 
 

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Artists on Trial: Eyelit

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Eyelit is driven by the husband-and-wife team of Austin and Dansare Marks. The couple shares a chemistry that comes through their folky compositions. The St. Joseph group has risen in popularity since the release of its debut album The Woe Dies and its inclusion on recent local compilation Midwestern Audio, Vol. 1. We wanted to get to know them a little better, so we talked with Austin and Dansare about the band.

 
The Deli: Down and dirty: 1 sentence to describe your music. What is it?

Eyelit: The picking of acoustic guitar strings and the vibrations of a haunting female voice… time to cry.
 
The Deli: Eyelit has been a band since 2008. Have you been making music together before that?
 
Austin Marks: Dansare and I had never made music together before Eyelit, but I’ve been writing and playing music since I was about 13. Before Eyelit, Dansare’s main musical outlets were musical theatre and choir; both of which she has participated in since she was very young.
 
The Deli: What else can we expect from you guys this year?
 
Dansare Marks: I’m really excited to record one of our newer songs, “Finding My Way Home.” This will be our first time recording with the new members added to the band. We’re hoping to record that track along with a music video very soon.
 
The Deli: What does supporting local music mean to you?

Dansare: I’m quite fond of the sense of community I have found in the “local music” scene. It’s incredibly encouraging and inspiring to be a part of a group of people whose real passion is music. That includes more than just the musicians. It’s the show-goers, the bar/venue owners, the writers…all of them coming together to support a form of art they’re invested in.
 
The Deli: Who are your favorite local musicians right now?

Dansare: Coming from St. Joe, I’m much more familiar with the local musicians here. Some of my favorites from St. Joe musicians would be The Souvineers, Scruffy and the Janitors, and Andy Grooms. I’m beginning to familiarize myself with KC’s local musicians and I’m really into Capybara, Cowboy Indian Bear, and Me Like Bees.
 
The Deli: Congrats on being selected to play MidCoast Takeover at SXSW. Who are you guys looking forward to playing with or seeing there?
 
Eyelit: Thanks. I’m looking forward to all the KC energy that will be there, but as far as nationals are concerned, I honestly have no idea who is playing. I’ll let you know when I know. Andrew W.K.?
 
The Deli: Who are your favorite not-so-local musicians right now?

Dansare: I’ve been listening to a lot of Dry The River, James Vincent McMorrow, and Agnes Obel.
 
Austin: Lately it’s been Louis Armstrong, Andrew Bird, and Bob Marley.
 
The Deli: What is your ultimate fantasy concert bill to play on?

Austin: Ultimate fantasy? To play in a hemp field alongside John Lennon and Bob Marley… but a more realistic fantasy would be to play some nice venue with Andrew Bird.
 
The Deli: Would you rather spend the rest of your life on stage or in the recording studio?
 
Dansare: I have a love/hate relationship with performing. Singing with a band is much different from musical theatre, which is what I grew up with. I find myself, surprisingly, much more shy and nervous when I’m on stage with the band. But recording can get monotonous, so I’d go with a life on stage.
 
The Deli: A music-themed Mount Rushmore. What four faces are you putting up there and why?
 
Austin: Chad Kroeger, Scott Stapp, Justin Bieber, and Kesha Sebert. Reason: their huge influence and musical contributions.

The Deli: All right, give us the rundown. Where all on this big crazy web can you be found?

Twitter: @Eyelit

The Deli: Always go out on a high note. Any last words of wisdom for the Deli audience?

Austin: Never dive in the shallow end of a pool.
 
Eyelit is:
Austin Marks
Dansare Marks
 
Eyelit was one of over 40 KC artists selected to play the 2013 MidCoast Takeover showcase at SXSW from March 13-16 at Shangri-La in Austin, Texas. The group will perform on the main stage on Saturday, March 16 at 4:30 pm.
 
