Meghan O’Niel who used to handle the vocals in Punch has a new band going. They’re called Super Unison and below is a preview of what they’re up to. Good stuff, if you ask me.
Listen to “Recognize You”:
http://superunison.bandcamp.com/track/recognize-you
San Francisco-based independent vinyl manufacturer PIRATES PRESS and Czech-based GZ MEDIA are proud to announce the creation and successful implementation of a brand new vinyl pressing machine - the first made in 30 years. This brand new press, the first of many to be created, will steadily increase production capacity and decrease what are already the vinyl industry's quickest production times. Read more: http://conta.cc/1DRPfX2 (IMAGE: FILIP SINGER/EPA)
Interview: Bret Hoy (Director of Dither: The DIY Sound)
Two days ago I posted a link for streaming "Dither: The DIY Sound". If you haven't watched it yet, make sure you do. It's a great film. But first, here's a short interview with one of its directors, Bret Hoy.
Sam Geneser and I are the directors on the project, Ben Clayton was the cam op and colorist, David Mudd did the animations and Kaitlyn Manlove was the sound engineer.
Tell me a little bit about how the Dither-project got going.
Dither started as an idea in Sam's head. He had the idea to make a documentary about Punk Rock and the DIY ethic. When we initially started talking about working on the film together we started highlighting potential people to interview and the big ones were people like Ian Mackaye and Jacob Bannon, however, we knew of others out there that were living the lifestyle. Mark Sarich of the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center was an incredible help focusing the story that we were trying to tell. From that interview with Mark, show footage of Native and other bands in Chicago and also some archival footage, we put together a 5 minute promo of what we were trying to say with the film and things took off from there.
How come you picked DIY as a subject for the film? What is it about DIY culture that you wanted to put a spotligt on when you made this film?
Well, it's important to note that we didn't start off so focused on DIY as it's portrayed in the film. As the audience learns when they watch the film, we learned more about DIY as we went. Unlike many other (more prepared) documentarians, we didn't quite know the specific story until it started forming in front of us. The common threads that linked these people across the United States weren't cherry picked or fished for. They were just there. I think that's one of the most exciting thing about the film.
You relied on donations to make Dither happen. How was that whole experience? Seeing people contributing cash to support an idea you have must be awesome.
It still boggles my mind that so many people out there had enough trust in us to put in even 5 bucks. It was a pretty surreal experience knowing that so many people out there were inspired by the story. It truly is a story that needs to be told and I think the promo video we made resonated with not only those within the DIY community, but also people who admire those living an honest lifestyle.
I watched the film two nights ago (when it went free, I'm a cheap bastard) and I liked it a lot. I think you've managed to get a great group of people in the film. How did you go about the progress of deciding who to interview?
It was sort of the spread shot method. At first we just interviewed the people we knew, and then we interviewed the people that were referenced by those people, and so on. There were a variety of people that we wished we could've talked to, but limited time and resources inhibited us.
Getting people like Ian McKaye and Jacob Bannon aboard must have been awesome. How did you hook up with them?
One of the great things about the DIY community is how willing everyone was to chime in. It took time to get in touch with these guys, but once we got on the phone with them, they were totally open to helping in whatever way they could. These aren't guys sitting behind a big desk in an office building. They honestly care about what they're doing and the community they're a part of.
How cool was it to hang out at the Dischord House and the Deathwish building?
Very cool. You'd walk around and be like, "Hey, I know that band. And that one. And that one. And they're great too."
Also, seeing the ground floor of Dischord and Deathwish really humbles you because you see how DIY it really is. When listening to music in your own home it's easy to imagine some big warehouse, but when you're there you see how personal it is and the effort that the people put forth to get their art form to you.
What are your own experiences of DIY culture and in what way, besides this film, are/have you been a part of it?
Most of my DIY experience comes from the creation of the film. Everyone involved in the production had differing levels of involvement, and that's another reason why this film is compelling. As I said before, we learned as we went. What is so great is that we WERE funded. People were always great to us and when it was released we've been accepted from so far and wide. That's the validation that the story needed and it's what we experienced, which is the story we work to tell in the film. So in that way, making Dither was a DIY experience in itself.
