BLACK FLAG'S Greg Ginn and Ron Reyes have been busy recording songs for a new album in Taylor, Texas.
FLAG has added Dez Cadena on second guitar to go along with its powerhouse lineup of Keith Morris (who has almost fully recovered from a diabetic coma, according to OFF!'s Facebook page), Chuck Dukowski, Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton.
There's lots of action on tap for these guys in the coming months and they're sure to keep the punks entertained.
FLAG will be first out of the gate:
April 26, Monster Bash 2013, Munich, Germany
April 27, Monster Bash 2013, Berlin, Germany
April 28, Groezrock, Meerhout, Belgium
May 27,Punk Rock Bowling, Las Vegas, NV
June 8, Orion Festival, Belle Isle, Detroit, MI
June 14, NXNE Music Festival, Toronto, CAN
June 15, Amnesia Rockfest, Montebello, CAN
BLACK FLAG'S got a packed docket:
May 14, Rockhal Club, Luxembourg
May 15, Alcatraz, Milano, Italy
May 16, Dynamo, Zurich, Switzerland
May 17, The Orion, Rome, Italy
May 18, Ruhrpott Rodeo, Hünxe, Germany
May 20, Arena Wien, Austria
May 23, Infest, Austin, TX
May 24, Trees, Dallas, TX
May 25, The Korova, San Antonio, TX
June 6, Granada Theater, Lawrence, KS
June 7, Wooly's Des Moines, IA
June 8-9, Reggie's Rock Club, Chicago, IL
June 10, Majestic Theatre, Detroit, MI
June 14-15, Warsaw, Brooklyn, NY
June 17, Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA
June 18, Growlers, Roanoke, VA
June 19, Buster's, Lexington, NY
June 20, Southgate House, Newport, KY
June 21, Fubar, St. Louis, MO
July 10, Tricky Falls, El Paso, TX
July 11, Club Red/Red Owl, Tempe, AZ
July 12-13, The Observatory, Santa Ana, CA
July 14, Vex Arts Los Angeles, CA
July 16, The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA
July 18, Hawthorne Theater, Portland, OR
July 19, El Corazon, Seattle, WA
July 20, TBA, Vancouver, BC
July 23, Oakland Opera House, Oakland, CA
July 24, Ventura Theater, Ventura, CA
Aug. 3, Resurrection Fest, Viveiro, Spain
Aug. 4, Hevy Fest, Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent, UK
Aug. 9, Ieperfest, Ieper, Belgium
Aug. 10, Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Aug. 31, Muddy Roots Music Festival, Cookeville, TN
Top, Keith Morris with OFF!, bottom Ron Reyes with Piggy. (Andy and Cat photos)
Intense -- Negative Approach's John Brannon. (All Andy photos)
By Andy
Ah, the wonderful feeling of having a stage diver's boot nail you in the back of the neck.
And there it is again. Another punk arrows toward you, feet first and clips your ear. (The ears were already being pummeled because I was standing near the PA speakers, so no biggie there.)
But that's the price you pay for getting up close to watch Detroit powerhouse Negative Approach, right? Parts of your body and eardrums will be pulsating and ringing in the morning, but who cares? --- it's NA, god dammit.
Oh yeah, your voice, too, will be sore from participating in the gang vocals, but "if that's what it takes, we're ready to fight," as in plowing your way up front to get the job done.
Before gravel-voiced, hard-staring vocalist John Brannon and crew took the stage on Wednesday night at Chop Suey in Seattle, I told my friend, Tim, that I'd probably take it easy off to the side of the stage and get some pics and video in the "safe zone." However, once the band started, there was no hiding from the mayhem -- a massive slam pit erupted and it was every man and woman for themselves. (And like any wild gig, things get unbuckled, literally … What did I just step on? Oh, there's someone's belt. A stray shoe?… yes, there was one of those, too.)
I told Tim that when I was younger, I'd wedge my way through the crowd to be up front and participate in some vocal action with my favorite bands like Minor Threat, the Misfits and more. I would not be denied some microphone time with Ian MacKaye and Glenn Danzig … just try and stop me.