 
 
–Michelle Bacon
 

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Album review: Pilot For A Day – Better AIr

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It’s been a hot minute since I’ve heard an album with this much pop sensibility come out of Kansas City. Maybe I’m just not in sync with what’s actually going on, or maybe this really is the new generation pioneer for KC pop-punk music. Either way, Pilot For A Day’s debut full-length album, Better Air, is quite the refreshing listen.

 
Better Air is a record, that, in its entirety, emits positive vibes. Songs of hopeless romanticism, adolescent angst, girls, and life ambitions in general compose the 10-track, 40-minute album. And no matter how melancholy the lyrics become, the overall essence of every song leaves you feeling good.
 
Pilot for a Day hits hard on the home opener of Better Air, “Take This Chance.” Synthy siren sounds pop into your audible field first and foremost. The poppy and upbeat diddy that follows instantly lifts your mood. It is a defined precursor to the remainder of the album. “Take This Chance” presents itself with bold lyrics and positive energy, much like the remainder of the album.
 
Possibly the best track on this album is number three, “Extraordinary Life.” This four-minute anthem features the vocal work of close-to-legendary St. Louis rocker Andrew Volpe of Ludo fame. Pilot’s singer Nolan Smith’s chilling, low-toned voice on “Extraordinary Life” is extraordinarily complemented (see what I did there?) by Volpe’s voice on the chorus. The two have a great vocal chemistry that sounds like something you want to hear more of. The bad news: you don’t hear more of it on Better Air; the good news: the rest of the album is just as incredible.
 
Consistently keeping the upbeat tempo, there is no clear shift in motifs through Better Air. It is really quite refreshing to know that you don’t have to power through that slow song stuck in the middle of the album just to reach the more poppy ones. The first eight tracks are all equally as dancy and synth motivated as the rest. One thing you can count on is the shift in the last two tracks “From Somewhere to Here” and “Midwestern Kings.” These last two tracks form an appropriate outro.
 
“From Somewhere to Here” takes the cake for most somber song on the album. Accompanied by the perfect ballad chords of a piano, Smith takes on his haunting tone yet again, setting more of depressing tone. The song does pick up, but maintains that ballad persona. As the song progresses, it picks up more and more throughout the rest of the song.
 
The final track, “Midwestern Kings,” has the brilliant theme of starting a new life. This is probably the best way to end Better Air. As if saying throughout everything in life, there is always a chance to start again. 
 
–-Steven Ervay 

Steven Ervay is super rad. 
 
 
 

 

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Album review: The Blackbird Revue – Glow (EP)

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2013 is shaping up to be another very fine vintage for local music, with several quality releases already available and a slew of eagerly-anticipated albums coming soon to fine retailers and Bandcamp pages near you. Add to this list Glow, the third EP (and first since 2010) from The Blackbird Revue. Husband-and-wife team Jacob and Danielle Prestidge have established themselves as purveyors of an ear-pleasing sound that combines Americana, folk, country, and indie pop in various layers, and their vocal harmonies continue to astonish and devastate. Glow shows the twosome, with the help of several skilled musicians, bringing these skills to the listener in fine form.

 
The lead track, “When You Are Mine,” shows The Blackbird Revue at the height of its harmonic powers. Those of you who have taken singing lessons or been involved in choral music for any number of years will understand this: both Jacob and Danielle show great ability at singing over the notes. Coming at the music from above gives the vocals an airy, lilting quality during the softer moments at the beginning of this song (and throughout the EP), but the second half sees the tempo change from a gentle breeze to a howling gale, lifting the listener up and carrying said listener on a Thelma and Louise-esque ride straight over the cliff …
 
… where the title track awaits to catch you and cradle you in its gentle comfort. Glow paints a lyrical landscape with such verses as “fade / our sunsoaked yesterdays / to sepias and grays,” with the intertwined voices alternating in the roles of both palette and canvas. “Winter Rest” is the most pop-sensible track of the four, with undeniable hooks that make toe-tapping a near certainty. The EP concludes with “Lone Swan,” a winsome ballad that offers an encouraging word and a shoulder to lean on for someone whose burden has grown heavy (“this world is cruel this world is kind / and sometimes love is hard to find / so if you need to clear your mind / take the keys and take your time”).
 
