GAD! Zine

    The Friendly Fingermen are one those bands that can crank out effortless hardcore one minute and a heavy groove the next. Intensity is a non-negotiable with these Huntsville area musicians. A treat to just about any lover of heavy music. I got in touch with Fingerman(?) Anson Helton to find out more. GAD!: Who are you and how did this happen? Anson: B and members are me, Frank Cole, Jason Generic, and Jarrod Carmack. I think we've been doing this close to a year or so. Jason and I have been wanting to do a project together for a long time so we said fuck it, let's do it. Obviously, Frank and I have worked together a lot in the past, plus he's fucking a talented, so he was an obvious choice. Jarrod and I have also worked together and have been talking about doing something heavy and groovy for years now. I wasn't sure if he'd have the time but he answered the call annnnnnnd so we had our kickass lineup. I love playing with these guys, they make it soo...

    Owls And Other Animals are a fairly stripped-down acoustic-y unit, but they have a firm understanding of how to make the most of their self-imposed boundaries. The songs are so whittled-down to their utter essence that even the tiniest variance hits like a blast. Opener "Crouchin' In The Corner" is business as usual until the cool keyboard kicks in. Tunes like the urgent single "Viola" and later album track "Big Lakes And Skies" are firmly grounded by the understated bass of Deondre (a member of the Trash Cats, with whom OAOA shared a Christmas album last year). Outside of a well-worn guitar, the bread and butter of any OAOA tune is the breathily soft and almost-singular voice of Colin and Dana. When they sing together, the room mellows into a candlelit basement. We're but the silent apparitions surrounding them, whirling in their bluesy choruses. The dreamy tunes of Owls And Other Animals are smart, well-written, and even-better-performed. T...

    I love the Abusements!! Fast and funny punk rock for those of us blessed (cursed?) with the keen observation skills to notice how everything around us is at least a bit off, if not outrightly fucked. “Troll Farm”, one the album’s many standouts, is very contemporary in its subject matter (Russians attacking us through social media), but it’s so fun and sing-a-long-able, that we’ll still be blasting it in ten years. Let’s hope it won’t still be topical… Another hit is the single “Space Nazis”. It’s a humorous look at the U.S. government’s past association with former Nazis to meet our Cold War space race needs. Really, just about every tune on IRRITAINMENT!, from “Sex Cult” to “Mall” to “Florida Man”, picks at the way-too-mundane ridiculousness of everyday American life. This is what punk rock is all about: Recognizing that the “normal” people are the crazy ones. Verdict: Snotty and exciting. Loud and fast. Catchy as hell. I want more, please.  -Harmless Buy Th...

    Muddy Roots Music Festival takes place Labor Day Weekend at the Junebug Ranch in Cookeville Tennessee. This year, it started Thursday and went until Sunday. Camping is included with the purchase of the ticket. There are 3 stages, 2 bars, food vendors, and even a waterfall you can drive, or if you're brave enough, walk to. This year, I saw Everymen, Pinata Protest, Rock Bottom String Band, The Goddamn Gallows, X, The Dead Boys, The Meat Puppets, Megan Jean and The KFB, Dead Bronco UK, Those Poor Bastards, Slim Cessnas Auto Club, Call Me Bronco, Sleep, Neurosis, Cutthroat Shamrock, Fu Manchu, and James Hunnicutt. Not in that order and I'm sure I'm missing some. This was my 2nd Muddy Roots. I attended 2017 as well. I enjoyed both experiences although there were a few changes this year. There was a larger stage in the back of vendor row, with powerful speakers. We listened to Sleep from the campsite which was quite far away but did not sound as such. There were some new v...

A major punk rock force has erupted from Alabama's capital: The Abusements!! I've been a fan since first reading Shannon Heupel 's article about them for the The Montgomery Advertiser . I checked out the videos and instantly fell in love. Snotty and fun, but with bullshit detectors set on max, the Abusements are an antidote to the malaise one suffers even when they actively avoid today's politics . Who are these lunatics and where the hell did they come from? I reached out to the group to get to the bottom of it. " Dominique Bradley on drums, and Chris Eckels on bass , they are both from Montgomery Alabama. DJ Fake Name is on guitar and vocals, he’s from the early 1980s. " Ok... " Like many professional musicians, especially in the south, Dominique’s real gig is playing worship music. That’s what pays the bills. Chris used to be a member of the legendary Creep List. DJ Fake Name was placed into a medically induced coma back i...

    Shame that Delaware's PTS has disbanded, but I'm glad they reconvened to "document" their music. It's noisy and punky and Minutemen-y. (Just realized that one of the tunes is called "Political Song For Mike Watt To Sing", so I guess I nailed it!) The sound quality is all over the place and is just as much a part of the experience as any instrument. Please let this release encourage more bands to put their tunes to tape or whatever. Music History is the Best History! I hope these good folks are still making cool noise, even if not together as a unit. If they are, I wanna hear it. -Harmless  Paint The Sun on Bandcamp

For the uninitiated, the Danger Cakes are an Austin-based all-female rockabilly group who deliver 50's bubble gum pop rock with a bit of an edge. Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the group is lead vocalist and model Jamie Bahr who, in addition to her vocal duties, plays the upright bass. The band’s latest offering, Gloomy Girl, features three unique tracks likely to entice even the most casual of rockabilly fans. The first track, "Not Your Doll", introduces listeners to Jamie’s very sultry voice, at times suggestive lyrics, as well as the group’s twist on the 50's bubble gum pop sound. Next comes "Love Bites", which incorporates a heavy cabaret feel with lyrics featuring plenty of delightful double entendres. The closing tune, "Bruise Blues", is a cute little number that leans heavily into the 50's bubblegum pop aesthetic. Fans of the genre are unlikely to go wrong and those looking to expand their horizons may just be in for a p...

