LIVE MUSIC: Outside Lands 2103!

Having a blast with my peeps at Outside Lands. Checking out Young The Giant. Awesome eats/drinks in VIP!

GEAR: boozy bath soaps

Boozy Bath Soaps

The morning after a night of rock, what you need is some hair of the dog (aka whiskey)! You'll also need coffee.

These "Hair of the Dog" whiskey and coffee scented bath soaps by OutlawSoaps from our Bay Area friends in Oakland will hit the spot.




Whiskey. Coffee. And a long hot shower. Need I say more?

Mmmmm... Booze.



Available: Outlaw Soaps

LIVE MUSIC: DEATH ANGEL: CD Release Show

DEATH ANGEL: CD Release Show

 

 

DEATH ANGEL have announced a CD release show for their upcoming 7th full-length release! Catch the band October 18th at Slim’s in San Francisco, CA with special guests 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, BATTLECROSS and REVOCATION.

Looking forward to hearing my pal Will Carrol play drums!

Everyone that purchases a ticket will also receive a copy of the new DEATH ANGEL album at the show!

GEAR: Badass Rocker-Chic Booties

Badass rocker-chic booties by Brian Atwood

Talkabout adding fashion to your rock and roll-- these badass biker-esque booties killit!  Loaded with edgy grommets, Atwood’sPre-Fall Nayade stompers rock a hidden platform so you’ll be the tallest babe backstage with “legs for days”.

Excuse me, rock star metal chic coming through!

\m/-s


Paying with Royalties: Brian Atwood Nayade booties ($1995), available for pre-order and at Brian Atwood’s flagship boutique (655 Madison Ave, New York, NY).
Saving your Per Diem: Betsy Johnson Hott Booties ($51)

HEAR: GOIJIRA - L’Enfant Sauvage

Gojira - L’Enfant Sauvage

Despite my jaded view of the musicindustry current, I was excited to get this record. The French metal outfit, Gojira,recently won a “Revolver Magazine” award, so I figured I’d hate it forsure. But in efforts to seek out great music, you gotta give stuff a listen despite what horrible rumors you've heard.

L’Enfant Sauvage explodes with unique thrashing riffsthat grab your attention and then moves into large soundscapes. Seeping withplenty melody and metal riffs to keep it interesting, Gojira corners the marketwith juxtapositions, turning unique riffs to solid straight-up chuggers,placing bazaar next to familiar and balancing beautiful parts to jagged.

 

Gojira’s forte is their craftsmanship of arrangement.It’s actually quite masterful and clearly the point of their passion. The songsare rollercoasters that bring you along for the highs, drops and centrifugalturn outs. The riffery is pretty excellent as well, some that rip like a semiautomatic while others are a nice fat sawed-off shotgun taking out agathering of zombies.

The skeptic in me did find parts annoying. While some vocals are pretty awesome, others are emotionless bits of robotic soundbites. At times the record becomes, what I call, ‘dance-metal’,influenced by on industrial  masters like Ministryand NIN, though here they are more deriviative than exceptional. Luckily it’s not verylong until another good bit of rock comes along.

The major upside to this LP is that everytrack a goodone, unique, and offers something out of the ordinary. Born in Winter startswith, dare I say, a Leonard Cohen-esque vocal that bends into a large metalanthem. The Fall has a vocal reminiscent of Alice in Chains Layne Staley. Giftof guilt, Pain is a Master and This Emptiness (a bonus Track) are inspiring enoughthat all otherwise awkward parts are quickly forgiven and replaced by catchylingering riffs and large melodies.

Gojira is not your typical metal for that and love it. Ilike that there are parts of this record that not everybody's going to like equally.It's not cookie-cutter. It's weird yet familiar. I like that it’s not amonotonous record with 12 of the same songs, only than A&R chumps dig that. WhileI don’t always love every morsel, these French guys are taking risks and that Idig!

The biggest dissappointment is that I don't like the way it ends.After a pretty grand album, it just stops. But maybe that’s what I don’t like.

Don’t stop Gojira! Don’t stop. \m/-s

 

Sabotage!

Black Sabbath : Sabotage

 

In honor that Sabbath is coming to town!:


 It's no mystery, I love Sabbath. But what can a peon like me say about the almighty Black Sabbath. I have so many favorite Sabbath records it would be impossible to pick out one. The three I reach for most are Sabbotage, Vol. 4 and Black Sabbath. One of my four t-shirts on this tour is hand made blurry Vol 4 t-shirt made by Laurie Es(Higher Octane, Lynette Skynyrd). I stole it from my ex-boyfriend.

A few years back(like 15+), Laurie asked BOTTOM to play a Sabbath tribute to be held on a Good Friday in Wheaton Maryland. We said, "Sure. a SabbathFest sounds cool. We love Sabbath, all BOTTOM jams end in Sweet Leaf, should be great fun." For the christian high holiday, we choose 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' and 'Fairies Wear Boots'. Holy god Damn, No brainer? my ass! You never really know how far away from Sabbath you really are till you really try to play Sabbath.

So what else can a yout' rocker like myself say about Sabbath? Only a god like Iommi could play like that missing parts of his fingers and: Why didn't he ever get something better than that rubber stub prosthetic? That said, since I'm listening to "Symptom of the Universe" right now, I'll declare it as my favorite Sabbath tune, no it's the Writ. No..snowblind, no....wicked world, no…Spiral Architect, no... the Wizzard....wait.... All I know is that I can't stand that song "Changes" and "I'm going Insane" makes my skin crawl. Some A&R guy must have had a gun up to their heads for those two. See, even Sabbath were mortals!

Sabotage!

"Hole in the Sky"

"Don't Start (Too Late)" (instrumental)

"Symptom of the Universe" (sins favorite san song!!)

"Megalomania"

 

Side two

"The Thrill of It All"

"Supertzar" (instrumental with vocalising choir)

"Am I Going Insane (Horrible Radio)"

"The Writ"

GEAR: Heavenly Headphones from Hell!

iWave Foldable Headphones

Hello my glam lovin’ Death Metal Rockers!

Wanna put a lil’ Heaven in your Hell, a lil’ add sparkle to your doom, some style to your function. These Foldable Headphones by iWave are dazzled out in Swarovski crystals AND way too bling for any respectable crusty-dirtcore-street-kid. But who wants to be a dirt core street crusty, anyway?

Chic, sleak and sparklier than Hell, fashionable music fiends, glam rockers and lovers of shiny bobbles alike can stream their favorite itunes while getting’ their bling on. I personally don them to accessorize my uniform ‘blacks’ while cranking out doom metal though they have crystal clear sound quality that’s precise enough for the studio.  

Metal horns held high for iWave‘s heavenly headphones!
\m/
-s

Use your Royalty Checks: iWave DJ Foldable Headphones ($2500). For additional information, visit Iwaveaudio.com.
Using your Per Diem:  skullcandy: Aviators ($70)