On Monday, Sept 12th, Daniel Francis Doyle will return to Ithaca for his fourth Ithaca Underground show - his first since April '10.  Since then, there's been some interesting activity in the DFD camp. We were able to catch up with Daniel while on the road for a very quick bit of Q&A...

IU: How have you been since we last saw you in Ithaca?

DFD: I've been alright. Workin' on new music and such.

IU: How was last fall's tour? I heard you got to experience our friends at Bazooka / Bazooka back in Oct while the core of the IU camp was driving out to Minnesota.

DFD: Yeah, the show in Binghampton was great! Really great bunch of people there.

IU: What's the skinny on your newest single/EP "There Are Two of You"?

DFD: Well, it's actually not  really new anymore, it came out last October. But, yeah, my website still has it listed as "new". Sorry for the confusion. It's a 2 song 7", "There Are Two of You" b/w "Sharing Stories". SOUNGS, a label out of Brooklyn, released it. They are just about to release a new comp that I'll be on, too. I actually have a new 10" just about to be released on Monofonus Press. They might mail it to me in Ithaca -- so my upcoming visit with ya'll might be the 1st show I'll play with the new release!

IU: I've also heard you've been collaborating with some pals from Austin and may have a split coming as well?

DFD: Yeah, I'm touring with a full band this time around and playing mostly new songs. The split is that Monofonus release I talked about above. It's with Austin's Dikes of Holland!

IU: What else will 2011 (and 2012 if you can speak to it) hold for DFD?

DFD: Recording an album with the band and hopefully more touring!!!

IU: Stoked to play your third different space in Ithaca in 4 gigs?

DFD: Yes! I love coming to Ithaca, and I am grateful you keep having me back!!

IU: Any words for your fans here in CNY and to those coming out on 9/12?

DFD: Oh....woah. Hhhmmmm. I guess that i hope they have a good time at the show, and to feel free to "cut a rug" at the show! You know, dancin!

Don't miss Daniel, on tour from Austin, TX live on Monday, Sept 12th with Kites In Space, Kaboosh!, Sun Spells at The Space @ GreenStar, 700 W Buffalo St, Ithaca, NY 14850 - 8PM | $5 | ALL AGES

Braveyoung (formerly known as Giant) hail from Greensboro, NC and compose beautifully lush and complex instrumental music for your aural pleasure. Their latest, We Are Lonely Animals and their preceding EP Song found release through the mighty The End Records (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Ulver, Goes Cube, etc).

They've had a busy 2011 so far with the release of their latest LP and a pending collaboration with The Body. Up next the troop is about to launch on a Northeast US/Canadian tour with our friends in Rosetta. On their way back home, Ithaca Underground is presenting an absolutely FREE show with this fantastic five-piece in celebration of Bubba (IU main-man) Crumrine's birthday and the final performance of local favorites, Beach Parade. BY bassist and co-founding member Zack Jones takes a few minutes before they hit the road for some quick Q&A.

IU: For the uninitiated, could you give our readers a bit of background on how you, your brother, and Kyle (and Derrek at the time) all met and started writing music together as what would become Braveyoung?

Zack: Isaac and I have been playing together since we were children. We grew up in a small farmtown in rural NC, fortunately immersed in a very musical family. Kyle and Derrick were living in greensboro when Isaac and approached them about working with us on some stuff. We had already written what would become the red opus, and some other stuff we later discarded.

IU: When did Ben come into the picture?

Zack: Rodney, who had been working with us during the recording of 'song' and some tours following that, decided to have a family.  Ben is a long time friend, and he was over what he was involved in musically at the time, so after continuing for quite some time as a four piece, we asked him to help us flesh out some bigger ideas.

IU: Earlier this spring the band released "We Are Lonely Animals" What are some of your favorite moments of the LP - ether of the process or the composition itself? 

Zack: There have always been long drags of time between records with braveyoung, mainly because it is expensive to produce a record the way we feel like a record should be produced. We had been stuck on a collection of recordings that over 2 years of production, had thousands and thousands of dollars invested in it, only to be discarded. It was an intensely confusing time for us, and when Derrick decided to leave the band after 5 weeks in Europe, it gave us the opportunity to just completely move on from that material. The writing was, personally, one of the most intimate and favorable experiences of my life. We also got to record live, which is something we always felt would benefit us. We were very excited to finally be able to put to record what we had been doing live for the past few years. Trying to compose some pieces that had a severe amount of weight to them without being "heavy", in a common sense of the word. I really like how quiet the record is.

IU: Also earlier in the year, you all collaborated with The Body on a studio project - any updates on when the world might get to hear what came of the sessions?

After their first appearance back in early April, the Buffalo powerviolence/grind quartet INERDS are back in Ithaca. Armed with dual female vocals, crushing bass, and utter destruction behind the kit, the band is becoming a serious force to be reckoned with, even garnering the attention of J. Randall for his Grindcore Karaoke release. Vii Caso gets the lowdown on where they started and what's next.

IU: Can you give us a brief (of not so brief) history of how Inerds came to be?

Moezes: I was in a pop punk band when I first met Matt, and at one point we were both homeless, so we became friends pretty quickly. We were at a party and Matt isn't much a drinker, but I got him fucking whiskey drunk that night. At some point, I dragged him to the practice space, and we (drunkenly) wrote "She Beast". Later that week I knew we need female vocals for the shit we were writing. I'm a huge fan of lady vocals, so bands like Robot has Werewolf Hand, Despise you, Hatred Surge, Salome, Punch, etc...were a huge influence on what we were going for. Corey came first on vocals and then we later asked Jessika if she would join the force up front.