What was the first screening like? Good turnout?
It was exciting, but incredibly nerve-wracking. You can't ever predict the odd glitches that develop during the first screening. Luckily, it went off with out any major hitches and then we were able to go back and fix what we needed to for our DVD and VOD release. The turnout was really great. Packed auditorium actually, but there were also multiple films playing that night. I think a lot of people weren't prepared for Jacob Bannon and his neck tattoos, but he turned out the be the crowd favorite. Funny how that happens.
Who should watch Dither and why?
It's important to remember that Dither isn't just a story about DIY Punk. It's a story about people who have worked their entire lives against the grain because they felt morally obligated to do so. Living an honest life is something that everyone can and should get behind. When the entertainment industry is so flooded with impersonal and manufactured content, the DIY story and lifestyle is incredibly important. It's a story that everyone should at least be exposed to.
What did you learn from making this film?
Apart from taking the ultimate crash course in documentary filmmaking we learned that the way you go about creating art or expressing yourself is just as important as the art and the expression itself. It's an unbelievably important concept to grasp.
You got an award, right?
Since we were all college students when we created this film, and we were working in coordination with a university, we were entered into the national BEA conference for documentaries. We won second place in that competition. It's good have your work recognized, but having fans in Australia, Germany, Italy, Brazil, etc. contact you about wanting to see your film is really the exciting part.
As filmmakers, what's the plan? Will you continue working on films together in the future? Do you have new projects planned?
We've tried to keep in contact over the past couple years. We've certainly spread across the US, but Sam, Ben and I are all still in the Midwest. Sam and I have discussed a couple music video projects and a documentary but nothing solid. I'm currently working with Mark Sarich on another short doc about El Sistema, which is an organization that helps under privileged youth learn orchestral music. There's some really inspiring stuff going on at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center.
Questions: Christer Davidsson
Answers: Bret Hoy
Watch "Dither: The DIY Sound" for free:
Click “$1 Buy Movie”, then underneath post code click, “Use Code.”
Enter the coupon code: DITHER. You’ll need enter your e-mail address as well.
http://ditherthediysound.vhx.tv/
More info on the project can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/ditherthediysound
I watched this the other day and liked it a lot. Dither: The DIY sound is "a documentary project on do it yourself music; heightening our sense of community and stimulating positive social change." The film which clocks in around 35 minutes features talks with people like Ian McKaye (Fugazi, Dischord Records), Jacob Bannon (Converge, Deathwish Inc.) among others.
To watch the film for free, hit the link below and:
Click "$1 Buy Movie", then underneath post code click, "Use Code."
Enter the coupon code: DITHER. You'll need enter your e-mail address as well.
http://ditherthediysound.vhx.tv/
Steve Earle & The Dukes are recording a new LP! Here's a few sentences from a Rolling Stone interview posted earlier today:
"Most of this was written on the road," Earle says of the new album, Terraplane, whose swampy, southern stomp was inspired by blues legends like Lightning Hopkins and Mance Lipscomb. "I went through a divorce and I needed the money, so I've been touring a lot, just working constantly and writing whenever I can. Everything that happens to me will find its way into my lyrics, which can be an advantage as a writer and a disadvantage as a person. I don't wanna hurt anybody's feelings. I'm not trying to be mean. But I'm not gonna not write about what's happening, so there's a lot of sad stuff here. It was a good time to make a blues record"
Steve has now been divorced eight times. Terraplane is his 16th studio album. It's out via New West Records on February 17th, 2015.
Read the full story here:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/premieres/steve-earle-announces-bluesy-new-album-talks-truth-in-lyrics-20141120
Stream a new song below:
A lot of people visit Hate5Six.com regularly to watch live footage from hardcore shows. It's updated frequently, the quality is amazing and the amount of videos is insane. You probably know the site already, but do you know the person behind it? Do you know the history of Hate5Six?