Maybe not tonight, I said to Tim, as we both chuckled.
Ron Sakowski, Harold Richardson and Brannon.
But once NA started, there I was, instinctively barreling my way toward the front, pushing a few people out of the way, dodging stage divers (most of the time) and yelling out lyrics with the rest of the crowd.
It was like old times, just the way it should be.
(Beth and Nickle were also part of our formidable NA crew.... Unfortunately, Cat couldn't make the gig, because she was "sick with flu, sick with flu, don't cough on me at all." Yeah, I had to stick an NA reference in there, taking liberties with the lyrics, of course.)
About a year and a half ago, Stag frontman Steve Mack's eyes lit up when he told me about calling his mom on the phone after he got the gig as singer for That Petrol Emotion in the '80s.
"I can't believe I'm playing with the guys from the Undertones!" he said as if the call were placed this morning.
After Cat and I have watched Mack play with Stag many times in the Seattle area, there's no doubt that the vibrant singer feels equally as enthusiastic about sharing the stage with Ben London (guitar/vocals), Rob Dent (drums), Pete Everett (bass) and Lincoln Barr (guitar/vocals).
Mack and Everett in action . (Cat Rose photo)
The quintet can power-pop it up with the best of them -- and they can also out-rock most harder bands in the guitar-riff and -solo department.
Upon first hearing the band at Darrell's Tavern in Shoreline, I was time-machined back to my youth when my dad presented me with Cheap Trick's "Heaven Tonight" LP one Christmas morning. Cat and I were on board instantly.
Stag recently released its first full-length album on Fin Records to go along with a pair of EPs and a single. We know these songs well from the live setting and Jack Endino teamed up with the Stag men on the production front to capture the band's tunes just right. An easy-going flow on the pop end -- and then a bang to the ears in the rock realm.
"These Times" kicks off the 12-song set with aplomb and everything rolls from there with standouts "Love Her Records," "Don't Lead With Your Heart," "Mountains of Steel," "Tiffany Rose" and others. London crafts the songs well and also made a wise choice by including a cover of "Get the Message" by Eric Carmen, a Cyrus Erie tune.
On "These Times," Mack leads with, "Why are you just going through the motions? Standing by the tracks, waiting as the trains pass you by?" ...and soon comes the big chorus, "These times are for all of us." The song is usually perfectly set in the closer position during live sets, but also thrives in the lead-off spot here -- hit listeners hard right away and then continue on down the line with one gem after another.
Stag's time is now.
From left, Mack, London, Everett, Dent and Barr. (Cat Rose photo)
Singin', dancin', stompin' and wine drinkin' make for a killer evening with the Sonics and Mudhoney at the helm, but they also call for an early bedtime for some of the older rockers in the crowd.
On Saturday night, the two groundbreaking bands paired up for a sold-out gig at the Showbox near their home environs in Seattle. The Sonics started cranking out their tunes in Tacoma in the '60s, while Mudhoney cut its teeth at dingy clubs down the street from the Showbox in the '80s.
In 2013, a Sonics/Mudhoney gig finally comes to fruition and everyone involved is stoked beyond belief.
Here's a rundown:
• People eager to get their evening going — and work off their early-bird dinner special — start lining up at the club a while before the doors open at 7.
• Mudhoney hits the stage exactly at 8. They start out slow, leading us to wonder if they're watering down their set so they won't raise the attendees' blood pressure too high.
• Mark Arm and crew hit their mark about five songs in with "In 'N' Out of Grace" and roll from there. At one point, Arm falls over backward and knocks over a mic stand near the drum kit. Later, he asks drummer Dan Peters to extend "Tales of Terror" so he can bolt backstage to refill his wine glass.
• The Sonics rip into their opener, "Cinderella," at about 9:30 and original members Gerry Roslie (vox/keys), Rob Lind (sax/harp/vox) and Larry Parypa (guitar/backing vox) are grinning ear to ear at the wild crowd reaction.
• Up in front of the stage, one lady — presumably related to one of the band members since she's allowed in front of the barrier — dances up a storm while holding her wine glass. There's no spillage the entire time as she balances her grooving with her drinking.