IU: Bass and drum grindcore/powerviolence bands don't come around that often, where did the idea to have no guitar come from?

Moezes: When we first started, we had talked about just keeping it a duo. Just to keep things easier, But i really thought the girls would bring some serious energy live that a 2 piece just couldn't. But in regards to not having any guitar, Matt and I just both thought it sounded plenty thick with just bass. It kind of just gives us this down tune effect, but every INERDS song is written in E standard. Also add to the fact Matt and I are both bassists (him much more than I), with a fierce love for bass and drum PV. Bands like Lana Dagales, Vennt, MITB, and the Agoraphobic Nosebleed "Domestic Power Violence" split with Apartment 213 were HUGE influences on the musical portion.

IU: How did you guys get connected with Grindcore Karaoke?

Moezes: J. Randall sent INERDS a message through myspace saying he was doing GK and wanted the demo on it. I informed him about Mutant League, which is a label I had started doing with John from Bestower, and he wanted everything Matt and I have done.  To those who don't know, Mutant League is: Inerds, Hoglust, Bestower, Human Touch, Canadian Tuxedo and Water Torture with demos coming soon for two last two.

IU: You guys played Ithaca a few weeks ago along Coworkers, Womyn Boyz and Pharaohs. Was that your first time playing Ithaca?

Moezes: Yeah, first time for me in Ithaca in a long time and it was radical. The space we played was righteous, the locals were great, and Bubba is a solid homie. It seems like he's doing a lot of work for that area, which is fucking awesome.

IU: Are there any future Inerds releases planned?

Moezes: Yeah, actually were doing a split 7" with this band from over seas called Terror of the Dynamite Attack. That will be out on Mutant League by the fall. We're really excited to get that piece out.

IU: Any final words?

Moezes: Go download everything from www.grindcorekaraoke.com, J Randall is making shit happen for a lot of bands who never would get any notice. And smoke weed till you die from it. Word me dude.

Woe began in 2007 as little more than a casual experiment of multi-instrumentalist Chris Grigg. Inspired by both the classics and contemporary raw, underground black metal, the first demo, Absinthe Invocation: Five Spells Against God, was widely received as a worthy addition to the American scene. Fast forward to 2010-2011 and you'll find Woe breaking best-off year-end lists with their latest, Quietly; Undramatically, destroying stages across the states (including sharing the Scion Rock Fest bill with the likes of Morbid Angel, Fuck The Facts, and Bastard Noise), and generally taking the US blackmetal community by storm. Bubba Crumrine takes a moment with Grigg to learn more about Woe and what's coming next. Oh, and they just so happen to be one of the top acts for this May's BIG DAY IN.

IU: When you first started Woe as a one-man project, did you aim to bring it into a live setting with multiple members?

Not at all. The goal was to keep it simple and low-key. My nature is to always push for more so the live experience was the natural next step.

IU: What first brought your interests into the realm interest of black metal and extreme music?

Kind of like playing live, I guess, it was just the natural progression of things. I was always looking for something faster and more intense, more powerful, and I just ended up with black metal and grindcore. I've spent some time trying to write other music and get into other things but I always come right back.

IU: On your debut, you performed all of the instruments - an impressive feat to say the least. What is your musical background and how did you come to be so well versed?

I started playing guitar when I was about 12 or 13, maybe younger. Having to rely on other people really frustrated me because I was writing songs but couldn't get anyone to drum so the idea of getting a kit always appealed to me. I grew up living in apartments, basically, so I never had space for one but when I was a freshman in high school, I convinced my parents to let me get a kit and leave it in our living room. Neighbors were pissed but whatever. I started drumming for a band with some friends and eventually gave up guitar; when I started Woe, I had just started playing guitar again. My playing on the first demo is really, really rough -- I could barely pull it off. Necessity forced me to get better, though, and here I am.

IU: Woe's latest, 'Quietly, Undramatically' still holds to a very raw bm sound, was this your goal going in? Will Woe's sound continue in this direction for future recordings?

The upcoming Big Day In will see the Ithaca return of the Binghamton grind crew Sepsis! Last seen totally demolishing the CSMA alongside Fuck the Facts, Lux Carentes, and Genital Holograms, Sepsis are stoked to be back and once again bring the grind to Ithaca. Vii Caso caught up with vocalist Dennis Michael Lamp via email to find out what's been going on in the world of Sepsis.


IU: It's been a while since since Sepsis has played Ithaca, are you guys stoked to be back as a part of Big Day In?

Dennis Michael Lamp: We are always very psyched to be playing Ithaca. The scene up there is so diverse and always so positive. You all have shown us a lot of love from the get-go and we are very appreciative. As always, Bubba has a stacked line-up. Very honored to play amongst such heavyweights as Tombs, Woe, Sulaco and our pals in Inerds and Hiroshima Vacation.

IU: What's been going on in the Sepsis camp these days? I heard you guys recruited the drummer for Circle of Dead Children for a while?

