Omar Souleyman - Leh Jani

A buddy of mine put this one up on FB and I was completely blown away. Omar Souleyman is the shit. Just love the singing and noodling music, reminds me of the stuff my Mom was listening to in the late 60s, early 70s, going to the Intersection in the Rampart district of LA. Times were different then. Upon reflection, it makes me angry, the religious extremists of the world, the fundamentalists, the religious right, fascist theologians...this is the dilemma of the present and the bane of the future across the world. I love seeing people freely enjoying their music, celebrating, dancing (and I'll be damned if that shoulder dance thing in this vid is not the coolest move ever).

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgRUHIeaKOk]

Lewis Dimmick - This Music: Pieces On Heavy Metal Punk Rock & Hardcore Punk book

My third book review up for ya, the first punk rock memories, the second being a European hardcore biography and this time it's a New York hardcore (plus) collection of recollections and poems. My buddy Freddy over at Wardance Records put this thing out and was kind enough to send me a copy. I have to thank him first and foremost, because this was one hell of an enjoyable read. Written by Lewis Dimmick of Our Gang (check out their discography and bio at Stormy's epic Blogged and Quartered site) and most recently of My Rifle (check out my epic [hahaha] review of their Self Titled 7"). I really like this guy Lewis, just based on his music and most definitely on his book.  Even though I haven't actually met him, I can really relate to his insights and figure his friends must really value their friendship.  He's just a year or two younger than me, so we're about the same age, grew up in the same era, enjoy writing (he's the real deal of course, I'm just dabbling) and have a love for music that inspired us to play music.  It's interesting, that we were on different coasts but the scenes weren't so different.  The way he puts it, "The audience is beside themselves; they are in a state of rapture; they, in their individual awkwardness, attempt with their bodies to illustrate the music; their movements celebrate the self; they dance like asylum inmates; they improvise a response."  A guy who's been there can intimately identify with that.  You can tell he was there experiencing these moments with all of his senses, taking it in not just physically but spiritually.  It came to be a part of what defined him, who he hung out with and his responses to life.  On a side note, I like too that he was a long hair in a scene dominated by bald heads.  He wasn't just observing, collecting data, but a part of what was going on, taking it all in.  Talking about Roger Miret of Agnostic Front, "I was intrigued by his street look, his street existence.  I never thought I would inhabit a world where tattoos are as common as white underwear.  Today even pop stars look like punk rockers, but punk rockers that have undergone the full spa treatment."  The book is a quick read, which left me wanting more.  I'm just a junkie when it comes to something like this, I can't get enough...so I read it again, this time paying a little more attention to the details. Once I started reading it, there was no way I was going to put it down, leafing through the pages was as easy as eating ice cream on a hot summer day.  And then you end up sitting back and reflecting on your own similar experiences.  GREAT fucking book.  The artwork for the cover, is pretty snappy and punctuates the whole vibe.  This thing is available now for pre-order and will start shipping out on April 22nd.  You can get it at Wardance Records.  Thanx Freddy and Lewis for a fantastic read.

Hex Machine - S/T 7"

Something cute this time, they don't always have to be foul or gruesome. This guy kinds looks like me when I was younger and a 100+ pounds lighter.  Had an all white cat like this one towards the end of my life as drunk. I let it outside one day and it just never came home.  Another reason to get drunk I suppose, although the sun or moon shining was a good enough reason.  Never understood why people (guys mostly) don't like cats.  Yes, different from dogs, but enjoyable in different ways.  In a lot of cases it's a macho thing, the same type of guys who have lifted trucks and lots of guns.  I have a truck and guns (standard issue here in the bible belt), but I like kitties...and small yappy dogs too. Still on this Industrial music kick, probably have listened to a 100 bands I hadn't heard of before.  So much of it pushes the boundaries of what industrial is/was.  The one I keep going back to is Esplendor Geometrico...true, early pioneers of Industrial music in it's purest form.  I picked up their 1980-1981 Prehistoric Sounds 3x7" +CD box set recently with their earliest stuff. They released a ton of shit and a lot of it can be listened to/bought at their Bandcamp. Here's the first track off their 1981 "EG-1" cassette... ESPLENDOR GEOMETRICO - Muerte a escala industrial Time for the post-punk-math-rock-stoner-asoraus that is Hex Machine, who are self described as "a heavy rock band from Richmond, VA formed in 2004 or 1995 depending on who you ask." I got this 2006 release, their first vinyl, a few years ago, for dirt cheap, because I'd heard they had Dave Witte (of Discordance Axis, Melt Banana, et. al.) on drums. Turns out they have another Mustard Relics alumni in the form of ex-Human Thurma bassist Trevor Thomas, on guitar and vocals.  Am-Rep-y and Touch & Go-ish (a common way to describe several bands I have posted) is how I've seen them described.  One press release I read for their newest album here stated, "Hex Machine has soldiered on in feigned attempts to contain its angular raging bull on acid approach to the stage with the likes of the Jesus Lizard, Clutch, Harvey Milk, Converge, and Lamb of God." Lamb of God? You know I've never listened to that them...hmmm.  "Noise rock" seems to come up too, but that doesn't mean a whole lot to me.  Noisey?  I guess if you mean that they pack a hell of a lot of music into each tune.  There is kind of a dirty feel to them or maybe muddy is a better term.  Snotty too, almost taunting, daring you to guess what's around the bend on the next tune.  There's a good biography type page at a place called Sonic Bids and they're well represented on the net with a Facebook, Last.fm, MySpace, Bandcamp, Big Cartel, Reverb Nation, and a Blogspot.  All in all, worth a listen... Blueprint To Madness On Tender Ice Their newest tune off their 2012 release "Fixator" at Bandcamp... http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2493836224/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/

Some live stuff... [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhMUYi6GAgM&w=420&h=315]