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Art, Band Recommendation, Music, pictures, Punk, Video

Brooklyn Band Recs: Robot Death Kites & Hector’s Pets!

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Here are two fine ass bands hailing from Brooklyn, New York that have entered the world of KLYAM in 2012…
Robot Death Kites

Loud, lewd, wild, chaotic, and shirtless. Get loose with Robot Death Kites! http://robotdeathkites.bandcamp.com/


We saw these Brooklyn boys this past July opening for the holiest, King Khan & The Shrines, amazing show! Hector’s Pets blast you with some soul induced garage rock grooves with some Zappa flavored love. Just fun lovin’ dudes. Listen here: http://soundcloud.com/hectors-pets

Art, concert review, Fat Creeps, Honorary KLAYMERS, Local Music, Music, pictures, Punk, reviews

Concert Review: Fat Creeps & Creaturos @ Great Scott (11/4/12)

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I love this flier, for the record, which I’m sure is a surprise to no one.

Bands: Creaturos, Fat Creeps, Grass Widow
Date: Sunday, November 4, 2012
Venue: Great Scott (Allston, MA)
Comments:
Act I: Creaturos– It’s been a while since my last time at the Great Scott, roughly five months to be exact. It feels good to be back and to be seeing some kickass bands to boot. Creaturos are a nasty garage trio I saw about a month ago at the Big Stink. They were the fourth (out of five) bands to play and at that point in the evening I was heavily intoxicated and I don’t remember much of their performance, though I do remember it being fun and everyone was bopping and bashing into each other, good times. Tonight, there isn’t so much of that, but on the bright side I gain a good sense of what Creaturos are all about. They are some loud motherfuckers and they serve their brand of catchy, psych drenched  rock ‘n’ roll with fast, heart pounding intensity, guaranteed to wake up the neighbors. Here’s their bandcamp page: http://creaturos.bandcamp.com/ Knock yourself out.

Set List:
Face
Summer
UFO
James Day
Charity
Bead
Go Out
Get Low
Corners

L-R: Gracie Jackson and Mariam Saleh of Fat Creeps


Act II: Fat Creeps– It’s funny to think  that it was only seven months ago when I first discovered this band.  Discovered haha, makes me sound like I am fucking Christopher Columbus, I could be. Over the course of the past seven months I have seen the Fat Creeps ten (10) times! That’s right, ten. A personal record that no other artist can touch. So, what is it that keeps me consistently fascinated, you may ask (or not give a flying rat’s ass, I don’t care,  either way I’m going to tell you). What I find appealing in the Creeps is what I admire and desire in all bands I/we excessively promote on KLYAM, put simply: strong songs and personality. Maybe it’s just me, but only a handful of music makers can fully satisfy these two standards of mine. Each Creeps song is unique and instantaneous; you can pick them out of the batch immediately. Their memorable quality can be attributed to the strength of the hooks, which are present in pretty much all of their songs. So, I get giddy when I hear those first few gorgeous guitar riffs to tonight’s surfy set opener “Fooled,” one of the trio’s catchiest tunes.  They go on to perform some of  my other favorite hits and also include two new songs that seem pretty rad, one of which is an instrumental that closes the set. Before the closer, however, they play my favorite Creeps song, “700 Parts.” I always thought it was a dark song, and even after listening to the thing a million times and seeing it performed on numerous occasions, I still get shivers from Gracie’s powerful vocals. It’s just another reminder of how badly more people across America and beyond need to hear this band.

You can start here http://fatcreeps.bandcamp.com/

Jim Leonard of Fat Creeps


Set List:
Fooled
Secrets
Horoscope
Dadweed
Daydreaming
Go to the Party (*WORKING TITLE*)
Nancy Drew
700 Parts
Back to School (*WORKING TITLE*)

Act III: Grass Widow– Unfortunately, we missed these San Franciscans (is that the correct nomenclature?) :( next time!

Art, Band of the Week, Local Music, Music, pictures, Punk, SKIMASK, Video

Band of the Week: SKIMASK!