Dennis: We have had a bit of a turbulent year, there was some inner band b33f which caused our founding drummer Dom to leave us for awhile. We picked up Mike Emm (from Binghamton grind band These Machines) to fill in for us for some time. He did a great job and is a really good dude. As of late all bullshit was cleared and Dom returned harder, faster and more ready to play then ever. We are very psyched to have the original line-up back. As far as our long time friend Matt Francis (current drummer of CODC/Hank Williams III) , he was going to be our hired gun to fill in for us if any touring/recording possibilities arose.

IU: I also heard that Grindcore Karaoke was going to release something from Sepsis. Truth? Or is there another lucky band called Sepsis out there?

Dennis: Haha that's actually a funny story. One day I saw that J.Randall twittered (or tweeted I don't know what the fuck it is) that he would be releasing Holglust, Inerds, Sepsis and a few other bands on his internet label Grindcore Karaoke. I was taken back for a moment, because we had never spoke to him whatsoever so, to clarify I emailed him. He told me he was in fact talking about another group of the same name, but was very into what he was hearing by our band and he was very interested in doing a release with us. Long story short after several emails between him and I, we concluded that a name change was in order. So as it stands we are in the process of changing our name, which I feel is necessary anyway at this point being one of many bands sharing a name. So be on the lookout, ideally our next release under a new name will be on Grindcore Karaoke.

IU: Does Sepsis have any new releases planned?

Dennis: We have a slew of new songs that were written before Doms hiatus. We have jumped right back into practicing them and it feels so good. Hopefully there will be a new name/record out this summer. We've been throwing around a few ideas for a split with local band/great dudes/providers of a practice spot Your Hero. Be on the lookout for them, think The Locust/Charles Bronson/Punx.

IU: Will you be performing any new material at Big Day In?

Dennis: We will absolutely be playing some new songs. I think roughly 2-3 from a year ago that were put on the back burner, and one totally brand new one that doesn't even have lyrics at the moment. Jason Kruger is a fucking riff machine.

IU: Any final words?

Dennis: Thanks so much Sev and everyone in Ithaca who has ever watched my band or given a shit. Bubba and everyone who make Ithaca Underground the powerhouse that it is. It's really great to see such a diverse and flourishing scene in upstate New York. Also just off the top of my head everyone should support Inerds, Revoked, Colony, Crime Pays and Hiroshima Vacation!

Photo by Kyle Edwards Balles

Sepsis will perform at BIG DAY IN on May 7th, 2011 at The Haunt with Tombs, Woe, Ehnahre, Sulaco, Oak & Bone, Night Owls, Lux Carentes, INERDS, Mouth To Mouth To Mouth, Hiroshima Vacation, and Sun Spells. 

This May will see the return of the Syracuse sludge-hardcore powerhouse Oak & Bone, back for their 2nd Big Day In show in a row. Vii Caso caught up with vocalist Weston Czerkies via email to hear his thoughts on returning to Ithaca.

IU: Two Big Day In shows in a row! Are you guys stoked to be back?

Weston: WAY stoked. Ithaca rules.

IU: Was last December's Big Day In your first time playing Ithaca?

Weston: The last BDI was a blast and considering we were a last minute addition, we felt really lucky to be a part of it. It was our first time playing Ithaca and we’re glad we left a good enough impression to be asked back.

IU: What did you guys think of the Ithaca music community?

Weston: From what I can tell the Ithaca scene seems great, really supportive of diverse independent music. It’s hard to get people on the same page when you’ve got all sorts of different genres of punk, indie, metal, etc. blending into the same shows, but from what I can tell people here seem to really be into it. It’s refreshing to see more than one type of band on a show and to see that there are enough open minds to appreciate that.

IU: Oak & Bone has a pretty interesting sound. It's hardcore, but I pick up a definite sludge metal influence.

Weston: Yeah, I might actually be the only one in the band who still thinks of us as a hardcore band at this point. At first there was definitely more of a sludge influence but I think now we’ve begun to blend more drugged-out rock riffs with a quickened hardcore pace. We all take cues from different music and the results are just a focused version of our individual influences. More of that genre-blending, yanno?

IU: Do Oak & Bone have any future releases coming out?

Weston: This June should see the release of our first full-length LP out on HEX Records! We’re thrilled to finally have this completed and to get it out to open ears. Hopefully some touring to support it will follow.

IU: Any final words?

Weston: Follow the smoke to the riff-filled land.

Photo by Maciej Wojtkowiak (who btw, does amazing work and you should check him out)


Oak & Bone will perform at BIG DAY IN on May 7th, 2011 at The Haunt with Tombs, Woe, Ehnahre, Sulaco, Night Owls, Lux Carentes, Sepsis, INERDS, Mouth To Mouth To Mouth, Hiroshima Vacation, and Sun Spells.

This Sunday at Waffle Frolic, Ithaca Underground presents the Ithaca return of Moldover, the godfather of controlerism, once again in collaboration with our friends in Deep beatZ.  DB's Laika was able to track down the Godfather mid-tour to discuss said tour, the controllers, his jack-of-all-trades approach to his varying live performances, and of course, world domination. 

Laika: Last time, you really "rocked" Ithaca, if you don't mind my saying so. How much of your performance is improvisational and how much is prepared beforehand?

M: It varies depending on the type of show.  For bigger venues and festivals I do a mostly prepared thing.  For more intimate/underground shows I stretch out a bit more and do about 50% prepared, 50% improvised.  More improv usually means more fun for me :-)

Laika: Last time, you unveiled a pretty sick controller.  Can you talk a little about the controllers you use during performance and what they do?