• Bassist Freddie Dennis (a cross between William Shatner and Patton Oswalt) doesn't do anything fancy with his playing, but he keeps the band rolling with a steady, thumping sound.
• Closing out the hour long set is …. you got it — "The Witch." Stellar!
Ron Reyes sings a Black Flag song in Shoreline, WA, last May. (Cat Rose photo)
Greg Ginn and Ron Reyes are officially back together again in a new version of Black Flag, according to a post on Reyes' Facebook page today.
The band is in the process of putting the finishing touches on a new album with Ginn on guitar, Reyes on vocals, Gregory Moore on drums and "Dale Nixon" on bass.
Black Flag will be headlining the RUHRPOTT RODEO in Hünxe, Germany, on May 18, the UK's Hevy Fest on Aug. 4 and the Muddy Roots Music Festival in Tennessee on Aug. 31. More festival and tour dates will be announced soon including a Black Flag U.S. tour in the fall of 2013.
Ginn currently plays with Good for You and Greg Ginn and the Royal We, while Reyes -- who sang in the "Decline of Western Civilization" film and on the "Jealous Again" EP -- plays guitar in his Vancouver, BC-based outfit, Piggy. Moore formerly played with Gone and another version of Black Flag in 2003.
As for the bass-player slot, Reyes' post reads: "While Dale has lent his skills to the new album, he is currently contractually obligated for a stint on Celebrity Rehab. Still, as he has always done in the past, he will continue to provide insight and spiritual guidance to the current bass player." (Dale Nixon is Ginn's alias, which was used on the "My War" credits.)
Ginn and Reyes in Vancouver in July 2010. (Courtesy photo)
Ginn and Reyes jammed at the singer's 50th birthday party in July 2010 in Vancouver, playing "Jealous Again," "Revenge" and a new original song, "Broken."
"He shows up and we put a guitar in his hand, and he started playing and it was pretty amazing seeing him play after all these years. Being in rehearsal with him was pretty impressive. Our jaws were just dropping when he got in his groove," Reyes said in a There's Something Hard in There blog interview on May 18, 2012. Reyes was in Seattle at the time for a gig with Piggy at The Funhouse.
On Black Flag's work ethic, Reyes added in the There's Something Hard in There interview:
"I think it got even way more crazy and intense after I left. Certainly by the time Henry came down. I had the opportunity to go down and see them and spend some time with them in rehearsals with Henry and Kira, that lineup, and it was monstrous how they would jam for hours and hours and hours and hours. It was pretty incredible.
"It was great music, I love the fact that Greg was doing something that was groundbreaking. It was very unique."
The next night at Darrell's Tavern in Shoreline, Reyes got into Black Flag mode by singing "Revenge," "Police Story" and "Nervous Breakdown" with some local bands, Sioux City Pete and the Beggars and The I Love Myselfs.
At the end of the night, Reyes was a demon unleashed as he plowed into the crowd and nearly knocked over a table, but still sent beer bottles banging to the ground. People were stoked on the scene and left with their ears buzzing and faces beaming.
**We previously posted our editorial on Flag, featuring Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton.
Joey "Shithead" Keithley leads DOA in Vancouver. (All Cat Rose photos, except where noted)
By Andy
Joey "Shithead" Keithley is a vote-getter of the highest order.
At one of DOA's farewell gigs on Jan. 18 at the Rickshaw Theater in the band's hometown of Vancouver, BC, Keithley asked fans to leave their song requests in a ballot-type box at the door as they exited. Maybe they'd include some of those songs in their set the following night.
"We've got 250 songs. I'd like to play 'em all, but there's nothing I can do about that," Keithley told the crowd in his familiar gargling voice before the band ripped into another gem from their punk-rock catalogue.
The band played for about two hours that first night, opening the sold-out show with "New Age" and plowing through classics like "Slumlord," "I'm Right, You're Wrong," "General Strike" and many others before closing with "Disco Sucks" as the stage was littered with former members Randy Rampage, Zippy Pinhead, Wimpy Roy and other Vancouver punk luminaries. (A new song, "He's Got a Gun," was also a standout from DOA's killer new album, "We Come in Peace.")
