Hotdog Skeletons have been hitting the local venue circuit pretty hard lately.The band — Chad Matheson (drums), Dan Buffkin (guitar), Darren Matheson (guitar, vocals) and Matt Cook (bass, vocals) — released Rooted to the Spot last year, and the band is already planning to record another album this winter. Hot dog! We recently had a quick chat with Matheson.
Last night, relatively new Lawrence act Major Games opened for guitar wonder Marnie Stern at RecordBar in Kansas City. Tonight the band plays with local band the Generals at the Eighth Street Taproom (10 p.m.). We recently typed with members Doug, Jeremy and Steve.
So, what do you guys think about YouTube performers? Yeah. That's about what I think, too. Although some of us may scoff at some YouTubers' celebrity status, some of these performers are here to stay (for at least the next year or so -- maybe longer -- who knows). I caught up with the people who thought up and put together the YouTube DigiTour that recently blew through Lawrence.
It's been over a month since Kansas City's the Architects set out on tour with Jersey's rock darlings My Chemical Romance. So far, they've gone from coast to coast, and crossed international borders, leaving a trail of cigarette ash and whiskey film behind them. We caught up with guitarist Keenan Nichols for some quick updates about life on the road, sold-out venues, and getting searched by the border police.
Anybody who attended Roger Waters' live rendition of The Wall at the Sprint Center last year knows that a live production of the album has cinematic qualities all its own. Now, a collective of local artists -- spearheaded by David Wayne Reed and Ron Megee -- will unveil a production of the Pink Floyd film and album this weekend. I caught up with musician Cody Wyoming about an upcoming production of Pink Floyd's The Wall that he's working on, which opens this Friday at the Living Room at 1818 McGee.
The Pitch: How'd you cast this production?
Cody Wyoming: The production was staged three years ago at La Esquina as part of a series of tributes curated by David Wayne Reed. Ron Megee was the director and asked me to put a band together for it. So I found some people who were interested and started rehearsing with them, while Ron put the theater side of things together. The show sold out all three performances, and we were all elated about it. We'd been trying for a long time to do it again with a longer run, and nothing came together until the Living Room came into our lives.
Subhumans surfaced as part of Britain's post-'77 punk scene. The band's fast, political records helped define the early days of hardcore and created the subgenre known as anarcho-punk (which owes more to lyrical content than to a particular sonic aesthetic). Like many bands of that era, Subhumans had a short run, breaking up in 1985. The band re-formed in 1998 and has been playing regularly around the world ever since.
This week's KC date marks the group's third trip into the sweaty cavern of Davey's Uptown, this time sharing the bill with fellow '80s veteran Millions of Dead Cops. Dick Lucas, the band's singer and songwriter, answered questions by phone.
A site garnering buzz on the interwebs is nothing new, but when it's a local site about local bands for local fans, the buzz effect compounds -- fast. I Heart Local Music, a blog aiming to cover all things burgeoning in the Kansas City and Lawrence scene, went live last Monday. Its mission statement calls it "a free flow of ideas for the music community." In short, that means its coverage is comprehensive instead of curated, and egalitarian instead of egotistic. The blog's creator and editor, Fally Afani, spoke with The Pitch about everything scene and heard, from Lawrence's house-show past to KC's festival future.
Net-based label Pterodactyl Squad is devoted to video game-inspired music, be it imaginary soundtracks or original 8-bit compositions. Late last month, the label released an 8-bit tribute to Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon. That tribute is a follow-up to last year's 8-bit tribute to the music of Weezer. (Where that album was a compilation of songs spanning Weezer's career, the new release is devoted to one album.)
We spoke to label co-founder Joe Allen via e-mail -- he's based in Japan -- about 8-bit vs. chiptune, and the logistics of running an Internet-based label that's worldwide.
Yesterday, the official Kansas City Reggae Uprising Festival website launched. Run by the organizers of the festival, it will be a clearinghouse for all things about the festival and bands who play it, as well "as a simple blog forum for Kansas City reggae fans to share their own pictures, videos and comments," according to Patrick Brown.
The site's launch featured the exclusive debut of the video for "Black Stick Rock," from the Blue Riddim Band's Tribute album, which was shot and directed by Brown. The man's got so much going on, we figured he'd be the brain we needed to pick about upcoming details for the third festival, and other things KCRUF-related.
Country singer Lydia Loveless has come through Kansas City and Lawrence on a very regular basis, hitting the area four or five times in the past couple of years. Her voice, which is strong and powerful yet also quite plaintive, has garnered her a following with each successive performance.
She's playing our neck of the woods twice this week: Friday, April 8, with openers Adam Lee and the Dead Horse Sound Company, and the following night, Saturday, April 9, at the Jackpot. Earlier this year, Loveless signed with Chicago label Bloodshot Records, which is still the name in alternative country. She spoke with us by phone about how she came to be on the label, as well as her future plans.
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