M: The last time I played in Ithaca I was using a seldom-seen prototype of my custom "Mojo" controller.  For the show this weekend I will be playing the finished production-ready Mojo.  I use The Mojo to dub-mix and remix the songs from my album, and do various controllerism tricks.  I compliment the controller work with live guitar and effected vocal parts.

Laika: When you start building or hacking a controller, what features do you take into consideration?  Are you aiming for a specific sound, e.g.: supreme mash-ability?  Or is it more important for the controller to integrate seamlessly with the software?

M: I've been hacking and building controllers for many years now, so I take a lot of things into consideration.  I think a lot about general instrument design concepts like ergonomics, functionality, and build quality.  I also look at practical issues like portability, how easy it will be to repair, and the cost of parts and labor.  It's hard to balance all those factors, but in the end I believe I'm creating instruments that are musical, intuitive, and simply fun to play.

Laika: In addition to your live performance, you also design controllers for installations, so that anyone can make music or jam with others.  How did you get involved with this effort?  Is this part of a not-so-secret Moldovian agenda to inspire future controllerists and take over the world?

M: I draw a lot of inspiration from events like Burning Man, where the majority of the art and music is created by participants.  I love being on stage and performing for audiences, but I also love creating things that flip those roles and put the tools of creation into the hands of everyone, and this is why I started making multi-player instruments like The Octamasher.  This has turned out to be a popular concept, and the demand for these kinds of instruments has kept me busy building and touring with these gizmos for several years now.  Yes, I think this kind of inspiration and multiverse domination go hand in hand ;-)

Laika: You perform live, you Dj, and you set up sound installations, all in a number of venues, from house parties to big-name festivals.  Do you find more support for one activity over another?  Where do you think electronic music is going in the United States?

M: I have no idea where electronic music is going in the United States, but it's going to kick ass when it gets to Mars.  I've always been sort of a "Jack of All Trades".  I think it's part of my personality.  Sometimes I feel a little scattered and schizophrenic, but usually it turns out that the different projects feed into one another, keep things fresh, and help me grow as an artist.  My friends and fans seem to enjoy and support all the things I do, so I plan to keep on doing all of them. 

Laika: We are so excited to have you back again, here in Ithaca.  Where else are you going and what's new for this northeast tour?  Any plans for the future?

M: I've been all over the north east US in the last three weeks.  This is the last leg of the tour, so after Ithaca I'll be in NYC, Phily, Boston and then I fly back home to San Francisco.  I'm excited for April because I'll be releasing a new pocket-sized USB-memory version of my Light-Theremin circuit board album.  It has a full-length video from a festival I played in the UK, and a bunch of source-sounds from the album which you can use to make your own music, or use as ring-tones for your mobile phone.  Besides that, I'm excited to plan another tour in the near future and come back to Ithaca.  I miss you guys!

Don't miss MOLDOVER live this Sunday with David Ezra Brown and Paper Armies at Waffle Frolic on the commons (146 E State St), Ithaca, NY 14850 | 7PM | $5 | All ages

Fuck The Facts have been a cornerstone in the DIY grind community for 10 years now, unapologetically assaulting listeners with an ever mutating technical blend of grind, metal, and non-metal elements. Vii Caso catches up with Topon Das in preparation for their Ithaca return this Friday at CSMA.

IU: This tour celebrates the 10th year as a full band. Did you ever think Fuck the Facts would ever go beyond DIY noise/grind tape releases created in your bedroom?

TD: Since day one it’s always been about actually doing shit and getting out of the bedroom. One of the main reasons I start Fuck The Facts was because all the bands I played in at the time were stuck in the basement. I wanted to play shows, tour and release music; not just talk about doing it. I wasn’t gonna let this get stuck in my bedroom. That being said, I’m still sometimes in awe of all the amazing shit we’ve gotten to do over the years in this band.

IU: For this anniversary tour, you've stated FTF will perform songs from album released since 2001 on this tour. Do you guys have a set list already practiced and ready or will it change every night? Since you have quite a back-catalog, I imagine some planning was involved. Will you be playing "Dear Shit Book? Will we get to hear any songs from your new album "Die Miserable"?

TD: We have a set rehearsed that we’ve been playing since we started doing these shows in February. We cut it down a bit when we did the Scion Rock Fest, but besides that it’s been the same each night. Half our band lives 6 hours away from the other half, so with that and jobs, etc… our actual full band rehearsal time is pretty limited. The set that we’re playing touches on a bit of everything from over the past 10 years and we’re doing it all in chronological order from oldest to newest. When we started planning it, there was a shit load of songs we were looking at. I would have liked to do a few other songs as well, but with the time we had to get it all together we had to make some tough choices. ‘Dear Shit Book’ is in there and we’re playing a couple of song from the new album. We might be doing a different song or 2 this coming weekend but we’ll see.

IU: You mentioned your involvement with the 2011 Scion Rock Fest. What are your thoughts on Scions recent involvement with extreme music? It seems like they're doing some pretty awesome things; sponsoring tours, releasing albums, setting up free festivals, etc.

TD: We just got back from that and it was awesome. I know there’s been some debate on what their place in is the music scene and their motives, etc… but for my band and me we having nothing but good things to say about what they’ve done for us. They fly us out, treat us well and it’s always just to play a show. They never try and tell us what we can or can’t do. All they want is for us to go out there and do our thing.