I thought it would be cool to do an interview with this guy and wrote down a bunch of questions for him. As I was getting ready to send my questions it hit me. Why do a regular e-mail interview with a filmmaker? Instead I asked him to film himself answering the questions and I'm really happpy with how this turned out. So, I present to you, Sunny Singh of Hate5Six. Enjoy!
More info:
http://hate5six.com/videos.php
https://www.facebook.com/hate5six
https://twitter.com/hate5six
North Bay outfit The Down House posted a new song called "Time" on their Bandcamp today. Sounds like there's a new release being planned with Broke Hatré, the label which released the band´s EP "Low" back in July. My guess is a new EP/Cassette but I'll post updates on it when I have some more info.
Listen to "Time" here:
http://thedownhouse.bandcamp.com/
On My Shelf: Alan Beningfield of Different Kitchen Records
On My Shelf will be a recurring feature here on SHJ where I ask people about their record collections. I'll try to post one of these every other week. Up first is Alan Beningfield who runs the distro Different Kitchen Records out of his home in March, Cambridgeshire, UK.
Hi Alan! What record is on your turntable right now?
The last record I played was The Swarm a.k.a Knee Deep In The Dead - Ol' Blue Eyes Is Dead 7" (new remastered pressing, on No Idea), but that was an hour or so ago. I'm currently sat in the "office" so I just have iTunes which is currently playing the Autonomy tracks from their split with No Sir I Won't (Dead Broke/Dirt Cult Records).
Out of all the records you own, which one have you played the most?
This would have to be Psychocandy by The Jesus And Mary Chain, I played this almost daily for 4-5 years after it came out, no other record has had such an amazing effect on me. I still play it every couple of days, or listen on my iPod if I'm out!!
Do you remember the first record you bought?
My parents bought me my first records in the mid 70's, but the first record I actually bought with my own money was Quit This Town by Eddie And The Hot Rods, I do still have it, but not the same copy, my original was lost at a party sometime in the early eighties, so I had to get another! I do still listen to it but mainly from the Life On The Line LP from which it came!
Pick five favorites from your collection.
The Jesus And Mary Chain - Psychocandy LP (Same reasons as already mentioned).
Buzzcocks - Another Music In A Different Kitchen LP. It's the first "punk" LP I bought in the late 70's. I always preferred the poppier punk, fantastic songs, and shows a depth of style and not afraid of experimenting away from the 2-3 minute pop song!!
The Beach Boys - Holland LP. I love The Beach Boys, unusual with my regular taste, but I started listening to them when I was around 9-10, and this LP came out around that time (1973) and so it was the first of their LP's I bought new! A very beautiful LP.
ИO///sé - Self Titled. An LP from 2012, and the simply the best new LP I've heard for many, many years. I was very lucky to work with them last year and helped put out a 7", and saw them a couples of times live on their European tour. They're the best guys!!
Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me LP, I was a bit slow on hearing Dino Jr., my first experience was Freak Scene from Bug, but I soon tracked down the back catalogue and this LP has probably the most amazing guitar sound of any LP I own!!
What’s your favorite record when it comes to the artwork/layout?
Very hard to pick, but I'll go with the recent box set reissue of Smile by The Beach Boys, 2 LP's, 5 CD's, 2 7"s a hard bound book, posters, and an amazing 3-D cover! (it's also the most expensive record I've bought!)
Which is your favorite format?
I honestly don't have a favorite, each of them can be perfect depending on the release. I do tend to find some bands are more suited to the 7", and sometimes LP's can be a bit long!!
And your favorite label is?
Currently, It's definitely No Idea, they have an incredible catalogue of releases over the last 20+ years, over 300 releases, and they keep records in print at possibly some of the cheapest prices! And they barely have any I don't really like!
Do you have a specific band/artist/label you collect?
I collect No Idea records, for the same reasons as mentioned above, but extending from that, Against Me!, Hot Water Music, Off With Their Heads, mainly due to their No Idea connections, and away from that....... Buzzcocks, The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Dickies, Dinosaur Jr. (& J.Mascis side-projects), Lemonheads and most recently Wire!
What’s your opinion on collecting variants?
