#the gamits

[punkrockmixtapes]

Bandaid Brigade - Holding Steady (Official Audio)

[emilydavismusic-blog]

Day 3: The Gamits - Endorsed by You

“ We're going nowhere fast and I can tell it's killing you. I can't expect a thing and now there seems no end in sight. I don't want to be the captain of the team tonight. “

Oh, damn!

I really want to talk about today’s album. I should probably scramble an introduction together so that this whole she-bang looks more professional and well-crafted, I guess...but DAMN do I want to talk about today’s album. 

If you stepped into a time machine and decided to travel back to the El Paso that existed in 2010, our music scene would look quite a bit different than it does today. (But let me ask, out of all the possible places in space and time that you could visit, WHY would you pick El Paso in 2010?! You could’ve seen the statue of Artemis or the library in Alexandria! You could’ve pointed Ptolemy in the right direction and spared humanity centuries of geocentric bullshit! Whatever. I digress). Back in 2010, there was a completely different venue landscape in El Paso. All the popular spots to play six years ago have all but vanished and have been replaced with new (and very cool, may I add) venues. 

One of the earliest venues I would play at, a venue now lost to the sands of time, was a place called Sumatra: a hookah lounge near the university. Sumatra was small but comfortable, with cool art hanging from the walls and a DIY mentality accompanied by a BYOB mandate. As I dug deeper into my twenties, Sumatra settled on the backburner of venues I would visit with frequency. I do miss it now, though. 

Anyway, it was at Sumatra in late 2011 that I once heard a rad local punk band, who I am assuming has also since been lost to the sands of time: Vajayjay Arms. For the local El Pasoan, the pun in the band name is obvious and truly beautiful. For the nonnative, here is one of our local pseudo-celebrities: 

His name is JJ Armes and he fights crime or something. Whatever. Anyway.

Vajayjay Arms was probably one of the best punk bands I had heard in El Paso for a long time. I was bummed when they stopped playing shows.

Luckily, the brains behind Vajayjay Arms, a cool dude named Aaron, has decided to take part in One Hundred Days, One Hundred Albums by providing us with today’s selection, Endorsed by You by The Gamits. Let’s dig in, shall we? 

The majority of Endorsed by You plays like a sonic runaway train that isn’t hitting the breaks for anyone. It’s fast, loud, in-your-face punk rock. (Think early Green Day with a dash of the 1990s version of The Offspring.) What makes this album stand out amongst the crowd, however, is how well-crafted it is. Each song is splashed with unique key/time changes, complex rhythms, and a certain upbeat intensity. On Endorsed by You, The Gamits take the normal simplicity behind punk rock and intentionally complicate the hell out of it. The end result? It totally rules. It totally, totally rules.

There’s a certain rollercoaster effect to this album. The first seven songs provide the build-up. Though there are moments of reprieve, each song sets out to thunder away at your earholes virtually nonstop. The listener is finally provided a breath of fresh air during the eighth track, And Me for You, a slowed down, fuzzed out take on the bluesy pop-country sounds of the 50s. At this point, the listener has reached the peak point of the rollercoaster, the point at which time briefly slows down and they are able to gaze at the landscape stretching out around them. Once And Me for You concludes, we are forced to plummet back into the world of soaring guitars and double bass. 

I struggled to find an honest critique for this album. Maybe I’m biased. Maybe I just liked it too much. I guess the only vaguely negative thing I can say about it is that there was a certain vocal melody on Sorry Song that sort of reminded me of Sum 41. (That “so am I still waiting” song. Hey, we live finite lives, alright? I’m not going to waste a part of mine googling Sum 41. Sorry). 

Hookless ended up winning my heart, though all of the tracks on this album pretty much stuck to me like glue. I think what I dug the most about Hookless was that it encapsulated everything I like about this band wrapped up conveniently in one tune:

1. Soaring (and amazingly mixed, may I add) electric guitars pummeling away at my eardrums

2. Fat, sexy, and prominent basslines

3. Unique song structure with a satisfying conclusion

4. It’s fast as hell and in your face

The final song, Mello-D, is where the rollercoaster has finally slowed down and you’re just drifting for a bit. I would probably classify this last tune as “Fuzzy Ambient Space County,” but what the hell do I know about genres and classification. I call myself “aggressive folk” and I’m not even entirely sure that’s a real thing. Whatever. Mello-D is amazing and ended up being the perfect way to end Endorsed by You. As it faded out, I closed my eyes and pictured myself driving into a desert sunset. Then I remembered all the stuff I need to get done today...and that I have vegetarian chilaquiles waiting for me in the fridge. That woke me up pretty quickly. 

We did it dudes! We made it to day three! 

Again, shout out to Aaron. If you ever reboot Vajayjay Arms, let me know! I want to pretend like I know what I’m doing on drums for a band someday.

Alright, we’re done here. See you tomorrow. 

Thanks for taking part in my creative process, reader.

- Emily

[fortheloveofpunk]

Out Now: The Gamits, Killtime and Versus You Split 7"; FtLP Records Distro http://bit.ly/29U0voC

Out Now: The Gamits, Killtime and Versus You Split 7"; FtLP Records Distro

The split 7" between The Gamits, Killtime and Versus You has finally made it to the US! This themed split titled Rocket To Rushmore has been rumored for some time but it's finally seeing the …

[fortheloveofpunk]

Gallery: Teenage Bottlerocket and The Gamits in Denver http://bit.ly/1R8Pwq6

Gallery: Teenage Bottlerocket and The Gamits in Denver

Teenage Bottlerocket, The Gamits (The Nobodys and Russian Girlfriends also played *not pictured) Date: 03/12/16 City: Denver, CO Venue: Marquis Theater   onTheWeb: Teenage Bottlerocket | The Gamits | The Nobodys | Russian Girlfriends Follow: @TeenBottlerock @TheGamits @RussianGirlfri1

[fortheloveofpunk]

Review + Gallery: Teenage Bottlerocket, The Gamits, The Nobodys and Russian Girlfriends in Denver http://bit.ly/1UAS3ha

Review + Gallery: Teenage Bottlerocket, The Gamits, The Nobodys and Russian Girlfriends in Denver

We get a lot of great shows here in Denver, and sometimes, they’re made even better with an acoustic set at one of our breweries, Ratio Beerworks, beforehand.  That was the case on a lovely …

[fortheloveofpunk]

Gallery: Teenage Bottlerocket, The Gamits and The Nobodys in Laramie, WY http://bit.ly/22meI3B

Gallery: Teenage Bottlerocket, The Gamits and The Nobodys in Laramie, WY

Teenage Bottlerocket, The Gamits and The Nobodys Date: 03/11/16 City: Laramie, WY Venue: 3rd Street Cowboy Bar (Shocktober Fest)   onTheWeb: Teenage Bottlerocket | The Gamits | The Nobodys Follow: @TeenBottlerock @TheGamits

[fortheloveofpunk]

Contest: Win tickets to Teenage Bottlerocket, The Gamits, The Nobodys and Russian Girlfriends in Denver http://bit.ly/1QSSgqo

Contest: Win tickets to Teenage Bottlerocket, The Gamits, The Nobodys and Russian Girlfriends in Denver

How about we head into the weekend with a chance to see Teenage Bottlerocket, The Gamits, The Nobodys and Russian Girlfriends in Denver for FREE?! This incredible lineup will be at the Marquis Theatre in Denver (more info here) on March 12th, 2016 and our friends at Soda Jerk Presents have given us some tickets to give away.

[shitredditrocks]

The Gamits - Last of the Mullets

"Last of the Mullets" by The Gamits

posted in r/punk