For me, New Year's isn't about resolutions, it's about atonement. For every band we decide to write about, there are five or so that don't make the cut, their e-mailed entreaties for coverage going cold and forgotten in the "Hello, We're a Band" folder of my inbox until the computer hivemind places it in the archive. Heaven help the fools who only call and leave voicemails.
So, to get the year started off right, I've dug through the "Hello" e-mail file and its archive and assembled a menu of some of last year's unappreciated (many rightly so, but perhaps not all) would-be local stars. Most of the entries contain the e-mail the band or one of its fans sent, followed by a snarky comment or to from me that will likely undo and perhaps even reverse whatever karmic benefit I'd hoped to receive through undertaking this project.
The atonement begins after the jump.
Sunday Blackout, Warrensburg, MO
We would like you guys to write a piece on our band. We are experienced musicians and we believe we are the next "up and coming" band to the area. We believe we have a sound that reaches a broad audience. We would really appreciate it if you would agree to write a short review. Thank you for your time and Happy Holidays!
Micah Jacobsen
Micah & co., that's probably not the absolute worst graphic I've seen in the "Band Members" panel of your MySpace page, but it's a strong contender. Trees and kites basically coming out of your asses does nothing to bolster the (very awkward) claim that your "members are experienced and savvy in the musical field." And what's up with Tom's pointy little feet? Happy holidays to you.
Lucy's Revenge, Lawrence, KS
Jason, I've recently been acquainted with a Lawrence band called Lucy's Revenge. They've just put out their first album, which they recorded themselves. They built their own recording studio, promote and use their barn as a music venue and are busy performing and planning tours. This is the only group I've come across that records, promotes and performs entirely through their own resources, and they're all between the ages of 17 and 20. I've been dying to read this story somewhere and thought the Pitch might be interested. I'd love to hear back from you,
brianne
Thanks, brianne, but lotsa bands take the DIY approach -- there's, like, a whole genre of punk built around it or something. And even more bands produce bland but catchy, teen-targeted power punk with guitars and keyboards. Behold, a new generation has arisen to take up where the Get Up Kids left off. And they'll even do it for free.
The ACB's, Kansas City, MO
The ACB's feature front man Konnor Ervin's satirically driven rock n' roll that inspires dancing and wry smiles. Formally known as Dr.Woo, the ACB's retooled lineup delivers an energetic live show and has been a mainstay of the regional music scene for the past four years.
A mainstay for four years? Really? I guess I've been living in a hole. This band recently played its CD release at the Arts Incubator downtown, which is both noble and suspect (i.e., why couldn't they book a real venue?), as is Konnor Ervin's extensive use of falsetto on the mp3 he sent me. Click to hear "Sometimes" from the ACB's:
And as a palette cleanser, click here to see the Outfield play in an arts incubator of their own.
Distance to Empty, Lawrence or Kansas City (not sure)
I represent a great band out of Kansas City called Distance to Empty. They have just released their second album "Relaxcitement" and it has been getting a amazing response. With the help of a grammy award winner working on the engineering, this second cd is really top notch. Having just returned from their first major tour going from Des Moines, to House of Blues Hotel Kaz Bar in Chicago, up to London Ontario and down through NY and Tennessee. The guys are spending sometime here in KC before venturing out on their next tour in July. We would love to have the band covered in some respect by the Pitch...
Rachel Fredrickson
Publicist
Plastic Artifice Records
On this band's Purevolume, you'll see a perfect example of cherrypicking -- the band or publicist or whoever picked the phrase "musically solid and lyrically earnest" out of a review that was overall unfavorable. (That choice phrase itself isn't even that great when you think about it. Unless it's in a phrase like "fantastically good," beware the adverb, ye self hypers.) But that kind of thing happens on just about every other book cover, movie poster and CD case sticker you see in day-to-day life. Even the good ones. For example, in an ad in the Pitch for the movie The Good Shepherd (which may or may not be good), Newsweek film critic David Ansen is quoted as saying, "Spellbinding. Mesmerizing." I doubt a writer as capable as David Ansen would resort to hyperbolic, one-word sentences, but maybe I'm just naive. Spin, which is another word for "bullshit," abounds, after all.
But on to the music: Hmmm... prog rock for fratboy jamband fans? I hear mainly Primus, Sublime and Soul Coughing, and few elements of what made any of those bands likable. Still, it's competently rendered (adverbs again) enough that I was briefly fooled into thinking that listening to more than two songs would be possible. It's too bad they don't live up to the promise of awesomeness held in their retro band photo. Jesus CHRIST does the bass player play a lot of notes.
There's more where that came from, but I'm bloody exhausted from New Year's raging. The hills are filled with garage bands with MySpace pages and shows booked at Shooter's and its equivalents. We will find them and make fun of them, giving them all what they crave most: publicity. Yeeha!
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