Personally, certainly for the above bands I do, but that's personal choice, for the majority of my collection I'm perfectly happy with just one copy of things. I wouldn't judge another collector by their opinions on it, and I certainly don't understand the people who moan about the number of variants available of any certain record, it's not like the label/band make you buy more than one.
If you could press and release any album that hasn’t yet been available on vinyl, what would it be?
Not many bands I listen to have released CD-only stuff over the years, so I really don't know. No Idea put out a few CD-only releases, Die Hoffnung and Billy Reese Peters spring to mind, but I think I'll go for the Stressface Oi...You're Welcome that was a CDS-only on Plan-It-X several years ago!
What’s your best buy?
I found an original SST pressing of Bug by Dinosuar Jr. on purple vinyl, in a second hand shop in London for £6. I was particularly pleased with that one.
Best record of 2014 so far?
I'm going to have to say........... the Creepoid Self Titled LP, but there's a new ИO///sé LP, and RVIVR 12" due, so it could possibly change. But I think the best release of 2014 will bee between those three!
Questions: Christer Davidsson
Answers: Alan Beningfield
Hit the link below to listen to a song from the new Single Mothers LP "Negative Qualities". The record is due on october 7th via XL Recordings (World) and Dine Alone Records (Canada). Pre-orders are up!
"Designing ourselves, recording the way we want to and with our friends, borrowing button makers, booking our own shows; that’s all the fun part of being in a band. All that shit can be so stressful but when we step back for a second and think how cool it is that we’re creating with our friends"
Small Hours Journal: I found The Down House pretty recently and for me (and a lot of others, I guess) it was because I already knew who you and Ross were. I’m a big fan of both No Sir and Ceremony so checking out this new band was inevitable. But, The Down House is something different and I would for example have a hard time explaining for someone what you sound like. I can for sure draw some parallels to other bay area outfits like Creative Adult, but with your own words, explain what The Down House is about and what one should expect from Low, your debut EP.
Casey Colby: Our sound is something that we find hard to describe. We dabble with genres but don’t linger there too much. Whether it’s a bit of post punk, shoegaze, hardcore, we write what comes naturally to us. With Low I think you can hear us finding our sound and I’m not afraid to say that. We’ve all been in hardcore/punk bands for the last years of our lives and this is something new. The four songs on the EP are the first four songs we wrote as a band. All the growing pains and imperfections are present. We love it and are super proud of it but we’ll all tell you what’s next is what’s truly exciting for us.
What are the songs about on this new EP?
The lyrics are pretty subtle and repetitive. I like the vocals low in the mix and I know some people hate it. I moved from Portland back to the North Bay four years ago and a lots has changed and it’s there on the record. The dynamics of friendship when you put a lot miles between it and how you deal with being alone are the main topics. I’m still nervous as hell singing.
Besides you and Ross, who is in the band and for how long have you guys been playing together as The Down House?
It’s Sarah, Chloe, Ross and myself and we’ve been a band for almost a year. Chloe plays drums, Ross plays bass, I sing and play guitar, Sarah plays guitar and does all our artwork. She took the photo we used for the cover of Low. We were a five-piece for those last couple of months. Our buddy Ryan added organ and guitars to the record and live. He got into NYU and left at the end of June. We’re currently writing as a four-piece, the same as the EP.
You’ve been called a North Bay Supergroup. How do you feel about that?
I don’t know man. We come from a pretty small part of the Bay Area so it’s pretty easy to find like minded people to play music. It’s cool that some are into our other bands but like I said, this is something new.
Low came out just a couple of weeks ago on Broke Hatré. Tell me a little bit about your relationship with them.
When we were recording the EP we didn’t know who was going to put it out or if we were going to release it ourselves. We’ve been friends with the Broke Hatré guys for a while and all live in the North Bay. We’re into a lot of their releases, some of the best this year in my opinion, from The Vibrating Antennas and Spitting Image. We asked them if they were into working with us on the 7” and they said yes. It’s been awesome and they work hard on everything they put out. It’s way cool to watch them grow and hopefully be a little part of that. James Rogers from Broke Hatré is working on a new video for us that should be out in the next couple weeks.
