SLAM issue 16.indd

Dear Reader,
There’s a sickness festering within
the open sore of our popular culture.
The symptoms are general malaise,
apathy and disinterest. I can’t tell you
for sure if it’s fatal or not, but I have
little doubt that it may be crippling in
years to come. I might be too late to
alert you to the disease but it seems
fairly obvious to me that the preceding generation took notice long ago.
But, instead of seeking and end to this
ailment, they decided to do what was
most profitable for them: Medicate.
Remember several years ago when
the updated Volkswagen Beetle came
on the market and people ran out in
droves to buy a little chunk of imitation history? How about that period
of several months where it was nearly
impossible to find a pair of jeans in
fashionable stores that didn’t flare out
into bell bottoms? The zoot suit resurgence? All of these are examples
of trends that have shown significant
commercial success; all of them rehashes of previous generations in the
time at which we should have been
busy rebelling against them. Even the
spooky goth movement that terrorized
so many parents a decade ago was
spearheaded by what was merely a
louder (and less meaningful) version
of what local hero Alice Cooper had
been doing thirty years earlier.
now no longer points a finger towards
the sense of despair in these people,
preferring to revel in misogyny and
celebrate negative aspects of the culture. The other voice of the generation
comes in the form of “emotional” music, which tends to portray little more
than whining and misdirected angst.
One of the most significant benchmarks of what a generation stands for
appears in its music. The baby boomers were fighting a war that the warriors did not believe in. This gave us
our protest songs, anthems of righteous anger. The punks, in all their
incarnations, brought forth a raw realism to counterpoint the peace and
harmony encouraged by the free love
movement. Even the Gen X slackers
had something to say about the soulless machines that corporate society
makes of people. But what is Generation Y bringing to the table?
None of this is to say that we should
not have hope for the future. The
Dylan’s and Joplin’s of our time may
just be quietly waiting in the wings
for their opportunity to reach out and
touch our hearts. A common bond other than our self-absorption and short
attention spans might appear and
unite this fractured and dispassionate
youth. And maybe, just maybe, we will
find a future that we have made better
for our children.
As I see it, there are two major
forces of musical originality at work
right now. On the one hand, we have
rap. But what was once a voice of the
street, the folk music of the projects,
I, for one, am still looking for a cure.
Sincerely,
Conrad H. Zimmerman
Editor, SLAM Magazine
SLAM 1
By Dinosaur Digby
I
t was your typical Thursday night,
so much like any other, or so I was
lead to believe by my own false,
preconceived notions. I had wandered off the crossroads into Chasers Night Club in Scottsdale seeking
a metaphorical refuge from my mental
storm in hopes of finding some form
of distraction or diversion to occupy
my mind. I wasn’t really expecting
too much. A few cold beers to whet
my whistle, spin some tunes on the ol’
jukebox…Or if I was really in luck, and
fate felt like showing me a good time,
maybe I could catch a halfway decent
local band that didn’t make my ears
bleed.
And as fate would sometimes have
it, she did indeed offer up a grin for her
loyal minion. As I stepped through the
door way I was struck with the feeling
that there was something decidedly
different about how chasers felt this
particular night. There was this almost
tangible vibration of some unknown,
otherworldly configuration that I could
feel pulsing and humming on the edges of my perception. A kind of electric
anticipation that made the hairs on my
neck stand on end. I felt the quiet excitement of a controlled frenzy, like the
first rising tendrils of LSD.
2 SLAM
It seemed that on this particular
Thursday, the mad, probability engineering, mutants of Ether Bunny Records had transformed the inner sanctum of Chasers into ”The Champa
Lounge” and, to my surprise, I found
that I had inadvertently taken a head
long tumble down some twisted back
room rabbit hole right along with them.
The tables in the club were more drawn
together than usual and were adorned
with a myriad of beautiful sconces
each containing a candle that burned
brightly in the dimness and cast the
room with shadows of whispered ambiance. The air hung thick about me
gripping me in a warm embrace permeated with a subtle scent of sage
gently mingled with the lovely head
shoppe scent of nag champa, which
burned from incense holders atop
many of the tables around the room.
