GAD! Zine

    Owen Ni is one of those very creative guys who's constantly working, either on his own projects, collaborating with other artists, or promoting through his podcast (Run On Radio) and record label (Run On Recordings). Music is his passion and he loves to share that passion.     His own music tends to be of the techno variety and much of the folks he works would fall under the broad electronic umbrella of that genre, but Ni is open to any music or sounds that touch his brain. Speaking of his own music, one need look no further than his "Studies" EP, which received a vinyl release last year, to hear that the man is a master of minimalism and texture. The beats are memorable and the textures are eloquent. One track, "Running By The Beat" gets a very cool remix from Whim-ee. Gotta love it when a remix is actually slightly SHORTER than the original. The project is at once kinda modern and kinda retro. Timeless? If you're not dancing or hanging out or do...

    Zarek's been around the North AL scene in one form or another for a while now. He's done his share of hardcore punk, and lemme tell ya, this ain't it at all. Zarek's latest passion is the indie hip-hop scene. And it's one to which he has comfortably transitioned. The beats are simple but catchy and a lotta the music is kinda mello techno. This the stuff that you can dance to, chill to, drive to. And crash to, cuz Zarek's voice is over-the-top as fuuuuuuck! And I like it! He gives every track 150%. You say that's impossible? Well, math is for folks painting by the numbers. And Zarek don't. Oh, yeah and I gotta say this: For some reason, he occasionally reminds me a tad of the late Dave Brockie. I think I must be as crazy as this dude. Anyway, as I was getting at before, Zarek is unrestrained in the vocal department. Unafraid. Says what he wants to say. How he wants to say it. It's the contrast between his yapping/rapping/hollering and the looped...

    There's been a lot of killer music coming out this year. So much so, in fact, that I'm having a difficult time narrowing down my faves. A "Top 10" list feels impossible to manage. How can one pack so many different sounds and ideas into such an arbitrary number? I very nearly flaked out on writing this article, an assignment that I'd made up for myself in the first place. But then I looked at this idea from a different angle. As much as I moan and fuss over making such a tight list, it's actually easier the smaller the list gets. "Top 4" is waaaay less effort to work out than "Top 10", and not just because it would, in theory, be less than half the writing. It's just so much simpler to figure out my 4 by looking at the 2017 CDs still living in my car. These discs continue to be the soundtrack to my travels and I imagine they will continue to be well into 2018. #4 Trash Cats - Wardcore This is a nasty little band that just seem...

The perfect cover.     Now, this is my kinda Christmas album! Owls & Other Animals and The Trash Cats (the other other animals??) have teamed up to deliver us a perfect soundtrack for shoving the ol' plastic tree into the fireplace and sitting back and inhaling the fumes. These folks send up the seasonal standards in a fragile, vulnerable lo-fi acoustic set. Whisper-crooning classics like "White Xmas" in a tunnel of introspection. Beauty in the shaky basics. Raw. Another kinda raw is the hellbent hollerin' version of "Grandma Got Run Over" that ain't for the kiddies. Or the adults. Chaos. Hilarity. It is rare to find a holiday release so wobbly, stripped down, schizophrenic, and.... honest. This is what real and interesting people have playing in the background when they laugh and cry and spill their drinks and spill their guts. I dunno who's idea it was to put these two groups together, but what they have created is nothing short of a Chri...

    Haven’t had the pleasure to catch this trio live (YET), but they are no doubt a ton of sleazy fun. And maybe a bit of introspection. Alcoholic Appalachian acoustic crust-punk. Not so much cowpunk. More like hillbilly gutterpunk. And kinda um... satanic. Briscoe Darling hocked a loogie on a pet cemetery during a full moon. That snot grew a brain, picked up a guitar, and started singing his heart out. To recap: Mucous grew a brain AND a heart, but the heart is gone, because he sang it out. The bass is deep and sad and as real as an AA meeting. And... Hey, where are the drums? No drums. Washboard. Because fuck you. -Harmless    Trash Cats on Bandcamp Trash Cats on Facebook

    Eyes On Lips have just released a new concept album. Wait! A concept album?? Yup. As a band, these guys have definitely progressed as musicians since their earlier recordings. And they’ve always been great. Now, coming into their own with a more overt math rock influence, they’ve wisely recruited Pace House’s Paul Costa to take the production reins. EOL have traded a bit of the lo-fi charm of previous recordings for an overall cleaner, but richer, sound. And it works! These lunatics ooze personality, in their over-the-top performances, in their weird-but-kinda-deep songwriting, and in their... uhh... a description-with-even-more-hyphens! And now we can really hear all the crazy crap they're doing. As the album is (sorta) about a theme park, each tune (kinda) represents a different ride, with titles like "Bumper Cart Coffin" and "Ferris Squeal". Tempo-changes and jazzy rambling from kids musically smarter than myself (doesn't take much) are a frequent ...

    Brad Norris holds a special place in my heart as literally one of the best live frontmen I’ve ever seen. I once borrowed his mic at a show and the poor little thing was so beaten and battered, I shed a tear. The emaciated microphone quickly lapped up that tear, and we cried dryly on the barroom floor together for ten minutes. Either that, or the crippled little bastard shocked me into a coma and I dreamed the whole thing. He's an epic dangerous preacher man slinging his device like a yo-yo. Some folks probably still whisper, “That’s the dude from Norma Jean”. I, on the other hand, scream constantly and consistently every day, “That’s the guy from the Divine Shakes!!!!”. Now he’s back with other local-loco legends, Jacob Ragan (Divine Shakes/Russian Love Machine/Tiger Helicide), Jared Loyd (Russian Love Machine/TRME/Boo Radley’s Bones/Tiger Helicide) and Nate Glenn (Boo Radley’s Bones, The Dry Holler). This is kinda my dream band. A super-duper group. Jacob and Jared have ...