LISTEN: Introvert - "Cold Beats"

Ambient glitch master Introvert (Dennis Stein) is back in a big way with a ferocious new track called "Cold Beats." This tasty number will be featured on an upcoming released called Visage in the form of hand screened sleeves and cassettes with download codes. It will be released on February 21 via City State Tapes, but if you're the impatient type, you can download "Cold Beats" for just one buck. We highly recommend you give this track a listen because it's really fucking good:

LISTEN: Jay Elly & Allen Poe - Rap Related

Presumably you like your hip-hop fly as shit, right? Sure you do, or you would bother in the first place. I mean, who reading this is willfully whack, you know? With the release of the all-to-brief "Rap Related," Jay Elly and Allen Poe make something that pops like the best hip-hop of the golden age. Like a cross between the chilled out jazz vibe of A Tribe Called Quest and the gritty rawness of early Wu-Tang Clan, Rap Related delivers. I swear to god or whatever magic space dude or lady that you worship, this is like the sound of rolling your windows down and peacing the fuck out on a nice afternoon. It's mostly a pretty low-key affair, but the third track, "Homicide," has a definite "Liquid Swords" feel to it, in a fucking dope way. This never sounds like any sort of biter shit though; this is clearly the crossroads of influence and originality.

The rhymes here are tight too. I've always been impressed with how talented Allen Poe is, and he blends here seamlessly with Jay Elly. I was previously unfamiliar with Jay, but his verses are rock-fucking solid. This is great stuff that could only be better if there was more. So let's hope this is only the beginning of more collaborations, because I damn sure would blast more of this. With the windows down. On a chill as fuck day.

Help Bryan Puckett's Kidney By Destroying Your Own Liver!

Pictured above: Raiden chills hard!

Bryan Puckett seems like a pretty solid guy. I don't know him in person, but I e-know him because of the internet. Not only do I know him to run a wonderful label at Little Heart Records, but as a fellow nerd we can bond over what's happening at Marvel or DC. Or we can hate on other nerds that use their nerd for evil, by hating on completely irrelevant things like the color of the Human Torch in the new Fantastic Four movie. And Puckett really goes all out with his label. His shows are big, his roster is varied and solid, and he knows how to create a spectacle. He even made my friend Eric McManus misty-eyed talking about him, and Eric is one of the rowdiest dudes I know. I once saw that guy collapse under the weight of too many Rumple Minze, but not until he drained all the party out of that Saturday night. Seriously. They retired that Saturday night for all of history. You'll never hear about it again.

The problem is, Puckett has some kidney problems and needs some very expensive medical help. Fortunately, the good folks at the Haymarket Whiskey have volunteered to donate a portion of their drink sales on Thursday, February 26th to help pay for things. Here again, we see the community coming together to help one of its own, and you can be part of this too. And you get to drink in the process. Apparently, Puckett himself is curating a playlist and DJing the evening, or at least letting DJ Spotify/Laptop handle all the work.

If you want more information, read the following letter penned by Puckett regarding the event and his situation, as it is a better piece of writing than what is featured above, and a bit more succinct in conveying it's message:

As many of you know, and probably some of you don't, last year I was diagnosed with chronic end stage renal disease, or as it is often called kidney failure. At the very end of last year I began dialysis treatments and was granted acceptance as a recipient to the kidney transplant list. I was given a list of things to do first, so currently I'm listed as "inactive" but I'm clocking time (as the list for a non-living donor is currently running at about 3 years) and am just a few pounds away from my required weight loss goal.

I've managed to stay pretty positive through all of this. A lot of that is because I very early on got over the hump of thinking about my mortality and put my affairs in order, but even more importantly I have one of the absolute best support systems of anyone I know. My friends (and remaining family) have been absolutely crucial to me through this and I couldn't have done it without that love and support. While many aspects of this and the future is still uncertain I am no longer afraid.

A lot of this, however, is very expensive. I will eventually get some help via disability but at this time I'm in a sort of limbo. This is where Eric Snider and the fine folks at Haymarket Whiskey Bar stepped in. They are graciously throwing me this event as a fundraiser and helping me with a portion of the night's sales to go to the mounting medical bills during this time. I won't be in trouble forever, but this is to kind of get me over this hump while decisions are made by people and medical specialists in rooms far away from here.

I didn't want this to sound like begging. This event is something for all of us to come out, have some fun and well, basically do what we would do anyway, have a few drinks and enjoy each other's company. It's what Thursday nights in this town are usually about, anyway. We're friends.

Some people might not be able to make it. Distance, schedules, whatever. If you would like to make a donation of some type I have a paypal account set up as bpuckett01@bellarmine.edu. Please, don't feel obligated. I'm listing this because two or three people have asked and others have implied. While anything helps I don't want anyone to feel obliged. I want to have fun with my friends and not guilt them into anything.

If you are interested in finding out more about being an organ donor (after life or as a living donor, which kidney donation is a very exclusive club for) I'll post some links in the comments to where you can find more information and about how you can even find out if you are compatible match for me. Several people have tried but so far no match- but finding a match could mean skipping the three year wait and a much faster road to recovery.