I shuffled up to the bar, and helped
myself to an ice-cold two-dollar red
stripe, which I learned is a staple drink
special of the lounge, and nestled in
on one of the couches that sat hither
and thither about the dance floor.
I watched the first set performed by
SLOWMOBILE, an all-acoustic fourpiece ensemble that later I found to be
the only resident band on Ether Bunny
Records’ Champa Lounge roster. Their
set was one of acoustic indie rock built
on solid driving jams and beautifully
harmonized vocals. Good tunes, and
a cool set. I’ve had the opportunity to
see them before as an electric desert
metal band (which shall remain nameless) and was stoked to catch them
at their acoustic shenanigans. It was
very cool, and was different from their
usual amplified stage show.
By this time I was feeling a warm
buzz, and having a really good time
hanging in the lounge with all my newfound friends. By the finish of Slowmobile’s set the crowd had picked up
considerably and it was beginning to
look more like a Friday night than a
Thursday. Everyone was sharing in
the prevailing good mood. It seemed
like those who attended had all subconsciously agreed to leave their attitudes at home for the evening.
After thoroughly enjoying the next
act, an original acoustic set performed
by an innovative local poet and Champa Lounge creator, ”Reverend Brother
Franko Ditty Danko”, I had an opportunity to speak with him and learn a little
more about the Champa Lounge and
it’s resident loungers. The Good Reverend took me out back for some Q&A
and got me stoned to the bejesus on
some killer bud, which, through some
form of divine conception, he’d apparently grown himself.
It was then I learned that Ditty
Danko was indeed responsible for the
creation of the Champa Lounge, and
was the driving force behind it. According to him, The Champa lounge is
more of a concept than an event; an
evolving modern sub-culture, which
transcends the limitations of time
and space. “The Champa Lounge is
anywhere we make it. Tonight, Chasers front door just happens to be
the gateway to the lounge…Way Out
Here in the desert where the layers of
spirit lay very close to the tangible.”
A direct quote taken from my conversation with ditty Danko gleaned
in between rips from the rather large
joint being passed between us. Ditty
Danko and his mutant cohorts have
been hosting these Champa Lounge
events once a month for the past year
and so far, they have all been held at
Chasers. But the Champa lounge is
steadily growing in interest and is due
to begin touring the many different
venues of the valley in the very near
future.
I personally found the Champa
lounge to be a very enjoyable experience. The artists were very laid back
approachable cats, unconcerned in
competing against each other and focused on making good music. It was
a more intimate gathering than many
of the local shows I’d been to in recent weeks. Being that the lounge is
an all-acoustic showcase, it seemed
to me that much more attention was
paid to song writing, structure and
lyrical content. The vocals weren’t
drowned out by overdriven guitars
and the words were actually intelligible. Not screeching and scathing
their way forever into obscurity, as is
often the case. One cat in particular
I’d had a chance to really listen too,
named “Cliff” performed some righteous tunes that in my opinion held
some of the best lyrics I have ever
heard.
And that really seemed to be a
constant with all the performers. The
lounge maintained a very high level of
musicianship overall and the artists in-
volved
were all
very talented and
unique unto
themselves and
in their approach
to their music. The
lineup was comprised
of a very eclectic assortment of players that represented many different styles. From the
mildly sardonic humor of “FERDS”
unique brand of rockabilly punk, or the
symphonic sorcery of “The Treatch”,
to the humble drunken party rock of
“A Few Random Drunks”, the lounge
offers a very wide range of musical
motif for any lover of good music. The
artists are bound by the fact that they
are acoustic performers, rather than
adhering to any particular musical
genre, classification or label. A typical Lounge bill starts casually around
9pm and is usually made up of 2 or 3
resident loungers from the roster, rotated from month to month, a featured
guest artist, and a featured guest
band, unplugged. And in the coming
months guest DJ’s from Liquid Media
Music will also be featured on several
upc o m i n g
dates as they spin intelligent, booty shaking grooves late night and
on into the morning. The Champa
Lounge has been cultivated by the
musicians involved and from the love
they all share for music, good friends,
and great times. Very chill. Very, very
Cool.... All candles and couches with
champa burning on all the tables. So
if you’re a fan of good music, spark
up a stick of champa, and come out
for an evening of acoustic jams live
in The Champa Lounge. For a complete list of resident loungers and
show dates check out their website @
www.champa.7h.com.