When you listen to Glow, you hear music that pleases with its honesty and directness, but the notes that spring from your speakers don’t tell the entire story. Listening to Danielle and Jacob work together, harmonize together, and just be together, you realize that they have … something … indefinable, yet unmistakable. This isn’t just a musical duo, and this isn’t just a married couple. This is a union of two spirits and souls that complement each other perfectly as no other could. The underlying intensity and obvious passion shine brightly throughout this 14-minute love letter from the Blackbird Revue.
 
I hope someday we all get to experience that same glow.
 
The group’s next performance will be next Friday, March 8 at River’s Bend Restaurant and Bar in Parkville with Jason Craig and The Wingmen at 8:00 pm (Facebook event here). The Blackbird Revue will also be a part of the HomeGuard Festival VIP party on Saturday, March 16 at The Midwestern Musical Co. at 7:00 pm.
 
 
 
–-Michael Byars
 

Michael Byars may or may not be pickling things at this moment. It’s possible that he’s already had four or five bottles of Mountain Dew by now. There’s a chance that he is at a hookah bar somewhere. You may say he’s a dreamer. But most of all, he spells pretty well and he works for free, so we let him write stuff for us sometimes. 

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Album review: The ACBs – Little Leaves

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The ACBs return with a rapid and manic compilation of mentally unstable orchestrations masquerading as two-minute pop songs. Extremely compact arrangements treat fluff like a four-letter word as the Kansas City foursome cruises through thirteen tracks in roughly 30 minutes.Seriously, only two tracks on this album crest the three-minute mark. Often they halt suddenly without cause or warning, which actually works well within the scope of Little Leaves, as each song almost serves like a poetic prelude into the following one.

The music is mostly driven by the pretty-boy sounding guitars, all cleaned up and ready to be taken home to meet your mom. Occasionally, they are allowed to dance with the distortion pedal which provides just enough 5 o’clock shadow to thicken the sonic landscape. The rhythm section and additional instrumentation are solidly envisioned and executed, rarely providing more than just the perfect amount of foundation, dynamics, and drive. Lead vocalist Konnor Ervin vocalizes with an unsure innocence, often coming across like a preteen Ben Gibbard or Connor Oberst just on the verge of hitting puberty. At times it is hard to tell if he is unwilling to commit to the idiosyncrasies of his voice, but in the scope of the whole record, the vocal performance becomes a sporadic, almost neurotic force of dynamics and mystery.
 
Thematically, Little Leaves is deliciously sinister. Under the sheen of ‘60s go-go girl guitars and booty-shaking beats, there are real issues being thrown around here. While other smiley pop songs are out pining over girls and living up the good life, these tracks are popping Xanax and cutting themselves. They know exactly how many times they can hit their heads on the wall before they pass out. It is an extremely interesting and impressive contrast of style and substance. Not too many bands can be so musically joyful and thematically self destructive at the same time.
 
The album kicks off with “All Over,” a perfect candidate for the background music to that montage from your favorite romantic comedy where the guy and girl desperately scramble to try to get over each other (only to later realize at the height of some sort of arbitrary “emergency” that they are destined to be together). But just as you are preparing yourself for a quiet and reserved collection of introspective lullabies, the album rushes through a handful of more straightforward pocket-sized burners, most effective being “Oceans.” Almost channeling the more recent work of The Get Up Kids, this song features some of the best usage of additional instrumentation on the record, slowly slipping into just enough sonic cacophony to separate it from the rest of the bunch.
 
“Underweight,” with its fraught longing and simplicity, seems like a cathartic demo that didn’t quite make the final cut for consideration on Pinkerton. Just a super gorgeous slice of sorrow.
 
(lyrics transcribed the best these musician ears can understand)
When we go up state
I won’t search for you I promise
Up till now I’ve been honest
I’m probably gonna find you there
I don’t want to be trapped under my weight
I don’t want to be trapped underweight and hated
 
 “Xanies” is another stand-out effort. It is a terrific microcosm of the whole album: a funky and dancey track on the surface, yet under the veneer actually more morose than the one-eyed dog from the saddest late-night Sarah McLachlan soundtracked commercial you’ve ever seen.
 