You released a video for the song Let It All Go a little while ago and you just said that there’s another in the making. Why make videos? Would you say it’s just a fun thing or more like an extension of your creative outlet?
Yeah, just a different way to have fun with music and think about it differently. We asked our friend Timmy Lodhi to do the video after he made videos we liked for Blap Deli and The Vibrating Antennas. We got into cars and drove out to the beach, it was cool. We went to places we’ve been and where we thought the landscape fit the sound of the song. We are letting James do something completely different with our next video. We don’t want to be in it and just let him do what ever he wants with the song. It’s for a new song we just recorded before Ryan moved to NY and Ross left for a month tour.
I’ve read something about a zine of yours called Loose, what’s up with that?
We’ve done two zines. We made one for our first show in Oakland and Loose was made for The Vibrating Antennas’ record release at our local record store. They’re mostly Sarah’s photos and she does most the piecing together of the zines after we all give her our added drawings and photos. We plan to make more but the zines we want to make with color photos are pretty expensive and take a lot of time to come together. We’d rather write songs now, but we have hella photos around and there will probably be time to make another zine soon.
I think that sounds really cool. Kind of an art collective approach.
Exactly. We want to do things as much as we can by ourselves and we look internally to do so. Designing ourselves, recording the way we want to and with our friends, borrowing button makers, booking our own shows; that’s all the fun part of being in a band. All that shit can be so stressful but when we step back for a second and think how cool it is that we’re creating with our friends.
A lot of people go from genre to genre when it comes to what music they listen to through life. For me, I tend to move geographically and right now I’m in a Bay Area period. What I find intriguing about it is a certain feeling of progression and experimentation. Even though bands from your area might be rooted in different styles it seems a lot of you have a strong creative will to take your music down a road less travelled. What do you think about that, would you agree? Or am I completely making this up in my own head?
I would agree with looking geographically and I think it comes naturally. When I was younger I was thinking about Philadelphia and all Dan Yemin’s bands or before that the Bay Area and the punk scene here. If you’re lucky to grow up in a place like the Bay with such diversity and culture it’s going to show up in the music. You have all types of people working to get by and do something positive for themselves and it’s the same thing in music. I hear band’s records from here and you can tell they are making something purely themselves. You can hear it in Loma Prieta. You can hear it in Creative Adult and Ceremony.
Those three bands are fairly known already. What new bands from your area would you recommend?
Sarah and I caught a new band called Gnarly Darlings at a house recently and they blew us away. I think it was their first or second show. We’ve been asking them to play a show since and I think it’s happening at the end of the month. We were all into Ryan’s dream pop/shoegaze band Spirits Of Leo before he was in our band. Brown Bags put out a super catchy emo EP in 2013. We just played with OVVN. They’re a weirdo post punk band from Santa Rosa and Oakland. They made a really trippy video recently too. Elsewhere in the bay, Everybody Row just put out their first 7” and it rules. Also we’ve played a few shows with and love Happy Diving.
You said earlier that what’s next for you is what is truly exciting for you and I know you’ve been in the studio lately. What are you working on currently and what do you see The Down House doing in the near future? What’s the plan?
We finally have real practice space to chill and just write. It changes everything from trying to jam in an hourly rental spot like we have been paying for. There are plans for another release. All that’s being worked out now. The song we just recorded we’re calling Hesse and its coming out soon. Jack Shirley is again mixing it for us. We have a few shows coming up. A house show in Santa Rosa on August 8th and San Francisco August 27th at The Hemlock Tavern with Creative Adult, Creepoid, and Mall Walk.
I’ll definitely keep my eyes on The Down House and look forward to see what you come up with in the future.
Pj Bond w/ Austin Lucas & Emily Barker - "Calm In the Corner"
I was checking the Coffeebreath & Heartache facebook earlier for an address and found this awesome clip of PJ Bond playing "Calm In the Corner" with Austin Lucas and Emily Barker in a parking lot in Cologne, Germany. Give it a listen!
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