SLAM 3
I
’ve wanted to interview Rising
Conviction about as long as I’ve
been listening to them, as long as
I’ve been waiting for their CD to finally come out. All the waiting paid off.
I got to meet with them at the guitarist,
Bryan’s house to have a couple beers,
hear parts of the album, laugh, oh, and
I got to interview them as well. You
can pick up Rising Convictions CD
Salazar Brothers on July 2 at the Old
Brickhouse for the CD release party
with Juicy Newt, BLDG 5, Heroes for
Ghosts and Shallow Point. Tickets are
only $5 and can be purchased from
www.risingconviction.com or the night
of the show.
Rising Conviction is:
Floyd-Bass
Dave-Vocals
Bryan-Guitar
Andy-Drums
How long has Rising Conviction been together?
Bryan: About 4 years we’ve been doing something worth while. Before that
it was a big drunk mess.
How did the band get together?
4 SLAM
Andy: Dave and I actually met at
work. He said I sing and I was playing drums and we got together with a
couple of guys and were just jamming
out and whatever. We didn’t do very
much, mostly just jam sessions and
we got Bryan through a mutual person
and he came in and started jamming
with us and Floyd came in and started
jamming and it was the four of us you
know. Our practices were usually once
a month, usually at parties. Then Dave
bought a house and brought it all together.
Dave: The other people that were I
the band before would not show up
to shows and so we decided they
couldn’t be in the band.
Where did you come up
with the name?
Andy: Originally we were shooting for
the name Rising. We were just gonna
go for Rising, you know, rising above
expectations, that kind of stuff. The
word Conviction just kind of fell in out
laps. The name itself has its own entity. Rising Conviction, people kind of
take it in different ways. You strive for
something so that’s your conviction.
Were always reaching for that next
level. There’s not a lot of whining.
Dave: No pussyfooting.
Andy: Yeah. No pussyfooting around.
A more worthwhile factor is to write
songs about stuff that’s ways to get
past shit, ways to deal with shit than to
conceit defeat.
Dave: It’s a very motivating name,
Rising Conviction.
Who are your influences?
Dave: Craig Dooley. I think he’s a
great writer. I like anyone who does
anything original sounding. Tom Waits.
A lot of stuff that’s not as mainstream
as what you’d hear on the radio.
Bryan: I don’t listen to what we play.
The shit that we listen to is not nearly
what were playing. It makes it easier to
infuse the kind of shit were doing with
new ideas. I like Tom Morello’s shit,
Adam Jones of course.
Andy: In the beginning I’d say my
older brother was my biggest influence. More mainstream, Lars Ulrich
from Metallica, Danny Cary from Tool,
Buddy Rich.
Floyd: Tool, Fugazi, System of a
Down, Rage, Elvis.
Who is your favorite superhero?
Floyd: Batman. I like Batman.
Bryan: Batman, after the new movie
comes out. I liked Aquaman when was
a little kid. He turned into a giant fuckin
he-monster that destroyed a town.
Andy: My favorite superhero is Optimus Prime.
Dave: I’d just say Popeye. I’ve been
hearing a lot about him lately.
Who are some of your favorite local bands?
Bryan: I like Briggs new project Heroes for Ghost, They’re really good.
BLDG5 is awesome.
Dave: I like Nila a lot,
but they’re not here
now. I think Blanche
Dividian is pretty original. I’ve only seen
‘em once but I enjoyed the show.
Bryan: Greenhaven
Andy: Psychostick
Floyd: 32 Leaves. I
like Zara, Shades of
Silver. There’s a lot
of good ones.