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This week’s Band of the Week is the ass kicking, mind bending, spellbounding, stupdendous SKIMASK, one of Boston’s greatest stars and noisemakers, no fakers. If you scroll down the KLYAM page, you can catch an interview we just conducted with thee SKIMASK drummer (Z). Okay fine, here’s a link, you lazy bastards. https://klyam.com/2012/11/04/check-out-this-sheeet-klyam-interviews-skimask/
SKIMASK’s forthcoming LP Cute Mutuant will be released on November 27, 2012 on Infinity Cat Recordings, Sophomore Lounge Records, and 100% Breakfast. Goddamn, that’s a delicious dish!

Art, CD Review, Local Music, Music, music video, pictures, Punk, reviews, Video, Yankee Power

LP Review: “Zoo Traffic” (Yankee Power)

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Artist: Yankee Power
Release Date: August 21, 2012
Track list :
1) Adopted Love Doll
2) Swing
3) Wrong Kind
4) Given Into Contrary
5) Dr. Daisy
6) Fuzz Minisery
7) Because It’s Hard
8) Stray
9) Real Folk
10) Modern Change
11) Shiver Of Sharks
12) Dear Old Friend
13) Two Quarters
14) Open Breast

Comments: I met half of Yankee Power in the year Two Thousand and Six. Mr. Tom Calvert (guitar/vocals) and Mr. CJ Kanouff (drums) were WHSTV production icons, legends. So, when I heard that these dudes were unleashing some jams, I had to see what all the fuss was about. Now, we are in the year Two Thousand and Twelve, and just recently I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Jeff Gallagher (guitar/vocals), who is nothing but a straight shooter, a real charming man. I have yet to meet Mr. Mark Fallon (Bass/Vocals), but I am confident he is an upstanding gentlemen.
Okay now, I listen to a lot of music, way too much music. In fact, as I am writing this, my ears are splitting because I have been blasting tunes on my ipod and from my computer all day. I can’t live without it, and with this I have come to accept that I will be deaf before I’m fifty (hopefully, hopefully not thirty), but I’m optimistic that by that time technology will bring all sorts of fun gadgets to keep my musical intake flowin’. Working on this site, I certainly come across TONS of bands, but few are as diverse as Yankee Power. That’s not a stock line, that’s the truth.  Zoo Traffic is a colorful album filled with all sorts of styles, it constantly switches up its sound, yet maintains an overall distinct character, unique to Yankee Power.

The opener, “Adopted Love Doll,” (which is accompanied by a hilarious video that can be seen below) is a savage, powerhouse, quasi-heavy metal pop song that brings to mind everyone from Andrew W.K. to Alice In Chains (especially in some of the vocals) to many of the garage/party rock bands we champion on this site. Point being, ‘Love Doll’ is a fast rocker, guaranteed to get you headbanging and fist pumping or else you’ve sniffed too much glue and should perhaps stay at home next Saturday night. Definitely a contender for my new alarm clock; the song just has that let’s get up and go! motivational quality to it. I also can’t forget to mention the outstanding drum work of CJ Kanouff – simple, but the song’s driving force for sure.

The next number, “Swing,” is a dramatic change of pace in which the band slows things down a bit.  On “Swing,” we hear a much more folk/country oriented sound for the band, which appears frequently throughout this album. I truly appreciate the vocals of Jeff Gallagher, the dude has an amazing voice, but what I really dig is his range. Just like the band’s overall sound, Jeff’s vocals are never quite the same – track by track. He is able to scream and shout, like on the album opener, and yet on other songs, such as “Dear Old Friend,” his voice is soothing and soft, drawing comparisons to John Lennon and Paul Simon, at least to me.

But, Jeff isn’t the only top notch singer here. Often fellow guitarist Tom Calvert delivers some fantastic vocals as well. My favorite song with Tom’s lead vocals is the country fueled ballad, “Real Folk,” which I find equally humorous and sincere, and I mean that in the best possible way. It reminds me of Ween in this manner, which is awesome because Ween is incredible. Two great moments on Zoo Traffic include dual vocals from Jeff and Tom on “Wrong Kind” and “Stray.” In a sane world, the latter would be a top 40 hit. But, that’s whatever… music charts are silly and irrelevant. “Stray” is a beautiful pop song and one of the catchiest I’ve heard all year. Just further evidence of how powerful these songs really are. I must have listened to “Stray” at least forty or fifty times by now, maybe more (time I could have spent selecting the president and other political scum, completing homework assignments, wacking off [well, moreso anyway], among other wholesome activities.) But, NO! this song just hooked me in and won’t let me go.