The ACBs have taken great strides to keep their often bubble gum sound heavily saturated with bittersweet layers of modern living. Overall, these thirteen tracks brilliantly sucker punch the gut with a deep neurosis full of anti-depressants and coping mechanisms, yet remain pleasant and bouncy enough on the surface to engage the casual radio listener. We’ve been anxiously awaiting this sophomore effort for quite some time. Safe to say, this beautiful collection of reality-sodden pop gems exceeds all expectations.
 
Little Leaves will officially be released this Tuesday, but The ACBs will celebrate the release of the vinyl on Saturday, March 9, at Vinyl Renaissance on 39th St. This free, all-ages show will kick off at 1:00 pm with The People, She’s A Keeper at 1:45, and The ACBs at 2:30. The ACBs will also be performing at Ink’s Middle of the Map Fest from April 4-6. Specific set times and venues TBA.
 
 
 
–-Zach Hodson
 

Zach Hodson is a monster. He once stole a grilled cheese sandwich from a 4-year-old girl at her birthday party. He will only juggle if you pay him. I hear he punched Slimer right in his fat, green face. He knows the secrets to free energy, but refuses to release them until "Saved by the Bell: Fortysomethings" begins production.

He is also in Dolls on Fire and Drew Black & Dirty Electric, as well as contributing to various other Kansas City-based music, comedy, and art projects.
 

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Album review: Man Bear – Infinity Cat (EP)

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(Photo by Layne Haley)

Lo-fi: pretentious calculated choice or economic necessity? When someone says, “Because that’s how __________ did it,” you know you’re dealing with the former. When someone says, “I have no idea what I’m doing,” that’s a sign of honesty, simplicity, and little money.
 
Man Bear’s latest EP, Infinity Cat, is riddled with economic necessity, a condition that doesn’t bode well for fashion endorsements. In fact, listening to Man Bear, it’s obvious the band doesn’t bode well for fashion anything. But it all makes for great songwriting and a real, gritty-sounding recording.
 
Continuing to fly the tattered banner of Midwest punk rock, Kansas City’s Man Bear lets it rip with five solid tracks of shredded melodic anthems. Vocals are nearly lost in the mix, guitars are distorted within an inch of their lives, and someone might have bumped a keyboard, then let it play the same loop for the first three songs.  And through all the power and noise, a strand of pop sensibility threads the three-piece outfit together.
 
The favorable comparisons to The Replacements, Soul Asylum, Buffalo Tom, and Superchunk are inevitable, but in no way diminish the sermon Man Bear preaches. Paul Westerberg would be spinning in his grave, bright green with jealousy, if he didn’t have the bad sense to still be alive.
 
Don’t think because Infinity Cat chooses heart over production that Man Bear doesn’t try. They pack their short songs with tons of hooks and tight rhythms. The backward guitar solo in the tragi-ballad “A Girl I Once Knew” and the pulsing cowbell in “All Goes Down” are nice touches. Man Bear tries all right; they just don’t try to please everyone.
 
Infinity Cat probably won’t usher in a new-wave of mid-paced, rootsy punk rock. Too unfashionable, too risky, and too bad, because the near absence of any type of rock—punk or otherwise—has made albums like Infinity Cat more crucial than ever.
 
 
Man Bear will be performing at The Brick on Saturday, March 2. The band was recently featured on KC Live on KSHB-TV 41 (see below), and was also named the winner of The Deli’s open submission poll for Best Kansas City Emerging Artist of 2012.
 
 

–-Steven M. Garcia

Steven is guitarist and lead vocalist for Kansas City power pop trio Deco Auto. He also makes a deliciously angry salsa.