At the end of next month, Keithley, age 56, will be seeking votes of another kind as he'll put DOA to rest after 35 years to continue his campaign for a spot with the BC New Democrats. He's running to be a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), which is similar to a U.S. state congressman.
One night, Keithley's rocking the crowd and the next day he's knocking on someone's door to introduce himself and discuss his political platform.
I spoke with Keithley on Jan. 14 by phone from his home in Burnaby, BC.
--You're gonna be putting the band aside to concentrate on your political career. Is this a tough decision for your or are you fully set on the next part of your life?
The toughest part was committing to the idea because I had considered running for city council in my hometown here... I live in Burnaby, the first suburb east of Vancouver. The place I'm actually running in is Coquitlam, which is the next suburb. I had considered this about 2-3 years ago, but there wasn't the opportunity to run within Burnaby. So, I did not find this a tough decision, it was just sort of picking the right opportunity and go ahead with this and, like you alluded to, I'd say it's a natural transition in my life.
In one sense, yeah, of course I'll miss rock and roll. How could I not after being involved for 35-38 years or something? 17 years old or whatever when I picked up a guitar, but this is what I choose. Just as an aside, I won't stop playing music. I'm just busy with this.
--How has being in a band all these years prepared you to jump into the political realm. Was it a good learning experience, a natural progression type thing?
Well, it made sense. People in Canada, and I think people in North America and in Europe somewhat know DOA for a political stance-- I'd really call it being a social activist. You know, kind of fighting for people power, that's kind of what I call it. So with people in BC, I'm really well known here, so it isn't like a big leap to do that, so it kind of fits because I've been kind of working on helping people with stuff, trying to help the regular person all my life. I guess another thing, too, is when I was 18, I went to university to become a civil-rights lawyer. Then DOA started, and obviously I never got my law degree (laughs) ... that goes without saying, right?
--So is that when you first started getting interested in politics? When did it strike a chord with you?
It was actually when I was 16, Greenpeace organized this protest against testing of nuclear weapons by the U.S. military, and what was happening in the Amchitka islands, which are part of the Aleutian Islands chain of Alaska ... underground testing of nuclear bombs. So, Greenpeace urged all these kids in high school here, in different areas, to leave their school and march downtown Vancouver where the American consulate was and march around and protest. We did, we left the school, the principal tried to stop us with his arms across, trying to physically block us. That didn't work, obviously, and about a thousand of us marched downtown. An interesting thing about that was Dimwit -- rest his soul, my old drummer, who drummed in The Subhumans, The Pointed Sticks and The Four Horsemen -- he brought a bass drum that day, so he was at the head of the parade with his bass drum, beating as the students moved along toward the consulate.
--What do you hope to achieve if you're elected? What's your platform?
Some really straight forward things... there's nothing too wildly spectacular. One of the big things I'm working on is educational access for everybody. I believe post-secondary education should be a right, not a privilege. We wanna improve the school system, university system and skills training like trades: electricians, plumbers and stuff like that. An educated population is gonna end up having better jobs than a bunch of Mcjobs, (which) is what people are ending up with now. There's nothing wrong with being a barista, I certainly wouldn't look down on anybody who worked at any menial job. But at the same time, you'll never be able to buy a house or raise a family if that's the kind of job you got-- it's just impossible.
The other thing, too, is I'm trying to encourage people (to get) democratically involved. And this is part of the thing about being a DIY guy and as I was growing up being a punk. Being involved democratically is a lot more than just going to the ballot box once every four years. People should be after their local and statewide, national politicians to listen to them, which they generally don't... politicians generally thumb their nose at the general public. And I really think you can get this kind of grassroots democracy that people would seem to accept... that's kind of attracting the opposite of the Tea Party, I know their thing is based on a grassroots thing, 'down with politicians' and all that kind of stuff. I'm talking about more of a grassroots thing where things make sense and are not just right-wing hysteria like the Tea Party is.