Another cut that runs deep, so deep, so deep, puts her ass to sleep, is “Because It’s Hard,” sung by bassist Mark Fallon.  This ditty is a total stand out and is the unofficial Amish Anthem. Whenever I hear this, folksy, Celtic  Poguesian tune, I picture images of Amish men and women, and children smiling, laughing, working, and reflecting the light they have come to know. This year, I am blasting this song on repeat during Thanksgiving Dinner, just for the Amish. Amish Rock. Amish Core 2015, get on that bro.

I can’t recommend Yankee Power’s Zoo Traffic enough; I have had a real pleasure excessively listening to and reviewing this puppy. I can truly say this album opened up my tastebuds, which is a rare feat as some miscreants have noted in the past. This LP is definitely a twenty twelve gem and continues the trend I’ve noticed with other twenty twelve favorites of mine (Fat Creeps, The Barbaras, etc.) which is basically creating such strong songs that when you listen to the music it feels more like a greatest hits compilation than simply one album. My next mission in life is to see all the Yankee Power hits on the live stage! To quote the Sneaky Pinks, I can’t wait.

Check out their music here! http://theyankeepower.bandcamp.com/

Art, CD Review, Honorary KLAYMERS, Jay Reatard, Magic Kids, Music, pictures, Punk, reviews, The Barbaras, Wavves

LP Review: Barbaras 2006-2008

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Artist: The Barbaras
Release Date: October 30, 2012
Label: Goner
Track List:
1) Day At the Shrine
2) Heaven Hangs
3) Grief Touches Everyone
4) Topsy Turvy Magic
5) Superball
6) Only One
7) Breathing Underwater
8) Devour the Jungle Deer
9) Grey Eggs
10) Flow
11) Why Should I Love You?
12) Bluebirds
13) How Many Times
14) Summertime Road
15) Annual Botanical

Comments: Two years ago my ears had the pleasure of hearing both The Barbaras and The Magic Kids for the first time. The latter gained national attention/critical acclaim with the release of their debut LP Memphis, but sadly few have ever heard of the former. Which is a shame because the Magic Kids are basically the product of the Barbaras, at least that’s one way to look at it. In the time since then, I have often YouTube’d Barbaras songs and viddied thee old live clip or two. I fell in love with these songs, the few of them that were available, but I wanted more. Now in 2012, the Barbaras album I and so many other weirdo Memphis pop creeps have been anticipating has finally arrived. I honestly never thought I would see the day.

Okay, let’s get to the record itself. It’s beefed up that’s for sure. In my mind, I envision members Billy Hayes, Stephen Pope, Will McElroy, Bennett Foster, and Alex Gates hopping on stage with tremendous, roid induced muscles- like pro wrestlers.  That’s what this LP is- Barbaras beefed up. Anything you’ve heard before, it’s bigger – with the help of  producers Jay Reatard and Alicja Trout, I must add. And you can definitely see where Jay’s production style plays a role in this record.  Songs like “Day At The Shrine,” “Grief Touches Everyone,”  and “Devour the Jungle Deer” possess that fast paced, hard hitting drum quality. It’s honestly like hearing another Jay record at some moments. Oh and I should mention, for you sad folks that are unaware, Billy is the former drummer for Jay Reatard’s live backing band and former drummer for Wavves; Stephen is the former bassist for Jay live and current bassist for Wavves. These aren’t mere accomplishments for the resume, oh no, they are all intertwined.

