The headline is total bullshit, what is this Spin magazine? Well, naw. This is KLYAM – KIDS LIKE YOU and ME – and if you’re just joining in now, welcome. See we’ve been kicking for coming up on 7 years. Ya true we started as teens around the whole garage revolution, sure. We’ve gotten flak for it. But the story of going from the big stuff – we’re talking Middle East Downstairs, Paradise, kind of stuff – to Grandma’s House and still having fun, maybe even more fun, that’s just life. Being a bit outsider to what may have manifested itself as the Boston underground, we’ve played by our own rules. Seeing NOBUNNY in 2009 for the first time open for Jay Reatard, writing on here about that mighty inspirational show, and then five short years later co-presenting an easily sold out NOBUNNY show. This is what we do. Not for local fame cred hype, no just to have fun, have a good time, enjoy the music. The turning point for the site came around 2011/2012 when we started venturing to basement shows. The thing is when we were seeing our heroes for the first time – Black Lips, King Khan & BBQ Show, Jay – we were going to shows that we could take for granted in terms of the production itself. I didn’t realize these bands came from the underground, the basement / DIY spaces , of their own homegrown communities – Atlanta, Montreal, Memphis. Artistically inclined people binding themselves together on the basis of playing music for one another, hanging out, having a good time. Realistically some other, more damaging aspects might come out of the whole thing, but what looks like what happened with the bands I just mentioned is they started touring, probably with somewhat narrow, initial national fanfare, captured people’s attention with their wild and loose, early rock ‘n roll colliding at punk speed style endeavors.

For me, the primitiveness of it all, the real shun of modern technicality, this is what I like, what I connect with. The fact that there are plenty a ways and takes on the stuff. Anyone can do it, anyone can write about it. No one reads this, nice, punk. I think we dissected a lot of shit a couple years ago with our reviews – damn, you see that Nice Guy, he went into a hallway IN a basement. And it can be real fun, writing about music. Oh it is definitely nerdy, weird, and give offs a sense of wanting to be heard about something nobody cares to read about online. But there you are, maybe you aren’t there. You’re watching Front Row Poster YouTube videos. It’s 2016. You can do whatever, whatever does you. Making amends with the time you have. Maybe you used to have more. You have more now.

There’s plenty out there and it is not only raw rock ‘n roll. Still our favorite of course, but with unifying forces, there’s going to be some more noisier stuff in the mix, maybe some gentler stuff. We’re trying to contribute – throw the shows we want to throw, release the records we want to release, write about whatever is interesting to us. With how much we appreciate everything we are fortunate to orchestrate events and releases… us KLYAM like to pass along what we can, when we can. If you’re checking this out, cool and thanks, we want to have a good time, and we want you to have a good time. Nothing real fancy about that.

Whip Appeal – "Silk & Velvet & Woven Gold" from Dann Lawrence on Vimeo.

Let me admit it, ok. Music videos are dead. What’s bustling with life and creativity is the no budget / voyeuristic / parental accompaniment advised home video, or compilation of fun times and jerking around. The rock ‘n hop trio originally from Newton, MASS teased us with this medium in their “Face In” video and glad to see it show again. What do you call it when you go to court quickly?

Everyone has a deep urging, a seated, notpatient, and ever intense longing for what I am terming PRIMITIVALIA – this stuff is a step back from modern man, from rightnow pop capabilities and sensibilities, but lemme tell you this is the realest of deals. Oh yes, very noisy, but heartfelt in the most uncontrived ways – just listen. You’ll get it I hope.

First, the debut recording from THE CAVEMEN – Banned Before Time. This is what it’s all about folks. Now full disclosure if anyone’s connecting dots here – I didn’t play on this recording and I am glad I didn’t – I’m just unbelievably grateful these guys let me react to their music from time to time LIVE. So if you want to know what complete freedom and just whatever goes, goes feels and sounds like, come on out to Harvard University this Friday, October 30, and see what Crypt Smarts (TM) looks like. The Cavemen. On this recording, Kurt and Couch nail the brute root elements of old timey frat rockers but of course that gets deconstructed in Bits and Spurts into metallic-y Lightning Bolt – so loosy Grey goosey you have to wonder if this is happily the best doomed equivalent of a Jam band. Thank you God this is a thing.