--I know that you had run before for the Green Party. What have you learned from that previous political experience that you're applying this time?
What I've learned and what I'm gonna apply here is what I've learned more in music as opposed to my previous political experience -- is that 1: if you wanna be elected, you should learn to listen to people. I've really learned that in the music business, my own record company, being a manager, being a road manager, playing in a band type thing. You have to employ those people skills and listen to people and try and help them. Because when you get elected, you get elected to serve all the people, not just the people that voted for you or the people that agree with you.
Top, first record, the 7-inch EP: "Disco Sucks"; bottom, new LP.
-- Getting back to DOA now, are there some top songs that you still really feel have an impact on you today and have really stood the test of time?
I really just go by the audience. There's some that I really like, say "Woke Up Screaming" is one of my personal favorites. Lot of the old songs that we still play like "The Enemy," "The Prisoner," "World War Three," stuff like that. There's one on the new album I really like that we play all the time is called "He's Got a Gun." It's tough to say, I've written probably 250 songs, we've got 14 albums, singles and comps and various odd things. It's a little hard to narrow it down.
--What kept you guys going all these years?
DOA is really held together all these years by many rolls of gaffe tape (laughter).
It's really a political philosophy, I guess. One of the big things about DOA, there always had to be a sense of camaraderie, being friends with the other people in the band. My philosophy really is just to get up there and try and enact change. One that I really take as my example is one of my heroes would be Pete Seeger. That guy has been going at for a good 70 years doing great things for people from being an activist, to being a great songwriter, to teaching people music, reviving folk music at various times. Just doing a lot of really, really cool stuff with his voice and his banjo and his ability. So if I can end up doing a quarter of what he did, I think I'd be doing really, really well.
Once I'm finished with politics, I'll be back playing music at some point, but who knows what form it will be in.
-- And you do a lot of that acoustic stuff, as well.
Yeah, I try to. It's pretty fun, it's really got a completely different vibe, that's for sure. But I gotta tell you, it's sure a lot of fun playing really loud rock music. You gotta have fun at what you do. You've gotta love a challenge, so this is one of the reasons I'm getting into politics. One of the reasons I kept DOA going, is, hey, I love a challenge.
-- You've done a great job so far, and I would imagine you're gonna keep doing it.
Thank you very much.
-- What do your kids (ages 16, 23 and 25) think of the band and your political career?
They're all behind the band. It's not really their style of music, except for my youngest son, Clayton (16), he's a budding filmmaker. Me and him actually jam in the basement-- I drum, he plays guitar and sings, and we play Ramones, Clash, Damned, Sex Pistols, stuff like that. But the older kids weren't really into punk rock per se, but they're proud of me, and they're totally behind this political thing. Especially my daughter, and she's not political at all. I asked when we were around the family table, I asked 'Should I do this?' and everybody's saying, 'Oh, I guess so,' and she went 'Yeah, Absolutely. Absolutely.' (laughter)
-- If you could look into a crystal ball, how do you envision your future?
Ahhhh... (laughs) ... I wish I could look into a crystal ball. You just gotta keep trying to do what you think is right in life and carry on the best way you can, that's really the only philosophy I've really got is that you've got to believe in yourself and be positive.
-- NHL hockey is back, are you excited? Are you a Canucks fan?
Yeah, I've been a diehard fan since before they were in the NHL, the Canucks. They've never won a Stanley Cup-- so it's not a great thing. I kind of get excited about hockey because we do, we call it a Hockey Pool, basically it's a fantasy league. So me and a bunch of other guys in the music business, we've had this Hockey Pool going for about 25 years now. It's our big competition-- we are cutthroats, we're meaner and more underhanded than NHL owners, so we try and really screw with the other guy. It's really a lot of fun.
I was actually glad the NHL didn't go the first half of the season, because I was too busy campaigning.
-- What was your take on the lockout?
It's a bunch of millionaires getting stiffed by a bunch of billionaires. They've all got so much more than 99.9999999 percent of us do-- it's pretty sad that they would fight over this. It's really sad the people that work at the arena or sold hot dogs and all that kind of thing, they really lost a big chunk of their livelihood. They seem to like to do this every six or seven years--- it's not very smart, but that's the way it goes.
