Local SPOTLIGHT: Gay Witch Abortion

It seems almost counter intuitive in a day and age where only a few clicks of a mouse can land you headfirst into a virtually endless sea of music, but it is getting harder and harder to find stuff that you can truly describe as unlike anything you've heard before.  Gay Witch Abortion, a noise/sludge/garage/metal/punk duo from right here in Minneapolis, is one band that, against all odds, manages to stand out.

Gay Witch Abortion released their debut album, Maverick, on Learning Curve Records back in 2007.  The 36 minute LP is packed from cover to cover with grinding, squealing guitars, walls of pile-driving noise, and just general unrestrained fury.  It is the soundtrack to destruction.  It is for those of us who like it dirty, heavy, and raw.  It is the gleeful embracement of primal aggression- pain, fire, blood, dirt, broken glass, broken bones, maybe sniffing some deer repelant, etc.   

(not recommended)

The Witch released their equally brilliant sophomore album Opportunistic Smokescreen Behavior in November of last year, and continues to regularly play shows around the Twin Cities - Scheduled next for February 20th at The Turf Club.

  

WARNING:  Go easy on that volume knob until you know you're equipment can handle it, this album is more than capable of blowing your speakers to smithereens.


Learning Curve Records

Local SPOTLIGHT: Mitch Clem

For the uninitiated, Mitch Clem is Minnesotan cartoonist and punk rock fan of awesome proportions.  Perhaps his best known work is the webcomic Nothing Nice to Say, which chronicles the escapades of a pair of lovable Minneapolis scenesters.  Also notable are his autobiographical comics San Antonio Rock City and My Stupid Life. 

I have mentioned in early articles the respect that I have for crossover within media, and Mitch is a great example of that.  Everything that he does is oozing with punk spirit in subject matter as well as fiercely DIY values.  Nowhere has this been as effective as his latest endeavor, Turnstile Comix.  Turnstile is a series of direct-to-print comics that pairs a collection of true stories (in comic form of course) about a showcased individual band with a 7" record of previously unreleased songs by them.  The first of the series was in 2010, showcasing local legends The Slow Death with a scathing EP and 40+ pages of punk comic mayhem.  Turnstile made it's second release late last year with Brooklyn weirdpunk group The World/Inferno Friendship Society.

Give Mitch a quick visit

Stream The Slow Death 7" from Turnstile Comix

Thank you for reading!

Local SPOTLIGHT: The Fuck Knights

Ready or not, meet The Fuck Knights.  This is the type of band that you can almost sense smoldering deep within the scene, and when you finally encounter the musical trainwreck first hand, their filthy, loose cannon take on garage rock leaves you unable to look away.  GD Mills leads the charge as the singer and unconventional drummer (he plays standing up on a three piece kit), and his spazzy, paranoid vocals mesh perfectly with the manic instrumentation.  As a whole, it hits you as the aural equivalent of a mental breakdown, in the most cathartic way possible.  As you have probably figured, this is not a band that will wow you with production quality, catchy singles, or musical virtuosity.  What they will wow you with is the recklessness with which they plow through their repertoire with complete disregard for the aforementioned "qualities".  Simply put, this is down and dirty blues rock, wherein the beauty lies in the pure rawness of it- the way it was meant to be.  Perhaps the irony therefore lies in the way that they lull you into a sense of deranged comfort, only to jar you once again when songs like Knight Terrors and Abrasions take detours from the simplicity and erupt into complete psychedelic chaos. 

The story of The Fuck Knights reads almost as the stuff of legend.  It begins with drummer/vocalist GD Mills being kicked out of art school for 'destruction of school property', which led to him jamming with fellow hellions Joe Holland, Benjamin Sommers-Bachman, and David Steffens.  The Knights officially formed on August 1, 2007.  Perhaps the universe recoiled at the monster it had created, for the I-35 bridge in downtown Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River that very same day.  

Shortly thereafter they put out the two-part FuKn Live! recordings, and continued their assault with a series of 7"s and Split EPs (a special mention is required for my personal favorite of them- The Recorded By Gary Burger From The Monks EP, put out by Crustacean Records of my hometown Madison, WI).  These were eventually compiled into their debut LP Let it Bleed, released on Boss Hoss Records.  While Let it Bleed certainly provides a great overview of the band, there is no doubt that their true spirit lies in their catalog of EPs and blaring live collections.  

After the bridge "coincidence"(?) one can't help but wonder what we're in store for this April, with the band taking residency of the Triple Rock every Monday night of the month (complete with Old Style and a whiskey for $5).  And oh yeah, they will be joined by Japanther on the 16th and Gay Witch Abortion on the 30th, as well as many other guests throughout the month.  Time to buckle your seatbelts folks, there's no turning back now.  

http://www.fuckknights.com/

Local SPOTLIGHT: The Slow Death

The "weekend" (as they call it) is here, which means it's back to work for those of us with less than desirable "jobs" (as they call them).  In other words, it is time to dive into some burnt out, broken down, boozed up punk rock, Minneapolis style.  The perfect guys for the job are punk rock "supergroup" The Slow Death.  The band is made up of punk veterans, led by bassist/vocalist (and Twin Cities mainstay) Jesse Thorson (of Pretty Boy Thorson and the Falling Angels).  Also in the lineup are Mikey Erg (The Ergs!, seemingly every other good pop-punk band), Dave Strait (also of PBT and the F'n A's), and Johnny C (The Rest of Us).  They took it even further last year with the addition of Zack Gontard (Dear Landlord) and Annie Sparrows (Soviettes) for their debut full-length Born Ugly Got Worse.  

Simply put, this is a country tinged, punk fueled bar band.  They are unquestionable masters of songs that would be depressing if they didn't revel in their own lack of giving a shit.  These are songs for those times when you know full well that things are fucked, but your buddies Jim and Jack have left you with no choice but to cut your losses and have a helluva time doing so.  The "drunk punk" thing is not exactly a groundbreaking formula, but nobody's pretending that it is.  Their songs, all with a rollicking beat, country leads, and shout-along lyrics, tend to blend into one another, which could be a problem if they didn't kick so much ass.  

The Slow Death emerged around this time last year with a brilliant 7" collaboration with local comic artist Mitch Clem* (the mastermind behind punk webcomics Nothing Nice to Say and My Stupid Life).  The 7" features five short bursts of alcohol-fueled fury, in addition to a trio of fittingly self-deprecating stories (in comic form, of course) from Clem.  They have since went on to release their debut LP Born Ugly Got Worse on Kiss of Death Records.  

The Slow Death keeps up a rigorous tour schedule, but takes advantage of every opportunity to play in the Twin Cites.  Catch them this Sunday (3/25) at the Triple Rock and/or Saturday 3/31 at the Turf Club.  

Stream the full Turnstile Comix 7" HERE

Like 'em
Born Ugly Got Worse - name your price!

*I am a big fan of Mitch Clem's, so keep a lookout for a future Spotlight on him.  In the meantime take a look at his website HERE.