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Album review: Bloodbirds – Psychic Surgery

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Bloodbirds’ latest release, Psychic Surgery, takes no prisoners as it roars across a hyperdistorted punk psychedelic landscape. At times, the album oozes with a raw and spastic energy similar to that of Nirvana’s Bleach. Other times, it meanders down swirling passages of thickly affected instrumentation. Either way, it is truly impressive how much pleasantly overbearing noise is conjured up by this three-piece group, consisting of Mike and Brooke Tuley (of Ad Astra Arkestra fame) and Anna St. Louis.
 
Driven by what seems like more guitars than Billy Corgan could count on both hands and feet, this album is fuzzy, buzzy, yet well executed. Underneath the torrent of distortion, the solid beat and bass combination of Tuley and St. Louis keeps things grounded and moving along, while paying close attention to not clash with the siren of guitars wailing above them. And although the material does get a tad formulaic at times, it is a damn solid formula: chaos noise incarnate loosely trapped within the parameters of pop structure.
 
“Bad Animal” sticks out for me. The intro fools the listener a bit with 26 seconds of Bob Seger-esque guitar noodling before launching into an all-out sonic blitz. Reminiscent of early Queens of the Stone Age, it is a furious four minutes of song, almost too saturated at times with antagonistically distorted guitars, but nicely counterpointed by the stripped-down, daydream verses. Being one of the more straightforward and less meandering efforts on the album, it packs a blow worth noting.
 
“Patterned Sky” prominently features restful female vocals and flexes the psychedelic and dreamy muscles that Bloodbirds has to offer. The main guitar finds itself clean, verbed to almost surf rock in a way. This track gets in and out pretty quick and provides a nice breather to the otherwise resonant assault.
 
Perhaps some of the album’s most interesting guitar work is featured on its title track. All too often guitarists in this genre can get inane or annoying when trying to fill time with random effect noise. Tuley avoids that pitfall in “Psychic Surgery,” putting together a solid and dynamic performance. With what I assume is at least a handful of effects, he coaxes his guitar through a variety of emotions in a nice compact instrumental section. From wailing to pouting to singing to just random robotic musings, it is clear that Tuley is very aware, in control, and discreet with this performance.
 
The album ends with a bombardment of riffs called “Time Battle.” This song screams like someone beating the shit out of a banshee. It may just be the perfect summation of the rest of the record. There is just enough breath to the verses to make you think you might have some chance of keeping your eardrums intact, but all hope of avoiding the dreaded rrrriiiinnnggg in your ears while trying to fall asleep at night is lost once the vocals give way to the cavalcade of searing guitars. It is a fierce bitch slap to the face, the perfect way to finish off the sonically engorged LP.
 
All in all, Psychic Surgery will make your audiologist incredibly pissed at you. Bloodbirds do not hold anything back. There is no mute button left on any track in the final mix. If their live show is anything as powerful as this record is, I would suggest earplugs inside earmuffs inside an old deep sea diver’s helmet for protection. Or chance it. Bloodbirds would be a wonderful thing to go deaf to.

Bloodbirds was recently selected to play Ink’s Middle of the Map Fest, which is curated by The Record Machine and runs from Thursday, April 4 to Saturday, April 6. Details on schedules and venues will be forthcoming.

–-Zach Hodson

Zach Hodson is a monster. He once stole a grilled cheese sandwich from a 4-year-old girl at her birthday party. He will only juggle if you pay him. I hear he punched Slimer right in his fat, green face. He knows the secrets to free energy, but refuses to release them until "Saved by the Bell: Fortysomethings" begins production.

He is also in Dolls on Fire and Drew Black & Dirty Electric, as well as contributing to various other Kansas City-based music, comedy, and art projects.

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New single: “Wonderful Daze” by Chocolate Wurms

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The #1 in under- underground Kansas City trash pop meets an indie art rapper scientist of lyricism in this laid-back groove single with a purpose. I had actually quite literally just dusted off an older Chocolate Velvet CD from the early 2000s the other day to give it a spin when I saw on Twitter (which is both CV’s and Wurm’s social media of choice) that this collaboration had happened. Having also known, worked with, and been a fan of Wurm’s for many years, I was certainly intrigued what this seemingly odd duo would come up with. After listening, the pairing makes perfect sense.
 