Dave: I Hate you
When You’re Pregnant.
Floyd: I get trashed
a lot and forget the
band’s names. I
don’t remember
if they’re actually
good or I’m just
drunk.
balls of at shows and then I’m yelling
my balls off in the studio. I think I went
through a period where I was having
trouble whispering from yelling so
much. And that was my experience.
Bryan: It was an experience. We didn’t
intend to record an album. We set out
a long time ago we were just gonna
record some songs. Then it turned
into an opportunity to switch those
around and re-record some stuff and
we just started making the whole fucking thing. We were doing it at a place
called Arizona Bay which is now Tall
Cat. Dave Torres co-produced the
Theorizers, all kinds of stupid shit.
Salazar is a funny word for us. At that
time there were certain elements.
Dave: Factors. Certain factors.
Bryan: There were certain factors.
I guess you could say it is about us,
making a CD and being independent.
If you could say one thing
to other local bands, what
would it be?
Dave: Laugh out loud.
Floyd: Don’t get drunk before you get
on stage.
Bryan: Promote. We’ve learned that
When is the
CD coming
out?
Bryan: July 2nd.
Dave: Where?
Bryan: At the BrickHouse.
Dave: Who’s playing?
Bryan: BLDG5, Heroes for Ghosts,
Shallow point, Juicy Newt, and Rising
Conviction.
Dave: Rising Conviction, Brickhouse,
July 2nd. 5 bucks, www.risingconviction.com. Laugh out loud. LOL. LOL.
What was recording like?
Who did you record with?
Dave: I’ll go first. It was a pain in the
ass for me because we never stopped
playing shows as I was doing my vocals. I like to yell a lot. So I’m yelling my
album, we learned a lot.
Dave: We learned a lot.
Bryan: Also, I’m very good at Tetris
now on my cell phone. I can destroy
anyone at mobile phone football.
Dave: I’m awesome at chess.
Bryan: And flag football.
Dave: Chinese food.
Where did you come up
with the name Salazar
Brothers for the CD?
Dave: Random.
Bryan: When you’re around a lot of
guys you have a lot of inside jokes.
Salazar is one of those fuckin’ words.
It became Salazar Theory, Salazar
there is a very direct
connection between how hard you
work and how many people show up
to your show. Try everything and if it
doesn’t work, don’t try it again. It’s a
direct science. A lot of bands could be
doing a lot more.
Andy: Don’t lose sight of why you
started the band. We’ve been together
for a while and every practice is enjoyable. It’s still fun to hang out with these
guys for two hours a day and create
music. Never lose sight of why you
started the band.
Bryan: That was Andy’s big coming
out. He hasn’t said a word to anybody
for 4 years.
SLAM 5
What can we expect in the
future of Rising Conviction?
Dave: A lot more laughing out loud.
Bryan: Take the pessimistic approach
to it. Hopefully we’ll enjoy a lot of success around town. If the last year’s
been any indication, then we’ll have to
be a little more optimistic.
Dave: Definitely. We always give it out
all on stage. A lot of energy in the future, the present, the past. We will never stop putting on the best shows possible.
Bryan: Beer. We were in the garage
playing some shit and I was like, “everybody don’t laugh, I’m gonna try
something.” We wanted to try it out for
a song, Ultrashock. It was either gonna be something people talked about
after words or the most ridiculous
thing I’ve ever done. Thankfully, it was
the [former] of the two. Now I have to
come up with something to top that.
Floyd: The penis trick.
Bryan: Watch for the penis trick.
Dave: Laugh out Loud.
What would you like our readers to
know?
Bryan: That tickets are available.
Dave: For July 2nd.
Bryan: Despite the fact that it’s our
show, come on down to what I think is
a very meaningful event.
Dave: July 2nd. Rising Conviction.
Brickhouse. risingconviction.com
Where did you come up
with the idea for the throat
solo?
6 SLAM
Does having a street team
pay off?
Bryan: Absolutely. We have some
people that are very dedicated. They
go on forums all the time.