Share this event far and wide and the information, too.

I love you guys, 

And thanks,

Puckett

LISTEN: All The Syd Bishop Music You've Never Wanted!

Pictured above: Kid Syd and the Rascal Pals prior to Shipwreck spoiling Tony and Jeff's Game w/a Well Placed Fart!

A little more than four months ago I became a father. With parenthood came a sense of mortality, which in turn makes you think about your mark on the world. And while I have done a lot of things to be proud of, my productive output is remarkably slim, all things considered. You can find everything I've written here, here, or here, and in a lot of cases you can just pick up a physical copy. But in the 18 years that I've been playing music, only ten things were released, and even then some of that was only on the internet, and all of that had a limited release. Until today at least.

This is most of the music I've ever done, which includes music from The Seaside Panel, The Black Action, City of Ghosts, Mr. Panda, Tauri Sb, The Royalty, Raw Tactics, Siberia, Teen Pregnancy!, and Lee Van Cleef. In this collection there are 282 songs. I had a hand in writing 174 of them. That means that I either outright wrote the riff, or as is the case more often than not, I put it together with my co-conspirators here. I'm one of the luckiest people I know. In my 18 years playing, I've almost exclusively played with friends, most of which I still keep in contact with. Hell, players on eleven of these recordings were in my wedding party, and there were people on almost every other album that were in attendance. 

What you won't see here is a tiny portion of the rest. I have the first Seaside Panel demo, but it sounds like hot garbage, and isn't acceptable to put on line. There is also a cover of a Minor Threat song that Seaside Panel recorded that to my knowledge is lost to time. I'm missing a pretty good Royalty demo from when it was just Tony Ash, Doug Walker, and myself, that is surprisingly listenable; I may yet upload that. There is at least one City of Ghosts song that I can't find anywhere, an outtake from the Ikiryoh sessions that I thought was so goddamned clever what with all the delay and 7/8 timing stuff. Perhaps most notable is the lack of any Visiting Nurse stuff, of which there is or will be plenty. But we're doing this right, and when it comes out, it's going to be awesome. 

For better or worse, I'm really proud of this stuff. Some of it was written and recorded during some very emotional times in my life. Some of it was recorded when I just wanted to drink beers and get rowdy. Hell, most of it was. There is some satire/joke material here even, but I'll leave that for the listener to identify. Almost all of this stuff is free. You don't have to pay for it, but I would encourage you to consider that this is literally 18 years of work put into something. Maybe I could get enough for a new interface and add to this pile with some more Tauri Sb stuff. If nothing else I'll split it with my collaborators and we can get tacos or something. Because who doesn't like tacos? Fucking Hitler, that's who.

Check out the whole collection here.

WATCH: Nick Dittmeier & The Sawdusters Made a Pair of Music Videos with Rocket City Sounds

Nick Dittmeier seems to always be busy, whether it be on tour or making quality new folk rock/Americana jams. Recently he and his band The Sawdusters made a pair of live music videos with Rocket City Sounds. The first video features an older song called "Lay Your Trouble Down" which was reworked from the original studio version. The second showcases a brand new song called "Just My Job" for an upcoming as-of-now untitled record that the band will start tracking next week. When more information on the upcoming album is available, we'll fill you in. Until then check the videos out below:

Bands We're Excited To See at FORECASTLE '15

Earlier today, the folks behind Forecastle Fest released their initial lineup, which was greeted with the usual excitement and/or disappointment, depending on whether or not your favorite bands ended up on the bill. For me personally, I'm pretty excited. That's not to say I'm completely happy with the lineup, because I'm not. Overall, I'd say that I'm optimistic that this year's installment will serve as another great time spent watching music. EDITORS NOTE: Everything you're about to read is my opinion, and it's cool if you don't agree.

With the exception of Modest Mouse, the headliners leave a lot to be desired. Sorry, My Morning Jacket, I'm still bored with you. As for Widespread Panic and Sam Smith, no thanks. But as usual with Forecastle, the undercard is fucking great! After first glance at the initial lineup, I can't wait to see Alvvays, Big K.R.I.T., Speedy Ortiz, Cherub, JEFF the Brotherhood, Diarrhea Planet and BRONCHO. Also, Louisville is well represented as Twin Limb and White Reaper will be playing. Also, it is important to mention that this is only the first round of bands announced, meaning there will be more to be added to the roster. I'm hoping for less hula-hooping jam bands, but whatever.

Tickets go on sale this Friday at noon, but until then get hyped for Forecastle by watching their promo video below:

LISTEN: Android 18 - "Six"

Experimental post-hardcore band Android 18 released a six song cassette earlier this month called Six, and we think it deserves your attention. The music featured at times reminds me of what American Football would have sounded like with violent, screaming. At times I love this combination, but there are moments that I feel it's a bit too much vocally.  That's not to say I don't like it, because I most certainly do.  I'm just confessing that 18-year-old-me would like the vocals a lot more than the present 31-year-old-me.  Fans of artsy emotional hardcore will absolutely get a kick out of this stuff. 


Buy the cassette by clicking here. If spending money on music isn't your thing, download the album for free here.