On this record, you can hear the similarities in all three bands. In particular, in the eccentric songwriting of Billy Hayes. Tracks like “Grey Eggs” and “Why Should I Love You?” are reminiscent (for me as a listener) of Billy’s main songwriting contributions on Wavves’ King of the Beach (2010) – “Convertible Balloon” and “Baby Say Goodbye.” Billy creates his own world with these songs,  and I’m constantly reminded of old school Nintendo video games,  just lying around with a Nintendo in my room. In general, Billy’s vocals play a big role here, but he is certainly not the only one. Pretty much all the guys lay down some nasty vocals, and the singing is probably the highlight for me. This is where I best hear the Beach Boys/Phil Spector references everyone makes. Of course, you really can’t not listen to this and not walk away with those feelings. Specifically, some of my favorite moments are when the band unabashedly mimics a 60’s favorite. The very Beach Boys esque  “buh bub bub buh” in “Topsy Turvy Magic,” the girl group stylings of “Breathing Underwater,” the doo woppy vocals in “How Many Times,” or the epic, insanely layered, psychedelic Beatles 1967 ode “Annual Botanical” that closes the album.

So yeah, Barbaras are obviously heavily influenced by the music of the 60s, but they take this music and subvert it with their own bizarre, demented personalities, which is a key factor in why this band outshines most of their contemporaries. They are derivative, yet they carve out their own distinct character and in that way no one can say they sound like anyone else, past or present.

Art, Black Lips, Honorary KLAYMERS, King Khan, Mark Sultan, Music, pictures, Punk, The King Khan & BBQ Show, Video

This Day In KLYAM History…

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October 29, 2009– Wow, feels like ten years ago! The KLYAM witnessed the fabulous King Khan & BBQ Show @ The Middle East Downstairs. Here’s the review: https://klyam.com/2009/11/05/belated-concert-review-king-khan-bbq-show/

and

October 29, 2011– Hell At the Hall! Black Lips Halloween Show @ Webster Hall (NYC). Here’s a review: https://klyam.com/2011/12/01/hell-at-the-hall-concert-review-black-lips-webster-hall/

Check out this live vid below

Art, Bent Shapes, concert review, Fat Creeps, Honorary KLAYMERS, Music, pictures, Punk, reviews, The Migs

Concert Review: Sic Alps, Fat Creeps, Bent Shapes, The Migs @ Radio (10/25/12)

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Bands: Sic Alps, Fat Creeps, Bent Shapes, The Migs
Date: Thursday, October 25, 2012
Venue: Radio (Somerville, MA)

This is a Bodies of Water (B.O.W.) Show- http://bowaac.blogspot.com/
Way to go Dan and Sam, you fine, heavenly gentlemen.


Act I: The Migs– Performance wise, this is easily the best Migs show I have seen and Glen concurs. Five Migs shows deep, you know what to expect, but it never gets old. Migs Keven, Lukas, Craig (and special guest Travis Hagan on drums!) have a real solid presence on (and more appropriately off) stage. It’s nice to watch Keven, Lukas, and Craig playfully fight for control of the stage, practically knocking one another off- they appear to be having more fun than everyone else, which is awesome. Like, I said a real presence every rock ‘n’ roll fan should see; if these guys expand their cross country voyages they could take America by storm! I don’t know, maybe I’m crazy, maybe I’m not.  What I do know is that this band has that classic, soul/blues psych/garage yeah, yeah, yeah (even I get sick of using these words to describe music, seriously if you counted up the amount of times we have said the words “rock ‘n’ roll,” “punk,” “garage,” in this year alone you could fill up a fucking dictionary, but let it be known here, exclusively, for the record that I mean it from the bottom of my heart and I/we don’t use those words lightly) – they got that whole damn sound, we’ve all come to know and love, down pat. They got it. But, what is more significant about The Migs is that they take that lovely, orgasmic sound and turn it up to eleven. Like every great band, The Migs possess an infectious personality- these are dudes you could shotgun a beer or six with and/or take home to mom and dad. I know my dad would love The Migs. Hell, “You and Me,” one of the band’s finest offerings and a personal highlight tonight, is such a sweet ballad that it could make my dad’s limp dick plop right up and pace around the room. YEESH. On that horrifying note, I think the sound system definitely amplifies the group’s rocking performance, fleshing out the tunes even more. All in all, another show for the books. Not as fun as my preferred Migs setting: a dirty, beer reeking basement, but equally impressive.