Dave: They’re a part of the band.
Any final
plugs?
words/shouts/
Dave: Laugh out Loud. I really want to
over do it so I never have to hear that
again, ever! If you read this interview,
never say that again!
Bryan: It’s fucking stupid. No one
ever fucking laughs out loud.
Dave: No one says lots of laughs either.
Bryan: If you work in an office, and
you use a public restroom, and you
make a mess in there, don’t come out
until I’m gone.
Dave: I’m a big fan of dropping my resume off.
B r y a n :
That’s cool
man,
I’m
just glad we
don’t work
together.
Floyd:
I
write a lot
of songs
on the toilet.
Bryan:
Also, July
2nd. It’s a
great day
to come
see some
music.
Dave:
And purchase
the CD.
$ 1 0 .
Laugh
o u t
loud,
please,
eve r yb o d y,
never
say it
again.
Laugh out loud, Laugh out loud. LOL.
Bryan: Quit quoting (the movie) Kids.
After the interview I hung out
with Bryan for a while, talked about
nature and animals, drank, and got to
hear some of the new CD. Be sure you
go check these guys out July 2nd at
The Old Brickhouse and pick it up. Also
playing will be Juicy Newt, BLDG5,
Heroes for Ghosts, and Shallowpoint.
It promises to be a great show, with a
few extra little surprises. LOL!
A
great night of industrial at Chasers,
put on by Euphoric Productions. Unfortunately I missed the first band,
The Iris, arriving just as they were breaking down the stage. I’m told by people that
were there they were good. The club was
packed by 9:00pm, it was great! There were
people everywhere, just waiting for the
night of music to continue. I got to break
a nose, mosh with Gail, with her sprained
ankle, and tear it up with Sarah for many of
the final pits of the night.
Projectsun was quickly grabbing my
attention as they set up, placing a giant
white screen at the back of the stage. Their
sound was a little like something you would
hear from Front 242. The screen was used
to project images from movies and news
footage, to help illustrate the point of the
songs and give a little extra entertainment
as well. From what I was told this was their
first show. You couldn’t tell. They all looked
very comfortable on the stage, like they
had been there a thousand times before.
After what seemed like a very quick
stage change, Ikonoklast was up, tearing
the place to shreds with their Ministryesque sound. These guys always put on a
great show and have an excellent amount
of professionalism and talent. Ikonoklast
has been around for a couple of years and
is now getting the kind of reactions they
deserve. The crowd always loves them and
they love the crowd. These were the first of
many pits for the night that got the crowd
amped and ready to go. Their set seemed
to fly by, and soon they were announcing
the last song of the set.
Then it was time for Selfless. This is the
first show they have played in a couple of
months, and they had a new bass player as
well. I for one was a little skeptical about
him, but he proved to all of us that he is
deserving of his band mates. He pulled off
all the songs amazingly and seemed to fit
really well with the band. The crowd didn’t
hesitate a bit on welcoming him, accepting him, and enjoying the show. Now, as
Selfless started, the crowd was completely
ready to get into it. When the first song
started so did the pit behind me, as the
crowd pushed together, I pushed back and
hit Forest with the back of my head, breaking his nose. Because he’s fucking hardcore, he simple went into the bathroom
and reset it himself, going right back to the
show with out missing much of a beat. The
set ended, the crowd needed the break.
After just enough time to talk to a few
people and grab a drink it was time for a
band from Tucson, Sin Machine. I had seen
these guys once before and knew they
would do a good show. They are kinda like
Tucson’s version of Eroticide, just not quite
as heavy, musically or visually. They have
an amazing sound, and great songs. They
have a couple cute girls in tight leather
shorts dancing on stage and tossing random goo filled items at and on the crowd
as well as the fake blood that Kayla (of Euphoric Productions) ended up covered in.
The crowd was very accepting of them,
cheering between songs and keeping the
floor moving.