IU: Regarding the new album "Die Miserable", what can you tell us about that? It was recorded in your home studio, right? How was that recording experience?

TD: It was insane. We put an extreme amount of pressure on ourselves to make it as good as possible, and when the tracking was all done we just needed to step back and really take a break from it. Since then we’ve recorded there again and I’ve also been recording other bands there as well, so we’ve been getting better and learning more with time and practice. I don’t know if we’ll try and do the next album after ‘Die Miserable’ there, I think we might like to try something different, but we’ll keep recording and I can see us definitely doing more releases this way.

IU: The vinyl version of "Die Miserable" will include a bonus 7" EP with 4 songs that aren't included on the actual album. Why did you decide to include these songs on a separate release and not on the full length? Will the vinyl release be available at the Ithaca show on Friday?

Matta Gawa is a duo from Washington, D.C. that features Edward Ricart on guitar and Sam Lohman on drums. They play a unique blend of improvisational, pyschedelic avant-rock and free jazz. I caught up with Ed for an interview this week.

Keir Neuringer: Your upcoming show is your second visit to Ithaca, correct? How often does MG play out as a duo? How often do you tour?

Edward Ricart: Our gig in September 2010 was our first time in Ithaca, but Sam Lohman (drummer) has played in town a number of times over the years. Matta Gawa has been a primary focus for both of us--it's so easy to tour and operate as a duo, that we are really able to get out and move without a huge van--and it's easier to coordinate two schedules than four or five. We have done a number of shorter tours--generally 10 days or so, through the mid-Atlantic, and spent almost two months on the road last year. We play out as often as we can, mostly in DC, Philly, and NYC. It is great to be on the road, meeting people, hearing new music, and checking out new places (and places to eat).

KN: You are both a performer and an organizer back home. Tell us about your local scene. What makes you proud? What exasperates you?

ER: Washington DC has such a rich history of creative music--from Duke Ellington and Go Go music through to Fugazi--and it has been a destination for avant jazz artists for many years, thanks to the efforts of a number of local presenters. I grew up listening to punk rock, and the music from labels like SST, Dischord Records, and Touch and Go, before I started digging into free jazz, new music, and bebop. Dischord is a Washington DC based label, and is the quintessential American DIY indie label. The same do-it-yourself ethos and spirit can be identified in the creative jazz scene as well...for example, Sun Ra self-released his own music as far back as the 1950s. So the spirit of the two musics is really quite similar, even though there are huge sonic differences. This spirit has been a huge influence on how I operate. I've been running a concert series in DC for the past two years, and the music has been outstanding. 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales are paid to the artists, and I try to keep the shows fairly early, and the tickets affordable to ensure the music is available to everyone in the community. It is a pleasure to help out touring creative musicians, and I've made some great friends through the series. Nevertheless, it is difficult to get recognition from the more indie rock oriented websites in town, and while Michael West at the DC City Paper has been supportive, and the series was voted 'best in DC' last year, the Washington Post doesn't really cover the series.

KN: What works at home for reaching audiences?

ER: Recently, the DC scene has moved out of the clubs and into non-traditional spaces like houses, galleries, and lofts. These have become the best spots in town, since people go to these places totally open to hearing whatever is being presented, even if they aren't really sure what type of musical experience to expect, and they actively listen to the music and get off on it, even if its outside of their comfort zone. There's definitely pluses and minuses to our scene, but they're probably the same pluses and minuses that people face everywhere else. DC is unique in that despite the great museums in town, unless you're lucky, the city is prohibitively expensive for most artists to entertain the idea of living there. So it really can be a grind making ends meet, which is probably less of an issue in many other cities. As a result, the community of creative musicians and artists is smaller than it should be. Nevetheless, we're very close to NYC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Richmond, and it seems like there's a lot of interaction and exchange between all of these places.

KN: Particularly rewarding interactions on the road? At home? Tour horror stories?

Vii Caso (IU/Hiroshima Vacation) Interviews Mouth To Mouth To Mouth!

IU: How did this band come together?

Corey: I wanted to start up another band with Gabe and Peter because I missed playing music with them. Mathcore at the time was the only music me and Gabe both shared interest in so I suggested we put together a band in that vein. A year later, when we were finally able to start the band we asked Bubba to be our bassist and MTMTM was formed.


IU: Describe the song writing process?

Bubba: It can really vary from piece to piece but overall every member has input on all the parts. The first piece we wrote, “Open Hand, Insert Mouth” was written at the tail end of summer just as the band was forming. Gabe & Corey worked diligently on structure and drums &  guitar parts, then Skyped parts to Peter to learn while he was in Poland. I came in later and wrote bass lines to their work. Corey brought most of the riffs to “Mickey Mouth” if I’m recalling correctly, but there was much more involvement from all parties in the structure and parts for the rest of the instruments. “That’s a LOT of Aardvark” spawned out of the bass intro I wrote and that killer beat that Gabe kicks in with.  We wrote the foundation to that one in Corey’s basement, the one and only practice we’ve had there so far. Initially it had a slight bit of a Meshuggah vibe because of the broken high-hat Gabe was railing on which was vaguely reminiscent of a china cymbal. “Consensus on the Fences” was written around the great tapping lines & chords Peter created for the first several parts. As you’ll notice from the EP, vocals are not at all at the center of what we do and are treated as any other part. If we reach a section that we feel would really benefit from them , we’ll include them.  In my own humble opinion, everyone in this band is a talent in their own right so inspiration, structure, and riffs come from all directions.

