Author: audioeclectica

New Release: SWMRS

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Summer is ending, but that doesn’t mean that the fun times have to stop. This band SWMRS was brought to my attention recently and they are quite the fun band. SWMRS is a surf punk band formed in Oakland, California in 2004 by Cole Becker and Joey Armstrong (His dad is Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day), Their influences range from the Beach Boys to the Ramones. These guys have named own brand of Rock and Roll, known as “Beach Pop”.  Recently they released a 2 song single. The main single is a tribute to Miley Cyrus. It’s a really fun song to rock out to. Give it a listen below.

Guest Vocalist: Henry Rollins

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Henry Rollins is one of the most influential punk rock singers ever. His work with Black Flag is legendary and his own band Rollins Band is tremendous especially the album Weight. I was thinking I know Henry has guested on a bunch of songs over the years so why not share that with you all.

Tool- Bottom:

Tony Iommi- Laughing Man In A Devil Mask:

Iggy Pop- Wild America:

William Shatner- I Can’t Get Behind That:

Misfits- We Are 138:

Band Of The Week: Night Verses

12003227_866794286768407_1730607431739606216_nI love that music can take you different places and make you feel something more than you are used to. There truly is something remarkable in the way a band can help heal a wound, soothe your soul, or just be able to let out your aggression. This past week has been very melancholy for myself and while I was sitting and wallowing I came across this band Night Verses.  When I heard the first song on their album Lift Your Existence, “Introducing: The Rot Under The Sun,” instantly there was a connection to their music and lyrics and I knew this band was a keeper. Musically this bands influences range from post hardcore, prog rock. and shoegaze, Imagine Tool, mixed with Deftones, and a bit of Isis and a dash of At the Drive In and you get Night Verses. You can tell by listening, that these guys take what they do seriously as their passion bleeds through each song. Their debut album is 15 tracks of greatness. Recently the band entered the studio with Ross Robinson to work on their follow up album.

Celestial Fires:

Yours:

Be Happy With Yourself, I’m Staying Here In Hell:

I’ve Lost My Way Back Down:

Antidepressants:

https://www.facebook.com/NightVerses

By: Brian Lacy

Cover Comparison: Disturbed, Sonata Arctica, Apocalyptica (Metallica)- Fade To Black

I was going through some CD’s the other day and came across a CD of covers I burned. On it there was Disturbed’s version of Metallica’s “Fade To Black.” This got me thinking that I should do a cover comparison of the different covers of “Fade To Black.” So here you have three versions. Disturbed’s, Sonata Arctica’s, and Apocalyptica. Who do you think did it best?

Disturbed:

Sonata Arctica:

Apocalyptica:

Ultimate Set List: Metallica

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One of my favorite things to do as of late is go back and look at all the set lists from the shows I’ve been to. There are certain bands I’ve seen so many times, that it’s really fun to look back on those shows and remember all that they played. So after looking at all the lists, I thought to myself what if I could write the set list for some of my favorite bands. I gave myself a few rules.

Rule 1: maximum 25 songs

Rule 2: What line up of the band would it be

Rule 3: Where would you want to see the show

Let’s start things off with METALLICA:

Line up would be: James, Kirk, Lars, Cliff

Venue: Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles

Set List:

The Ecstasy Of Gold
For Whom The Bell Tolls
Blackened
Battery
Master Of Puppets
Creeping Death
And Justice For All
One
Fade To Black
Nothing Else Matters
Turn The Page
Bleeding Me
No Leaf Clover
All Nightmare Long
Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)
Orion
Sad But True
The Unforgiven
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
Damage Inc
Harvester Of Sorrow
Dyers Eve
Whiplash
Hit The Lights
Seek And Destroy

Band Of The Week: FIDLAR

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In todays modern music climate it’s really hard for a new band to leave a lasting impression that not only connects with its fan but with the masses. FIDLAR is one of the exceptions.The origins of the band’s name is an acronym for ‘Fuck It Dog, Life’s A Risk.’ Their blend of garage punk and love of The Pixies really shines through in their music. Now a couple albums into their career, their latest album simply named “Too” is out today. Their live shows are full of extreme amounts of energy and reckless abandon. FIDLAR has also released a slew of videos that really show their personality and humor. The video for “Cocaine” features Nick Offerman walking around drinking and taking a leak wherever he can. Their newest video for the song 40 oz on Repeat” is an homage to some of the funniest videos from the 90’s and early 2000’s. Both of these videos were directed by the very talented Ryan Baxley. These guys might be young, but they understand their influences and where they came from. Check out FIDLAR and you’ll see what I mean.

40 oz On Repeat:


Cocaine:

No Waves:

FIDLAR-Self Titled:

https://www.facebook.com/fidlarLA

http://www.fidlarmusic.com/

Cover Comparison: Stone Sour vs HIM (Chris Issak)- Wicked Game

I’ve throughly enjoyed doing this feature on Thursdays. It’s really fun to find interesting covers and share them with you all, even if some of you have heard them before. Today I bring you a cover comparison between Stone Sour and HIM, covering Chris Issak’s “Wicked Game.” Which one do you prefer?

Stone Sour:

HIM:

Chris Issak:

Personally I like the Stone Sour version better

Album Anniversary: Garbage- Self Titled

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The mid 90’s were a very special time in music. So many ground breaking and influential albums came out and shaped the lives of my people.  On August 15, 1995, Garbage released their debut album. After spending time doing remixes and working on other peoples records, Butch Vig, Steve Marker and Duke Erickson decided they wanted to take the different instrumentation they had been doing and form a full fledged band. According to the way the story goes, Steve Marker was watching 120 Minutes on MTV, when he saw the music video of Angelfish’s “Suffocate Me.” He then showed the video to Duke and Butch and had their manager track Shirley Manson down. Shirley Manson met up with  Erikson, Marker and Vig for the first time in London. Due to Shirley’s other band on tour, Garbage was put on hold till after they finished their cycle. The three guys then attended Angelfish’s show in Chicago and Shirley was invite to audition for the group. The audition did not go well, but after talking with the guys while there and they found they had a similar taste in music. Shirley then called Garbage’s manager and asked to audition again.