The last band of the night was Hardwire,
who despite having only three members really keeps you going. They to have a sound
something like Front 242, with some Ministry influences in there as well. They played
a great set. The boys of Hardwire don’t use
a set list, they just feel the crowd and base
the set on that, which they did a great job
of doing. I haven’t got to pit with (our very
own) Sarah Burkard for some time and it
was good to see her out there keeping it
going. They played until they were essentially not allowed to anymore, ending their
set at about half past two. The few dozen
of us that were left all slowly said our goodbyes and made our way out into the night,
tired, bruised, and content.
Check out these bands online at:
www.selflessmovement.com
www.Ikonoklast187.com
www.hardwirecentral.com
www.sinmachineband.com
SLAM 9
The Upper Deck Sports Bar & Grill
4224 N. Craftsman Court, Scottsdale
Review by Carla Brown
P
robably one of the more posh places to go see bands
play, but hey, it’s Scottsdale. Before everyone gets upset
at me for putting a sports bar on the review list, take note
that The Upper Deck is one of the more progressive venues
in Scottsdale by which I mean the owner is trying to revive
the live music scene. True, owner Tom Anderson needs to
provide for the sports fans with Scottsdale amenities, including an Xbox, PlayStation, six high-definition televisions,
one 12-foot high projection screen and another 10-foot high
screen, six LCD TVs, and 16 flat-screen TVs.
The name hints at, you guessed it, two levels. The building is
long, so music from the front of the bar sounds as if you’re in
a tunnel the closer you get toward the bathrooms. (The bathrooms are immaculate.) The best seat in the house is by the
upper railing, which doesn’t leave too much space to dance,
but neither does the space in front of the stage.
A plethora of fu-fu drinks for the ladies appear on the menu,
as does rich desserts such as apple and pumpkin pie.
Sorry kids, this place is still considered a bar, so no all-ages
events.
For more information, call (480) 941-9333.
10 SLAM
Four White Walls
The Clubhouse
Review by Carla Brown
Review by Carla Brown
F
T
Hardly enough room to fit a good crowd, the venue is hardly appropriate for bands to play in. But
every Friday night, Four White Walls coordinators
Sheila Bocchine and Gary Millard hold some sort
of event, such as a ska night with The Wiggums
last April. Acoustically, it’s a nightmare. The rafters
are not insulated and sound reverberates off of the
stained glass windows.
The stage is higher than most clubs have it, so
beware of cricks in your neck. The house amplifiers are huge, so the sound is great in most cases.
The best seat/standing spot in the house is actually behind the bar on the other side of the room.
1023 Grand Ave., Phoenix
rom the outside, the place looks like a Greek
museum. The website lists Four White Walls
located at 1023 Grand Avenue in Phoenix as “a
contemporary visual arts space that encourages
experimentation in art, music, fashion, film and
video.” Translation: it’s damn small.
1320 E. Broadway Rd., Tempe
he Clubhouse at 1320 E. Broadway Rd. in
Tempe is one of the few venues that are bringing local and national acts together. The dark club
reminds me of some of the venues I used to go
to in Chicago when I was still an amateur at the
whole scene-thing. Equipped with circle bar, a full
menu until 11 p.m. and a scattering of couches,
The Clubhouse has all the accommodations a
ticket holder could want.
It is, however, a cute little spot for viewing some local and national art. Introduced as one of the newest hot spots on Phoenix’s First Friday Art Walk
May 6, it is estimated that approximately 200 art
enthusiasts visited the tiny art galleria.
The staff at The Clubhouse is amazing. The club
often holds all-ages shows and the events run
smoothly. Minors are stamped and are required
to abide by the “No Return” policy, which seems
to be strictly enforced. And of course, 21-and-up
attendees get the usual wristband.
For more information, visit www.fourwhitewalls.net.
For more information, visit www.clubhousegigs.com.
C
ompetition in Scottsdale’s live music scene has been zilch as of lately, but The Upper Deck better watch its back
with Anderson’s Fifth Estate (6820 E. Fifth Ave., in Scottsdale) beefing up its lineup in the near future. Bands will
be making an appearance at the club most commonly known for having 30-minute lines for DJs spinning records.