IU: Who came up with the clapping breakdown in "That's a Lot of Aardvark?"

Bubba: Haha, we were aiming for a transitional part to go from the wall of sound that Corey is singing over into that complex rhythm that Gabe comes in with. I’d mentioned how I’d always wanted to do a clap breakdown in my previous project, Bazaar of Guillemots and the guys were into the idea. Gabe modified a version of what he’s playing on kit to work as a precursor to it.

IU: One thing that I love about MTMTM is that the music is technical, but a real joy to listen to. Most technical/math rock comes off to masturbatory or technical for technical’s sake in my opinion. Response?

Ithaca Underground’s Bubba Crumrine snags some time with Alex Nagle and Evan Lipson of Philadelphia’s nearly unclassifiable SATANIZED.  High-energy like punk, heavy like metal, blistering and deafening like noise, but still like none of them, well more than the sum of its parts, and capped off by one of the best live chaos this side of the Mason/Dixon -  this will be an experience to remember for those coming out to The Annex, on Tuesday, Feb 22nd to catch the STNZD men with Philly noise brethren DRUMSLIKEMACHINEGUNS, locals DAADs and Mike (A)!. Let’s get familiar shall we?

IU: What's the current line-up for the band?

AN:
-Gaspar, Andrew
-Klopfenstein, Vincent
-Lipson, Evan
-Nagle, Alex

IU: Give us a brief history of Satanized:

AN: I started Satanized in '05 with my drummer friend Matt and a revolving cast of bassists. This incarnation of the band never got it together enough to play shows and dissolved after a few months. Evan came into the picture shortly after. Since we worked well together in Flittermice of Eld and Normal Love, I asked him if he was interested in playing the first batch of Satanized songs and if he knew a suitable drummer. He agreed and got his friend Pete Angevine to play for us. At that point we needed a singer and after a period of searching, I met our first singer Natalie. The band's gestation was now over and we played our first show, auspiciously enough, on 06/06/06. At the end of the summer, Natalie left Philly for college and we replaced her with Andrew.

This first solid lineup played out locally a lot over the next year and in early ’07 we recorded the first CD. Some East Coast touring followed, as did new music. The long-delayed split with AIDS Wolf finally came out early in ’10 and Pete quit in the late spring. Vince took over for him in the fall and we played our debut show with the current lineup with AIDS Wolf’s Philly show in late October. We’re now preparing for tour with Drums Like Machine Guns which will happen in a few weeks!

IU: How did you guys each get into noise & extreme music?

AN: In short it's because I've been into extreme metal since I was a teenager and Relapse records put out a lot of Japanese noise in the 90s. I picked up an issue of Wire magazine because it had a cover story on Coil and that introduced me to a lot of other experimental and electronic music. Along with metal, I've concurrently been into free jazz, modern composition, etc. Another watershed moment for me was when my first real band, Thoughtstreams, played shows on tour with the Infection and Decline lineup of the Flying Luttenbachers. Weasel and my slightly older bandmate Forbes definitely turned me onto a lot of influential stuff I wouldn't have heard otherwise. I don't see Satanized as a noise band though.

EL: My initial exposure to noise also came via the 90's Japanese variety (specifically the work of Otomo Yoshihide and his band Ground Zero), although I never listened to any of the recordings that were put out by Relapse. By that point, I was also pretty steeped in a lot of modernist composition, free jazz, and other types of weird and experimental music, so it wasn't anything that seemed totally foreign or unrelated to me. Concurrently, there was also a burgeoning noise scene that was happening in Philadelphia, thanks largely in part to the efforts of Breathmint Record's label head, instigator, and impresario Mat Rademan (AKA Newton). Andrew was actually the one who was involved much more directly with this, but I can recall one particular instance that took place at The Fun-O-Rama (RIP) around Thanksgiving of '01, in which three future members of Satanized (Andrew, Pete, and myself) performed, in conjunction with Rademan, Wharton Tiers, Joe Lentini, an insanely feral coed, and some ragingly slow-lidded meathead, what was quite possibly the most egregiously reprehensible (and loudest) show of my life. I still feel that I owe Wharton Tiers a heartfelt apology for inviting him to take part in such a disaster. Subsequently, Philly has become quite a magnet for noise-niks in the past 5 or 6 years. To further elucidate what Alex said: although there are certainly 'noisy' and/or potentially chaotic-sounding aspects to our music, there's probably far too much pre-determined order, strategic rigor, coherent rhythms/meters, structural integrity, etc. going on for Satanized to be considered a noise band per se; CALL US ANYTHING BUT LATE FOR DINNER.

IU: How did the split with AIDS Wolf come about?

These questions were answered by Nathaniel Rappole in conjunction with Frayser Micou (aka The Impostor), whose answers are made as if he were the former.  The *'s signify what is happening in the moment of the answering.

*Frayser is making breakfast. We are in his kitchen.  It is 11:20 AM. The bacon is frying.*

IU: Where did the idea for initiating a one-man project and the imagery behind Gull start?

NR - It is important to do some things alone. The imagery/skull mask came into play while I was living in Philadelphia (circa 2003).