Early DOA: From left, Chuck Biscuits, Dave Gregg, Keithley and Rampage. (Edward Colver photo)
The first time I ever saw Neurosis was in 1990 on their "Word as Law" tour. This show changed my life, as I have never seen a hardcore punk band with this much intensity before. They played at Washington Hall in Seattle’s Central District and the entrance fee was five dollars, maybe reduced to three as the headlining act cancelled as I recall. I must admit, this is the best show I have ever seen in my life. I’ll never forget how silent the audience was when Neurosis ended their set. We were all literally blown away and somewhat speechless as we made our way outside for air.
To say I’ve been a fan of this band is an understatement. I have seen most of their Seattle shows over the last twenty-three years. Neurosis has continued to draw more of a "metal" crowd over the years more so than the punks back in the day. Their live sets have always been a unique "spiritual" experience for me, but the sound and atmosphere of Neurosis is respectively not for all. It became a running joke about how there is more “color black per square inch” at a Neurosis show than anywhere on the face of the Earth. Show after show have proven this correct.
Here we are January 5th, 2013, twenty-three years later. Neurosis is playing at the Showbox and tickets cost us approximately thirty dollars each (including the service charge).
Stoneburner (Portland) took the stage and started the show off right! I don’t know much about this band other than they delivered some unique doom metal. I look forward to hearing more from them.
Black Breath was back from tour and made it to the stage to deliver a powerful set. They were for sure complimentary to the evening of awe.
Tragedy (Portland) without a doubt, simply scorched the place. I have not seen fire like this for years. Where the hell have I been? They formed in my hometown of Memphis and relocated to Portland. Pops, a friend of mine, has been talking about them for a while, stating they have the same energy as early Discharge. The comparison could not have been more true! They ripped through an awesome set of politically fueled lyrics and anthems infused by tight-as-hell, powerful guitars and percussion. We were all in a frenzy when “Darker Days Ahead” (title track of last release) was dropped on the audience like a giant sack of lightning and chainsaws. I think I wiped a way a tear! This is my new favorite band.
The opening bands all delivered great performances. As we were all catching our breath and anticipating Neurosis to start, I could see the various band members making their way to the stage performing a last-minute sound check.
Scott and Steve appeared suddenly on the stage looking like a couple of druids with their black hoodies, picking up their instruments as if preparing for an intense battle, yet so relaxed. A few months ago, I caught Scott’s solo performance at El Corazon. It was a beautiful performance. I looked around at the Neurosis audience and wondered to myself, "Where were all of the people then?" Making my way around the crowd, I was surprised by how many people were also at the show I mentioned earlier at Washington Hall decades ago. I digress.
Suddenly, without any intro, warning, or even a 1-2-3, Neurosis comes alive with the power they are known for.
They started with “Eye” from their earlier release "Through Silver in Blood." Instantly the audience is captured and a symbiotic relationship is forged for the remainder of the evening. I was not in the pit, per se, but I was amongst the huge swaying mass of an audience improvising the standard broken neck "dance." It is sort of funny, yet so right, to witness a sea of people doing this in unison. It was just a ball of mass moving helplessly to the ambient power chords and complicated rhythms projected by the band. I swear, I couldn’t help but go into convulsions the whole time. To me, Neurosis is more like Joy Division more so than any metal band.
Neurosis played cuts from their latest album, "Honor in Decay," such as “My Heart for Deliverance” & “Bleeding the Pigs.” We were also blessed by previous releases such as “Locust Star” and “Times of Grace.” Their set was excellent as usual.
About a month ago, Neurosis mentioned they will no longer use visuals for their live sets. The visuals were usually just as awesome as the music and would enhance the experience. This is the first time they have played Seattle without the visual projections and it was actually good to see them as I first remembered them.
Neurosis finished their set and left the stage. That’s it! The audience left satisfied and in awe. It was a great night and I am sure all of us are looking forward to their next show.
