June 18th: Sassafras and Backbiter at the Redwood Bar and Grill

Yesterday my band Leaking Pigs played our first show at the Redwood Bar and Grill with Sassafras and Backbiter. After us came Sassafras who, like always,  played a crazy set. Sailor screaming through most of the lyrics over the heavy and full riffs is just awesome and I really like their new line-up as a four-piece. They played some of my favorite tracks "Shipwrecked," "Eli," and "Piston Machine." Then came Backbiter, who now will have been playing for 20 years this October. Their genre jumped all over the place from jam-y to country-ish music. You can tell that these guys have been playing for 20 years because they are all very great players and their is an overall feel of them just being locked in together on their instruments. They really do know their stuff! It was a fun and great show and I have to thank Bob Cantu again for putting us on the bill and everyone should go check out his blog at: Babyjeepers.blogspot.com!

SINGLE REVIEW: Portugal. The Man: Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)

New Portugal. The Man never disappoints me! This is the first single off the new album In the Mountain, In the Cloud. The song is an infectious tune with sutch a catchy chorus it's crazy! This is the first album on Atlantic records and I see that there has been a few changes, but it makes the music seem better to me. I mean they didn't have to add the cellos, but goddammit they made the song crazy good. I have seen nothing but great things coming from them on Atlantic! The video I must add is fucking amazing! It is paired with the song "Sleep Forever," which is a song that builds into a crazy, overwhelming masterpiece and is a great ender to the album. The video was all shot in Alaska and shows beautiful shots of the scenery over there with John Baldwin Gourley sledding with a pack of dogs. I don't want to ruin the rest of the video but it is an great short film! If you picked "Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)" up for free off of iTunes last week, or not get this track now!

Watch the short film here: http://youtu.be/jieN2Hp5hS4

SINGLE REVIEW: The Shakers: Hey Lil Darlin

I have been thinking about introducing this new segment for a little while and this seemed like the perfect time to do it. I met the singer Jodie Schell at a broadcast for Rebel Radio, a newer podcast, and she gave me an advanced copy of the Shakers new single "Hey Lil Darlin" (Which I really appreciate!) This song comes out tomorrow June 3rd and they are giving out free copies at there show at the Roxy to the first 100 people who show up. The first thing I have to note is Jodie's voice. She really can rip it up with her voice. It's very soulful and clear. This song has kind of a funky-soul feel until the chorus where it gets very hard rockin' and distorted. I really like this song a lot and recommend going to the show tomorrow to see it first of all because the voice transfers live and get a kick ass new song to listen too!

ALBUM REVIEW: Mr. Dream: Trash Hit

Mr. Dream has put out a great first record! This album of lo-fi, garage-y tunes is totally my style. I have been looking for new bands as I said and these guys are definitely one of the coolest. They do not sound like they went to Harvard or wrote anything in their life besides lyrics and a book report with a big fat F on the front. I have to say my favorites would be "Crime," "Scarred For Life," and "Holy Name." Three songs right in a row which I think defiantly give the definition of the album. Which does not mean only get those three songs, it means if your looking to hear a new band like Mr. Dream check out those songs and if you like them, guaranteed you will love Trash Hit! I love the thickness of the bass on this record, it really is awesome and the singer sounds like he recorded all of his vocals in his bathroom and I totally dig it! If your looking for the great new band, these are the guys your looking for!

May 22nd: Kamikaze at Punk Rock Dodgeball Tournament

One of the most memorable shows of this year was last Sunday at Project Infest, a warehouse in downtown. I rushed out of my house (thinking I was late) when actually the show got moved over a couple of hours. So I got to hang out with the people from Kamikaze and Sassafras helping them set up for the show. After I get back from a Chinese food lunch break the show starts about 15 minutes later. The next second after Kamikaze starts playing there are Mohawks and balls flying everywhere. (No I wasn't at a punk rock orgy) I was at the Punk Rock Dodgeball Tournament. It was pretty awesome I have to say. Seeing one of my favorite local band playing behind a net, while people are getting injured is a great experience. I had to leave towards the end of the set and miss Sassafras sadly, but I didn't go empty handed. Sailor the singer and guitar player of Sassafras gave me a newer EP with a few songs from Dos on it, buttons, and a bottle opener, now I know whats going on my key chain. I'm seeing Sassafras in a couple of weeks so I'm okay missing them. The bands are going on tour with each other, so I would definitely say go see them if they are in your town because these bands now how to rock!

ALBUM REVIEW: Lightnin' Woodcock: Ride the Lightnin'

This album is probably one of the most memorable debut albums of the past five years. Which he and his band have been around around the same amount of time. Drugs and sex are a few of the various topics that go into Lightnins' lyrics. They are also very comical in a sense. It also seems he fuses blues, hard rock, punk, and metal into his songs without making it sound shitty. He is probably one of the better bluesmen that hasn't gone down in history. (yet) I have to say my favorites would be "Fingerbangin'," an awesome instrumental, "Smoochie Coochie Man," to me the centerpiece of the album, and "Have a Drink," a rockin' cover of the AC/DC track. This album makes me excited to hear what's coming next! I would seriously recommend buying this album A.S.A.P.

If you want to hear some great riffs or some funny lyrics you can buy the cd or dowload the album at: http://cdbaby.com/cd/lightninwoodcock
Due out on iTunes very soon!

ALBUM REVIEW: Kamikaze: Tinnitus EP

The past few months I've been searching for new bands that really blow me away. I have found a few bands and Kamikaze is one of them all the way. This band gets so much sound from a three piece. (Excluding being really fuckin' loud) Their new EP Tinnitus is a great hard rock piece of music. It really grabs you by the balls and takes you for a ride. The really cool thing about this EP is that it is short, but once its over you want to listen to it again. (Which has happened to me multiple times with this one) I cannot choose the best tracks off of this record because they are all great and all deserve to be favored. Kamikaze are pretty refreshing from the popular music of today. They deserve a lot more recognition than they get, and I would seriously reccomend buying this record or going to one of their shows! (Bring a pair of earphones for either one)

You can listen and download Tinnitus at: http://kamikazela.bandcamp.com/album/tinnitus-ep

or buy physical copies at: http://www.kamikazela.com/merch.html