Now for the true sickos and sickettes. I present to you the mind of >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> and his sophomore release >>>>>>>>>>. Some might be familiar with his work in the live G. Gordon Gritty band on noise guitar – so if you ever wanted to hear what that dude is like on his own, left completely to his own devices, with a wooden or half broken guitar, homemade pedals, and a light switch, this is your chance. His straight to tape competency on this recording is quite literally the embodiment of rock ‘n roll and DO IT YOURSELF. Despite its minimalism, it might be his most accessible work. I can’t recommend the debut album enough though, there’s a lot more going on. It’s poetic. Happy to play with dude every chance I can. It’s special!

As everyone knows there are great shows, great potential shows, and then there are some times where the line-up is just insane. Then there are times where there are several fine ass shows going on the same night. This has been happening a lot lately in Boston and I take that as a strong sign that a variety of people are getting involved and putting their stake in local rock ‘n roll music.

But the show that we here at KLYAM are going to on Friday night is NOTS, URSULA, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS, and GERM HOUSE at Club Bohemia in Cambridge, presented by Illegally Blind.

I’m still giddy from my first time seeing NOTS perform, which was a month ago at Gonerfest 12 in Memphis. I’d been looking forward to seeing them ever since last summer when I picked up their second 7″, Fix / Modern. Even more so upon hearing their We Are Nots LP from last year. Pretty sure that was my favorite release of the year and cemented in my brain their status as my favorite band. Noisy chaotic slashing guitar, shouty vocals, and alien synths make ’em REAL OUT THERE while the bass and drum ground things slightly. “Reactor” and “Strange Rage” from the first album do it in particular for me – all winners though – and their new single Virgin Mary shows there’s no slowing down in sight. A MUST SEE BAND.

I’ve been acquainted with URSULA for almost exactly one year! I saw the duo play at Black Lodge on October 21, 2014, and was so intrigued I wrote about them the day after. I had never seen any band play like them – explicitly confrontational, raw, and yes there’s not many other ways to put it, punk. Several shows later, I still can’t get enough! Their performance goes to show that the most exciting live music is that which strays further and further away from formulas and conventional playing toward something very very real and meaningful. Not in a yay lets all relate to each other way. Something far more sinister than that. Not something I can write “when Caity stares at you, you feel _________”. I’m not going to speak on your behalf. You get from it – something different. I’d say if they don’t become your new favorite Boston band, you done something wrong.

Also playing are The (New England) Patriots – who’ve played their way to being local noise punk legends. Persistently under the radar, I’d say, they seem to evade most online merchants of cool. Well not here. They also weird as fuck, a truly unpredictable three piece. Instead of synths they got I don’t even know, some combination of devices inside of an old voting booth. Like URSULA there’s a chance the singer be bumping into you or falling on the ground nearby. An amazing sight and sound.

Finally is a band I’ve never heard of – Germ House. Now if it was 1979, I wouldn’t have the means of looking them up beforehand. Let alone do I even want to? For fear of misrepresentation or pigeonholing which I guess is innately a part of this post anyway, I’ll simply say I’m excited. I did the looking and I did the listening. Excellent.

GO TO THIS SHOW

It is another TeleVibes release show at the Middle East Upstairs and we KLYAMers of course remember just how nice these occasions are. The last one was over a year ago in celebration of Washed Up, but tonight it’s all about High Or Die, seven songs of sheer guitar psychedelia and Pete Coldpack inspired freak-outs. They’ve been playing some of these numbers for a while, ya basically feel at home in Boston’s finest green beer guzziln basements listening to the Tellies. YET, bro, these are arena sized jams and I don’t usually say that in a good way. The grooves are bustling too hard and Out There for something like “Acyd” to not be loved by any kind person who fancies rock ‘n roll shoved to its spaciest noisiest outer boundaries.

Well then listen below or hop over to their BANDCAMP (where you can listen to High Or Die) and do your part in supporting our No Sho pals – come through to see them tonight MAY 24th 8 PM Middle East Upstairs with a very musically linkminded crew – Holy Wave on tour from Austin, Texas, and two local psych shimmies Soft Eyes and Fedavees.