The Roach Motel, Decatur Alabama Saturday June 23rd This was an all day event that began at 2pm . I wasn't able to get there until about 6, just as X.Y. Spaces was beginning. The Roach Motel is located in a storage unit, a long one, it's almost in the center. If you go in one side there's a print shop, you can go through into the venue space that also has an exit that lets you out the other side. It's a spacious area with a stage and sound equipment, the only problem is it's a metal tin can with nowhere for the sound to escape. I saw 5 bands and each of them put on terrific shows full of heart, audience participation and gimmicks. X.Y. Spaces had lamp light, which created great shadows in the room, the singer Brady also passed out headshots of himself for people to distribute around town, in hopes he will get discovered. Avowed all wore Hawaiian shirts, and Meadows had matching plain hunter green. They were great performances that had a lot of th...

The ground under the underground has new rumblings troubling it’s sedentary haunches yet again. Whispers in the fissures that spread like a network of veins, carrying lifeblood to organs that go unsung, unacknowledged, unnoticed. The ones that, while not sexy, sensual, suckable and able to be wrapped tightly in spandex, leather, (or some other textile of ill-repute)etc. would most certainly be the cause of much agony and suffering, should they fail. Those aforementioned rumblings almost seem to speak, like the vague, breathy utterings of a supposed specter caught on tape. And while the power of suggestion is almost without fail used to decode what these tormented spirits who are incapable of crossing over are supposedly saying, one name has been colloquially agreed upon as being clear as the proverbial bell: ARTIFICIAL DEVICES. What does it mean? More metal than man. More man than machine. Something incapable of setting a course, but unable to stop plowing through ever...

Yeah, I know the Abusements are from Montgomery, AL, but where did this band come from?? Punk-rock that is snotty, fast, fun as hell, and smart. Don't get me wrong. This isn't music that makes ya think. This is music for folks that are tired of thinking. We know things are fucked-up and the world is silly so let's bounce around to take our minds off of it. Or, more specifically, let's make fun of it. Let's poke a stick at it. Singles like "Feelin' Cheated?/Sex Cult" and "Space Nazis/Florida Man" are hilarious sing-a-long danceable ditties that are hard for any self-disrespecting mohawk sticker-upper to ignore. As for which 45 is the essential purchase, I gotta go with "Space Nazis". Both songs are hilarious and just made to blast at the neighbors. The good news is that their upcoming full-length, IRRITAINMENT!, is shaping up to be ever better! Check out the promo vid for that album's "Troll Farm" for further proof!...

By now I hope everyone has got to see SAB play live, and if you haven’t yet, hellfire, you need to. Now on to their first release. I’m going to tell you all right now, outright, that if you plan on putting out any new punk / metal /rock ' n ' roll all original local music this year, sorry, it’s too late, this is the best album of the year. The song writing is tight, the harmonies are perfect, the musicianship, the production (by Michael Bret Gore) is outstanding. Swiss Army Brat have unleashed an incredible album that will surprise you, and make you happy. From the opening rocker “You, You, You” to the double-whammy closers of “Kill” and “No Shit,” this is THE release of the year. And the CD comes with a surprise that throws the middle finger and a wink at the same time. Hellalujah! -Alabama Sharp Swiss Army Brat - "Kill" Music Video on YouTube

    Yeah, yeah. You haven't heard much from us lately, at least not on this site. Part of the reason for this is that we've been plenty busy tangled up in other forms of communication.     Jay Dubya Hyde, Andy Smith, and I have started a couple of podcasts. The GAD!Cast is a podcast centered around the three of us talking about creating art (our bands, our zines, this site), local art (musicians, writers, visual artists, etc.), and just whatever interests us (comics, video games, movies, calling each other stupid). In general, GAD!Cast is weekly and appears on YouTube, Soundcloud, and the podcast app.     Our other podcast is GAD!Cast Radio , and it airs every Thursday night at 8:30 pm Central on PoDunkRadio.com. We play a ton of music. Most of it local. All of it excellent. You still get our inane chatter but in smaller doses and with music in between to cleanse the pallet. We highly recommend that ya'll check out PoDunk Radio. They play lots of pun...

    The first tune on I'm In a Bad kinda reminds me of Active Ingredients or Atom and His Package (that is, if Atom had friends). The songs that follow are even more chaotic, with rowdy banjo and god-knows-what-else bangin' and clangin'. Accordion? There's crazy indie ditties and drunken crowd back-up vox. What genre is this? Um.... D.I.Y. party-farm? Dunno if they'd admit it, but there's some skilled and interesting musicianship going on with these folks! One of the few weirdo acts that truly offers a variety of sounds and ideas. This is literally one of those cases where if ya don't like one song, you can just keep listening and you might love the next. I love 'em all. -Harmless PDERRIGERREO on Bandcamp PDERRIGERREO on Facebook

Skeptic? - Hornet's Nest Birmingham's Skeptic? has been punk rockin' since 2001, and they've never put out a bad release. Band members and longtime fans may have their opinions, but I think it's difficult to call anything they've done less than bad ass. Regardless of fidelity (or maybe the occasional lack thereof) of some recordings, Skeptic? has never failed to get the blood pumping. I chalk that invulnerability to two things: Barron's snarling society-is-an-asshole voice and the band's potent speedy energy. Those attributes have been enough to carry the listener and can cut through just about anything. Skeptic?'s latest full-length, however, finally gives us a near-perfect blend of live enthusiasm and studio depth. What that means is that you get what records were meant to be in the first place: not only a documentation or art as sound, but the closest thing to being THERE. Kudos to Aaron Greene (A New Kind Of Hero) for his excellent sound and...