The album itself is a blend of many different genres from punk, rock, techno, hip hop all with an incorporated pop tinge. There are so many great tracks like, “Vow,” “Stupid Girl,” “Only Happy When It Rains” and “Supervixen.”  Radio and MTV really picked up on the bands singles. To support the albums release, Garbage was the main support for The Smashing Pumpkins while on their tour for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.

20 years into their career and Garbage still have a knack for creating great music. Their singles really still hold up well, as well as some of the deep cuts. The albums as a whole are a little iffy, but there is a real sense of pride within the bands as to what they have created. One thing I noticed while Listening back to all their albums, is that on Version 2.0, they really seemed to find their sound and hone it gracefully.

There is no doubt that all the members of the band are extremely talented, each bringing in something different to the table to create a great body of work. The one thing that always stood out to me about Garbage was Shirley Manson. She has a way about here that is part punk rock, alternative, and hypnotic. Her voice stands out amongst a lot of here peers in the entire genre.

Garbage is going on the road to celebrate their 20 year anniversary by playing their self titled debut in it’s entirety, as well as re releasing it with a slew of extras.

Garbage-Garbage:

Garbage EPK from first album:

By: Brian Lacy

Album Rank: Incubus

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Since I just saw Incubus, I’ve been on a huge kick of listening to all their albums and it got me thinking I should do an album rank of their releases. So here you go in order of not their best to best.

Trust Fall Side A:

Morning View:

Light Grenades:

If Not Now, When:

Science:

A Crow Left Of The Murder:

Make Yourself:

Live Review: Deftones and Incubus at Irvine Meadows

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There are certain bands that hold a special place for me. One of those bands is Deftones. Whenever they come to town I run to see them. Over the years I’ve seen them now 13 times. There was something rather special about this evening. Being that it was the first time in 15 years that Deftones and Incubus had shared a bill together. I remember seeing Deftones and Incubus years ago at the Universal Amphitheater, when White Pony and Make Yourself were released. What a night that was, and what a night this was.

To start the night off was a local Los Angeles band called The Eeries. These guys just weren’t good at all. They seemed like nice enough guys but their music was beyond juvenile and dated. Their 15 minute set was the longest 15 minutes of my entire week.

Death From Above 1979 was the main support for the tour and they did not disappoint at all. Their blistering high energy set was remarkable. I’ve been wanting to see that for years, and am so glad they got back together. The duo wasted no time in getting the energy of the night to where it needed to be as the sun was starting to set. Irvine Meadows might not have been the most ideal place to see them, but they rocked the hell out of the place.

Deftones were then set to take the stage and boy did they. From the opening chords of “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” all the way till “Engine No. 9,” there was no mistaking that Deftones would be a hard act to follow. From their stage presence and visuals , it’s no mistaking that they came to kill it. Chino was spot on throughout the entire set, even being playful with the audience and the other guys in the band. Watching them you can tell they were really having fun up on stage, especially Abe Cunningham and Sergio Vega. Their setlist was a great blend of hits and deep cuts from all their albums with the exception of Saturday Night Wrist. They did put “When Girls Telephone Boys” in the set and all the guys really dug in on that song. The crowd was a little separate in who was there to see who, and you can definitely tell the Deftones fans from the Incubus fans. My voice was pretty horse after their set but it was well worth it, especially since they kicked off their set with my all time favorite “Be Quiet and Drive.”

Incubus headlined the evening. They sounded great and looked totally at ease. Despite their new EP being so so, they pulled out a lot of gems in their setlist. Their set kicked off with a jam of the Hans Zimmer song S.T.A.Y. from Interstellar and transitioned perfectly into “Nice To Know You.” Other gems from the set included “Sick Sad Little World (one of my top two Incubus songs of all time), “Vitamin,” “Dig,” and “A Crow Left Of The Murder.” The bands use of visualizers and cameras made for a fun night that was sort of hypnotic. I must say that it was a pleasure to see Incubus again. Brandon Boyd still has a great voice and Jose Pasillas is one hell of a drummer. I have to say though that I miss having Drik Lance aka Alex Katunich up on stage, he really had a vibe that fit the music.

All in all it was a great show, not to mention that I was with my wife and she really enjoyed it. Deftones though stole the night. They were such a hard act to follow. Had Incubus played some older stuff from Make Yourself and SCIENCE, they might have been able to steal it, but that’s not to say they didn’t put on a great show.

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Deftones Setlist:

Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Diamond Eyes
Rocket Skates
You’ve Seen The Butcher
Sextape
Feiticeria
Digital Bath
Knife Party
When Girls Telephone Boys
Tempest
Swerve City
Passenger
Change (In The House Of The Flies)
Headup
Engine No. 9

Incubus Setlist:

S.T.A.Y (Hans Zimmer song from Interstellar)
Nice To Know You
Anna Molly
Circles
Absolution Calling
Are You In?
Sick Sad Little World
Vitamin
Trust Fall
In The Company Of Wolves
Wish You Were Here
I Miss You
Love Hurts
Pardon Me
Megalomanic
Dig
Drive
A Crow Left Of The Murder

By: Brian Lacy

Photos by: Alisa Lacy