For the most part, the beat is super chilled out, almost sounds like something you’d hear on a TLC record. It’s a groove you can easily throw on and sit back, sip a drink of whatever color liquor you prefer, and just enjoy.
 
Wurm handles the verses with his usual deft and quick-spit rap stylings. Whereas I don’t listen to rap enough to have a developed ear to understand everything he is saying, the pace and intensity of his vocalization provides a nice contrast to the silky track beneath. The hook is supplied by Chocolate Velvet and features spaced-out, dual-octave, half-sung/half-spoken vocals that have been a staple of his sound for almost a decade.
 
Thematically, this song is a celebration of making art for art’s sake. This idea is by no means a new one, but this duo is able to paint a new shade on it that keeps it from being just another starving artist anthem.
 
Got no money in the bank, I know where I stand
Summertime comes and I soak up a tan
If you want to make music, don’t call it a brand
Wurms made of chocolate never made a cent
 
I admire the fact they finish up the song at a swift and enjoyable three minutes and nineteen seconds. It is just enough to make their point with passion and get out the door without beating the listener over the head with a monotony of holier-than-thou excess. It does exactly what pop music should do, leaves you wanting more. I certainly hope they do just that.
 

Chocolate Wurms is the combination of the main creative forces behind Chocolate Velvet and Wurm & the Madness. “Wonderful Daze” is its debut single.

–-Zach Hodson

Zach Hodson is a monster. He once stole a grilled cheese sandwich from a 4-year-old girl at her birthday party. He will only juggle if you pay him. I hear he punched Slimer right in his fat, green face. He knows the secrets to free energy, but refuses to release them until "Saved by the Bell: Fortysomethings" begins production.

He is also in Dolls on Fire and Drew Black & Dirty Electric, as well as contributing to various other Kansas City-based music, comedy, and art projects.
 
 
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Album review: The Great Vehicle – The People’s Cathedral of Wavelengths (EP)

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Described as “a guided tour of performance, technical, and philosophical minutiae,” The Great Vehicle’s The People’s Cathedral of Wavelengths journeys down an experimental and rock-infused path to deliver a fresh sound that help gives the “progressive” genre a good reputation.

The People’s Cathedral of Wavelengths opens abruptly with “Bald Chemist,” a track that sets the dynamic and progressive tone for the rest ofthe EP. A guitar solo about two-thirds of the way in provides a throwback feeling reminiscent of early/mid-’90s rock, but in the best way possible. “Touched in the Head,” a proclaimed “disparate mismatched junk glued together with industrial-strength adhesive—in the best way possible,” builds upon itself with ascending and descending scales and an introductory riff that supposedly has been in the works for years. “Swan Meat (Slight Reduction)” closes out the EP on a strong note. Though there is an overarching heavy guitar sound throughout all of The People’s Cathedral of Wavelengths, the song has a contagious tempo and beat that makes it the most catchy track of them all. Strong percussion coupled with some random hollering from “an unknown preacher from an unknown cable channel” that the band tossed into the mix make “Swan Meat” a favorite on the EP.
 
It can be a rare case to find progressive rock songs that are less than 10 minutes long and actually “progress” from start to finish. The Great Vehicle does a great job at keeping listeners’ attention in their tracks and giving them a beat to dance to.
 
The Great Vehicle is composed of Mason Fann, bass; Gregg Todt, drums; and Troy Van Horn, guitar. The People’s Cathedral of Wavelengths is the band’s first EP, released January 22 and recorded at Sandusky Sound Co by Erik Voeks. The six-track EP can be purchased and downloaded at Bandcamp. Also on this site, the band gives fan some added insight by sharing the backstories to all the songs. 
 
 
–Alex Peak
 
Alex Peak is a magazine designer by day and a music listener by night. To her, stumbling across great new music is even better than finding a $10 bill floating around in the laundry.  
 

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