For more information, call (480) 994-4168.
Rapid Fire Brace Yourself
What can I say about Rapid Fire
that hasn’t been said before? They
are metal, as metal as they come, and
Brace Yourself proves it. Just as the
band shouts on Annihilate “It’s more
than Rock n’ Roll. It’s Metal!”
Rapid Fire takes you down the roads
of what metal used to be, big solos,
drum breaks, and sing along choruses, all that is metal. With song titles like
“Not Easy Being Sleazy” (which starts
with a motorcycle sample), “Chase the
Reaper”, and “The Warrior’s Lament”
you can tell they mean business.
Rapid Fire brings back the greatness of bands like Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, and Judas Priest. The singer
sounds a little like Ronnie James Dio
even. Rapid Fire has to one of the most
fun bands I have heard in ages. None
of the songs are about politics, famine,
or current affairs. They’re about having
fun and enjoying life. There are several
By Carl Jenkins
songs on Brace Yourself that are very
story-like, telling of the nights journey
to conquer all that is in his way.
Brace Yourself was recorded by Byron Filson at
Villain Recording (www.
villainrecording.com) who
managed to even give the
album a feel like an old Iron
Maiden album. The guitars
are huge and the drums
push every song over the
edge.
Every instrument
rings clear, and the bass
makes your heart jump a little as the beat comes down.
Make sure you pick up
Brace Yourself and catch
Rapid Fire live, you will not be
disappointed. I’ll see you on
the battlefield!
www.itsmetal.com
ShallowPoint A Beautiful Machine...
“I’ll give you everything you’ll ever
need, feed off the fat of simplicity.”
This is the first line to the title track
off of A Beautiful Machine by Shallowpoint. A song that seems like it could
both be about how technology is taking over us all and the kid raised to be
the perfect man, the corporate tool,
the beautiful machine. One song that
is definitely about technology is “Raise
Up”, where they ask you to “tell me
why you would lock yourself inside this
room to coincide with a programmed
past-time” Kind of makes you think
about that friend, family member of
neighbor that is always in front of the
computer in the chat rooms and such.
Many of the songs on the Shallowpoint
CD seem like they could have more
than one meaning. A sure sign that the
band actually thought about what they
12 SLAM
were writing.
A Beautiful Machine
was recorded and produced by Jalipaz at Audio Confusion (www.audioconfusion.com). There
are a few spots where the
vocals seem to be a little
hollow, or the drums a little
to light in the mix, but over
all this is a well done CD.
The music sounds like a
cross between older Staind
and
Foo-fighters.
Mellow guitar and soft vocals
blending into heavy drums
and shouts.
www.shallowpointmusic.com
By Carl Jenkins
Big Fish Pub
1954 E. University Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85281
(480) 966-5010
6/3 H2O Ignite, Before Today, Underminded,
Can I say
6/4 Thousand Yard Stare, 32 Leaves, Girl Kicks
Boy, Living in Question, Best Interest, Broken
6/10 Amusement Parks of Fire, Army of Robots,
The Reflection
6/20 The Varukers, Phoenix City Muggers
6/28 Death By Stereo, At All Cost, Six Gun
Sweatheart, And The Hero Fails
6/30 Lower Class Brats, Clit 45, Phoenix City
Muggers, Bring Your Own Weapon
Chasers
8005 E Roosevelt St
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(480) 945-4985