I needed a way in which to hold the telephone mic close to my face.  My good friend Graydon had a paper skull mask, and my pal Brian had some electrical know how and a soldering gun.  gullskullgullskull = serendipity.

FM - I was watching groucho marx and he spoke to me.  He said "you can do any fucking thing you want to in this world..."  he said this with not his eyes, but his brows.  It was then that I realized my drummer wasn't playing the parts I wanted, my bass player only wanted to swim, and my guitarist (me) was overshadowing me. I needed to venture off into the abyss of self emulation.

Burn baby burn.

*The grits are on... they take a slow hand.*

IU: Where along the timeline did the project evolve in relation to your other bands Ultra Dolphins and Snack Truck?

There's a new (and awesome) new band in town and they go by the name of Rival Tribes! Founded by Pete McHugh (aka Pete McAwesome) and Jesse Lafian and mostly instrumental in nature, it's nothing quite like anything else going on in Ithaca right now. Ithaca Underground's Bubba Crumrine catches up with Pete to see where they're coming from and where they're going.

IU: How would you describe your sound to someone who is looking to come out to your show on Feb 11th?

Pete: Battle surf/knightly psych. Come ready to shake thy hips, stomp thy feet and ponder thy existence. I would encourage everyone to check out our EP on bandcamp. The whole thing is streaming for freeeeee!!!

IU: What tour plans do you have for 2011?

Pete: We're starting our tour with Porches (Aaron Maine of Space Ghost Cowboys) in Westchester, NY at the end of January. Then we'll swing back up to Ithaca on the 11th. We had planned to stay down south until it warms up, but Jesse is going to be filling in on drums for Summer People while they tour down to SXSW. We'll be getting back into town at the beginning of march. Anyone who has never been to Austin, go. It's magic.

Aaron will also be playing bass for us, so our sets are really one awesome party of a set.

IU: Any goals or purposes behind the band that we should know about?

Pete: We wanted to be in a fun band instead of a hard band. We've both done a lot of heavy music in the last few years and this was our foray into something a little more accessible. It came out a little twisted, but we think it works.

IU: What gear set up do you each use?

About a year and a half ago I (Bubba Crumrine) was going through some old photos from my days in Fairport/Rochester while visiting my parents. I came across a photo of me and a boy named Michael Rheinheimer from my middle school tech class. It dawned on me how many people I used to know and how I have no idea where most of them are. Fast forward to last summer at the Genital Holograms/Ailments 7" release show with our Rochester friends TUMUL and low and behold, the name comes up in our conversion.  Michael's in Rochester with his own, excellent project. As paths would have it, that band, Attic Abasement would be heading out on a month+ tour in mid-Jan across the east coast. I can't up with Michael for the first time in years in preparation for Attic Abasement's show at The GreenStar Annex this Thursday with Underground River, DAADs, and Kaboosh!.

IU: What have you been up to since we left FHS?

Michael: After high school I went to a couple different colleges, wasting my time trying to stay wasted, and finally transferring to R.I.T. I'd go to school during the day and try to catch shows at night. I made some great friends that way and ended up in a few bands. I got my bachelors in mechanical engineering and haven't used it since, really. I work at restaurants and play music.

IU: How did Attic Abasement get its start?

Michael: I was in a band called Science vs Witchcraft, playing guitar and singing sometimes. We'd write these noise rock songs, sort of intentionally ugly with lots of dissonance. Shows were very cathartic for me with that band and I tried to make the guitar sound like it was breaking. I started Attic Abasement as an outlet for some prettier style guitar playing and songs that I was writing as well, because I like pretty stuff too. It was just a recording project for a long time. It wasn't until we broke up science that i got other musicians involved to play shows.

IU: Any story behind the name?

Nothing that interesting really. I think the word abasement was in a book I was reading and I thought it would be clever. I like the name sometimes and other times I don't like the name but im not gonna change it now. So, eh, doesn't really matter.

IU: When did you first take the project on the road?

Big Day In is fast approaching which brings NYC's Bridge & Tunnel back to Ithaca! Pat (drums) takes part in some rapid fire Q&A with IU's Bubba Crumrine about their latest No Idea release, Tia & Al, new material, Ron Artest's house and more.
 
IU: How did your fall tour and Fest 9 go this year?

Pat: Well we actually flew down this year. Honestly i feel like it took a little bit of the fest experience away for me. I think because it was such a quick trip, we were just there and back so soon.

IU:  Cool. Any good stories from this latest batch of road dates?

Pat: On our last tour we actually stayed at Ron Artest's house. He had an NBA compound in Indiana where his family lived. He was in California i think, but we hung out with his mother-in-law and shot hoops at 2am.

IU:  Whoa! That's pretty great. I heard Rachel broke her hand recently... is all that on the mend and OK?

Pat: Umm yeah, hopefully it should be good to go pretty soon. I know she is super stoked to play guitar again!

IU:  Good to hear! This is your first time back in Ithaca since playing No Radio Records back in Summer '08 with Attica! Attica!, correct?

Pat: Yup, that was a fun time. Me and Jeff played a couple songs with Aaron on that tour. Jeff wore a bandana. It ruled.

IU:  Looking in the rear-view for a bit, what year did you guys start playing together and what brought you together?
Pat: We started playing in 2006. Me and Jeff had played in a few other bands together since we were about 18 years old and my old band had just broken up so we decided to get a new one going. We knew Rachel from the music scene on Long Island and I have known Tia since 3rd grade so it all kinda fell together.