P.S. Keven remember to wear a shirt (not a sweat shirt) when you play on stage, it gets hot up there. And if it’s chilly, wear a sweater. I don’t want you to catch a cold son. I want my Migs happy and healthy.

The Migs may or may not have played the following songs, well they certainly played some of them, but I’m not sure on a few.

“Cosmonauts 1/2”
“We’re The Migs” written as ” “We Dah Migs” and “We’re The Pigs”
“666’s Request”
“You & Me”
“Rock N Roll Stole”
“When She Says My Name”
“Fuzzy Sun”
“Follow Me Home” also written as “Follow Me Dome”
“Gravestone”
“Take 3”
New Song?!#$

Yo, have you heard this sheeet? http://themigs.bandcamp.com/


Act II: Bent Shapes– If some tourist yahoo asked me to name the best bands around Boston, the three opening acts on this bill (The Migs, Fat Creeps, and Bent Shapes) would definitely appear on that list. In fact, Bent Shapes were probably the first local band I really got into, about a few years back now. It’s not hard to see why this trio sticks out- they are able to blend Weezer/Blink 182 esque pop punk with garage rock. The thinking man’s garage perhaps. Haha, actually that reminds me of something Glen said earlier in the evening, that Bent Shape have this “college” quality to them. I agree with him on this point, and that’s funny because their music to me shares a similarity to another jangely pop, “college” band: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. Both bands unleash simple, catchy songs with strong pop hooks. Personally, what I love about bands like Bent Shapes is that a lot of the music they seem to reference (pop punk) is not particularly to my liking, yet I seriously dig these guys. I kind of like it that way, I almost have a greater appreciation for them. Regardless of tastes, all three members are exceptional. If you’re reading this and haven’t heard of this band, click the link here, Do iT! http://bentshapes.bandcamp.com/

Set List:
“Boys to Men”
“Public”
“Leave It Till You Need It”
“Bites”
“Brat Poison”
“Wut?”
“Behead”
“Big Machines”


Act III: Fat Creeps– Fat Creeps rock right into “Blitzkrieg Bop,” which I totally don’t expect. The leather jackets should have given it away. A couple of weeks ago, the Creeps delivered a killer set of Ramones covers at a Rosebud Halloween show, here’s a review, if you missed it: https://klyam.com/2012/10/16/concert-review-halloween-show-featuring-fat-creeps-earthquake-party-fedavees-fagettes-rosebud-101312/ and tonight they are reprising their roles again as the seminal punk band aka greatest band of all time.  Admittedly, I am craving some original numbers, but with that being said, the band is still captivating with their Ramones set as they were before. My favorite cover is definitely “I Don’t Want to Walk Around With You,” I especially love Gracie’s vocal parts in this tune. Overall, a fun set per usual.

Set List (not sure of the exact order):
“Blitzkrieg Bop”
“Beat On The Brat”
“Judy Is A Punk”
“I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”
“Havana Affair”
“Loudmouth”
“I Don’t Want To Walk Around With You”
“53rd and 3rd”
“Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World”

Check out Fat Creep’s music here: http://fatcreeps.bandcamp.com/


Act IV: Sic Alps– San Francisco’s Sic Alps are garage/psych legends and it is a pleasure to finally get to see them on this wonderful evening. You can tell, these dudes are veterans when they play. Despite the wacked out, chaotic nature of their brand of rock ‘n’ roll, they have an undeniable finesse to their craft that only a seasoned pro could produce. I’m sure this is said all of the time, but it is worthy to note that the Sic Alps have lineage with Mr. Ty Segall or Ty Segall has lineage with Sic Alps. I mention this for two reasons. Firstly, if you regularly visit this site, then you know how much we love Ty Segall, he is one of our top guys. So, seeing his musical kin in a live setting is an extra treat. Secondly, you can see a lot of Ty’s music in the Sic Alps’s performance, leaning more towards the extensive jam quality of his sound and less concerned with pop influence. At times, this is not always my bag, but I can still dig it. Also, I need to be more familiar with their songs, so I can truly appreciate their set in the future. In any case, I recommend you give em’ a listen here: http://www.sicalps.com/