6/17 Pathetic- Dysphoria- Infusion- Return to
Zero- Talk to Sheep
6/18 Cousins of the Wise, BLDG5, A Cry for
Help Ebomb, Signs of Betrayal
6/24 Ikonoklast, Mankind Is Obsolete, The
Cursed, Lylah
The Clubhouse
1320 East Broadway Road
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 968-3238
6/1 Cirq, Shades Of Silver, Mi Amor, Norf
6/2 Comeback Kid, Terror, Modern Life Is War,
Sinai Beach
6/4 The Hay Kid, And The Hero Fails, Mourning
Maxwell, For The Record, Haffo, Bluewall Audience, Kerosene Kids, Eyes Set to Kill
6/5 March Against Fear, National Product, Delux, Unread Lines
6/6 Burlap, Twisted Thorn, A Coming Tragedy
6/8
Embrace
Today,
Casey
Jones,
Blacklisted,Death Before Dishonor, deathstar,
Kids Like Us
6/10 Signal To Noise, History In The Making,
Mink Rebellion, The Cover Up, Trinket
6/11 Greeley Estates
6/14 Plane Mistaken for Stars, Bear Vrs Sark,
Bullet Train To Vegas, Last Priest, StereoTyperider
6/17
Cattle
Decapitation,
Landmine
Marathon,ETTS, Mercitron, Abishai
6/18
Eroticide,
Selfless,
element
A440,Ikonoklast, Hardwire
6/23 30 Seconds to Mars, Simplfy, Ember
Coast
6/25 Vehemence, Bleed The Sky, Autumns End,
Blue Collar Murder, Obskurity
6/29 Resist The Embrace, Lapse Of Irony, Hero’s For Ghosts
Modified
Jughead’s
The Sets
5110 E Mcdowell Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(602) 225-0307
6/4 Meat Department, Smoky Mountain Skullbusters, Pinky Tuscaderos White Knuckle Ass
Fuck, Reburn and the Skidmarks
6/6 Gruk, Fuck You Ups, My Doll
6/9 Rez of War, Crucio, Dick Hazzard
Metal Devastation 2
5429 N 16th st
Phoenix, AZ
602-277-5650
6/9 Anal Blast, Burn Victim, Adversary of Existance, Carrion
6/24 Frontline Attack, Chaotic Alliance, Unit 21,
The Lab Rats, The Abiotx
6/29 Fall of the Bastards, Graves at
Sea,Warfair?,Reverend Doom
The PHIX
1113 NW Grand Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85007
602-252-7449
6/1 Coughing Up Blood, Call the Cops, Endless Nightmare, I Am Columbine
6/9 Blues for Martyrs, Bleeding Kansas,
Loards
6/10 January Taxi, The Hanks
6/12 Calabrese. Day of the Sick, The Dietrichs,
Osmosis
6/15 Drowning Man, Life in Pictures, The Minor Times, Through The Eyes, The Number 12
Looks Like you, Light This City, Invocation of
Nehek, Jof for a Cowboy
6/17 Workshirt Wonder, Liquid
6/2 Awake and Alert, The Letter Press, Until August, and Rome is Ours, and Matthew Reveles.
6/11 Internal Bleeding, Bodies in the Gears of
the Appratus, Animosity, Blessing the Hogs,
Red Tear Memory, Landmine Marathon, Coughing up Blood
6/12 Dead On Broadway, Eggroll Willie
93 E. Southern ave.
480-829-1822
6/3 Auralast, Blind Seven, Fracture Point,
Twisted Thorn
6/10 Downplay, Split Lid, Cirq, Coalition, The
End
6/11 Lapse of Irony, Broken, Sourmind, Indofin
6/17 The Great Divorce, Fragile, Auralast, Dirty
Ruckus, Split Lid
6/18 Decents End, Cede, The Electras, Discolored Perception
6/24 The End, Almost Done
The Old Brickhouse
1 E. Jackson
6/11 Shallowpoint, Here Lies Treachery, The
Iris
6/20 Aesop Rock
6/23 Jackal & Hyde
Joe’s Grotto
13825 N. 32nd St
6/10 Sluggo
6/11 Origin, Hollow, Ebomb, The Same Page,
6/16 Sluggo
6/17 Ashes of Eden, Twin Falls, Minus Blindfold,
6/18 Sick Seconds, Split Lid, Evolocity, Twistdead Fable
6/23 Sluggo
6/24 32 Leaves, Arvins Garden, Resist the Embrace, Cede
6/25 Ghost of America, Nexus, Supersternal
Notch, Supathrive
6/26 Age of Reason, End of May, FKR, Greenhaven
6/30 Sluggo