IU:   Give us the skinny on the new 10" "Indoor Voices"!

Bridge Nine boys Soul Control are ready and willing for their first appearance in Ithaca, NY at this winter's Big Day In on Dec. 4th, 2010 with Young Widows, Bridge & Tunnel, and 9 other bands from around NYS. You may recognize some familiar faces from bands like Achillies, Verse, and What Feeds the Fire but the band has been setting themselves apart from their former/sibling projects over the last few years with their slew of EP's and last year's kicker, "Cycles".  Bubba Crumrine chats with them regarding the past, present, and future of the band...sort of, but not really.

IU: To start things off, lets get a little history on the band. You guys each spent (spend) time in quality bands like Verse, What Feeds the Fire, etc - how did you meet and what brought you to birth a band like Soul Control?

SC: We met at the top of the empire state building after Eric's son called into a talk radio show and said he wanted his dad to find a new band.

IU: How did Rory come to be in the band later on?

SC: Well, we'd just parted ways with our singer and begun the process of auditioning new ones. Meanwhile, Rory had been working a shitty day job and at night singing in a Soul Control cover band called "Dance of Shadows." I guess some SC fans heard we needed a singer and they sent us a tape of Rory performing with his band. We were impressed and got in touch. He came down and belted out "On Survival" in the booth and blew us away.  That was that.

IU:  How did you get hooked up with the folks at Bridge Nine?

Noise music: a chaotic, unpredictable, destructive, wall of sound with limitless possibilities. Ithaca's own dynamic duo of noise Genital Holograms, featuring Ithaca Underground main man Bubba Crumrine (also of BRIAN!) and Cory Mahaney (ex-The Rolemodels, Ballistic Shit Circus, Speak Daggers, Fight a Scary Dog) create vast, loud, droning pieces of noise, filled with effect driven bass, guitars, vocals and the occasional home made instruments. They have already released a 2CD demo, a CD EP, and have an upcoming split 7" with hardcore band Ailments, all on Pirate House Records.



VII: How did the band form?

GH: To be completely honest, we didn’t set out to be a band at all. We kept seeing each other at shows and really grew to hate one another. Unbeknownst to the other, we each command the superpower of noise and one day, Bubba invited Corey over to the Pirate House. The invitation was accepted, each of us under the pretense that the other was walking into the other's trap, where we would easily crush our opponent with our crushing power of noise. The battle produced a sonic nightmare that deafened anyone within light-year of the blast. Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on who and when you’re asking) we discovered our powers were equally matched and lazily decided to start a band instead of killing people. It’s interesting how over time love came from all that hate which is funny because for most couples it’s the other way around.

VII: Was the idea of being a noise band their from the beginning?

GH: Definitely. Once we put our differences aside, noise was the only option.

VII: Where did the band name come from?

IU: What have you all be up to since we last saw you last July?

SFTNL: Wow, I don't even know where to begin...Well, we're all a year older, considerably poorer and continuously amassing new debt. We've been playing as much as possible in as many places as possible, writing a lot of new material and working on having a full length out for early next year.

IU: How did the mini-tour with Hey Predator! go?

SFTNL: It was a lot of fun, the Hey Predator! boys are our most-bestest-band-like-buddies, so to do a string of shows with them was awesome. We did one show in an auto shop and played facing each other, trading song-for-song... which was a ton of fun! That show culminated in a drunken 10-piece jam of Neil Young's "Keep on Rockin' in the Free World" complete with each of us taking the biggest jerk solos we could muster. Originally we had planned to do a lot more shows together this summer but ended up deciding to break up the dates into two sections, so we're hoping to visit them in the fall and do some more shows together.

IU: I believe you mentioned you’re on a new label when we spoke in the spring. How did that come to be?

SFTNL: Sure, We've recently struck up a relationship with Easy Tiger Entertainment, a Toronto indie label that's on the verge of doing some big things. They're going to be taking care of us in Canada and helping us get a full-length off the ground, hopefully by the second quarter of 2011. They're absolute sweethearts and have already welcomed us into the family with open arms. How this will affect the USA, I don't know- for now we're just focusing on promoting our current EP "Human People", visiting with all of the wonderful people that we met last year and making as many new friends as possible.

IU: So you mentioned you have new material in the works?

A revolving cast of deviants and delinquents, Cryptorchid Chipmunk (Morgantown, WV) make their first appearance in Ithaca, NY at The Haunt on Saturday, July 17th with Summer People, 4 Point 0 and more.  Ithaca Underground's Bubba Crumrine spends some time with Chris and Ruckas to discuss the bands antics, injuries, The Emotron, and their upcoming full length.


IU: For those unfamiliar with the band, what do you each do in the band?

Ruckus: I play keyboards and I throw up!

Chris: He also arranges and writes a lot of our music.

Ruckus: Yeah, we've been playing without a drummer so I've been arranging all of our back tracks and synthesizers. And because I do that, I don't have to play keyboards as much and I can just puke all over myself. 

Chris: It also means I can play keyboards less to. But I have to push the buttons on the computer. He just does nothing! Oh, I still have to play guitar though. 

Ruckus: I put a lot more work into the music before hand so I can take a break when we're performing (laughs).

Chris: I also book most of our tours and screen print our merch.  I feel like I don't have to go crazy. I just have to play the songs right.

IU: So no drummer this tour?