519 Show with The View From Here

Hey guys, it's finally happened.

I've been pushing for us to play with good friends, The View From Here, and Aaron finally put it together.

The show is at JC's Ground Coffeehouse in Denver. Its a Christian backed coffee house, and its super nice. We played there once before as a 3-piece acoustic set, but we should be rockin everyone this time.

Anyway, we're currently recording some new material so we'll get to roadtest that stuff, and you'll also get to hear TVFH's new stuff, they're almost finished recorded they latest stuff.

so please come check it out, its gonna be a fun night at a cool venue. This is one of places that you should bring anyone you know.

Check our myspace page or TVFH's page for showtime info.

Chasing Victory show Recap

awful

First show I've ever walked out of during the set of the band i came to see.

Who records a hardcore sounding album and then plays the songs 2-3 bbm slower live? people weren't hardcore dancing in the crowd, they were swing dancing. I'm not lying. it was embarrassing.

i heard 5 songs and that was enough. no energy, just boring, and disappointing.

On top of that, Chasing Victory has a new cd coming out May 8th titled Chasing Victory describes the cd as STP-esque (as in Stone Temple Pilots). Who makes that album?

The last time i was let down by a band would have been...um...Straight Faced in 2000 after their final and terrible release Pulling Teeth.

SILVER LINING: I got to the show as doors opened knowing that Chasing Victory was playing early in the set. the first band Life In Your Way, were playing and they blew me away. solid hardcore with some great choruses and positive message. My friend Jeremy had just given me a cd with a bunch of bands on it and apparently Life In Your Way was on it, therefore, it was on my ipod. so that was cool. i got to check them out on the way home!

anyway, Chasing Victory, terrible,

Rise Against/Comeback Kid tour coming to Denver

And to the worst possible venue for a punk show....Red Rocks!

man, i almost cried when i read this last night.

It was bad enough to know that Comeback Kid had decided to jump on the tour with a band as big as Rise Against.

I was holding out hope, this originally was only a Canadian tour, so i figured they'd do a US tour late summer and headline.

wrong

Apparently Comeback Kid is losing their heads and now they're playing huge venues. What the hell are you going to do at Red Rocks? do they even have a place up front for people to stand? man, this is crappy.

Last year i saw Comeback Kid twice, once with Ignite and Sinking Ships at the Marquis Theater and again, at Cervantes Ballroom with Murphy's Law. They headlined the show with Ignite and it went off! Those venues are small and intimate so it was really intense.

Comeback is my favorite band, but i don't know if I'm gonna drop the cash to hang out with a bunch of sophomore girls chanting for Swing Life Away from Rise Against. in fact, I'm gonna "rise against" this show!

imagine this (Wake the Dead - CBK) at Red Rocks

Positive/Christian Hardcore specs

So I've been working on this project for a week or so and today i decided i wanted to look further into what these bands actually believe. Click on the band name for lyrics to their songs and discussions on the meanings. Click here to see the compilation song list and listen to the tracks.

UnderOATH - These guys hail from Florida, and they've set the Post Hardcore scene on fire. Very outspoken believers and almost always take a few moments in their live performances to thank God for their blessings.

Chasing Victory - a new band on the scene, Chasing Victory is on a label known to promote Christian bands, and there lyrics appear to be very well written and much more in-depth than they appear (see song Oceans Away).

Comeback Kid - CBK is a hardcore band with a defining positive message. Although not a "Christian Band", CBK has members from Figure Four who is an outspoken christian band. CBK's message is geared more towards unity, and fighting through hardship along with being aware of the battles around us.

Emery - Outspoken Christians in a band that fights the label of Christian Band.

Stretch Arm Strong - These punk rockers from the east coast have put out numerous records on christian label Tooth & Nail. Their songs preach their beliefs in the open and they continue to tour with some of the most proven hardcore bands out there.

Dead Poetic - Another Post-Hardcore band that doesn't hide their beliefs in the lyrics. DP are outspoken believers.

Thrice - Aapparently the lead singer,is a true believer, and he shows it in his lyrics but since the entire band isn't all christian, they refuse to let themselves be labelled a Christian Band.

Destroy the Runner - New metal/hardcore band that is on a label known to promote Christian bands.

Haste the Day - These guys have a unique sound, and are very outspoken about their beliefs in interviews and in concerts.

Means - Great new hardcore band with a blatant message off their debut album. These guys probably have the most powerful sound combined with lyrics that show the love of Christ.

No Innocent Victim -Their band acronym is NIV, and these veterans have been around forever. These guys got popular around the time P.O.D. came out, but their sound was too heavy for the mainstream.

The Showdown - New metal band with a christian twist, give it a shot, its fun.

Sights and Sounds (CBK side project)

Last night i found out that the lead singer of Comeback Kid, Andrew Neufield, has a side project called Sights and Sounds with his brother and some friends. The sound is more melodic, almost to a Post-Hardcore feel and so far, they've released a 6 song ep that I'm still trying to get ahold of.

Comeback Kid just released their third album, Broadcasting, in February. The album is the first with Andrew singing vocals after the unexpected departure of Scott Wade last summer. Andrew has experience as a lead vocalist though after being the front man for Figure Four.

Broadcasting is a great album, very heavy and tough sounding and great energy. You can really get the sense that the bands guitar work continues to improve with each album.

CBK is currently touring with This is Hell to everywhere but Denver, then will hook up with Rise Against to do a Canadian tour this summer.

Haste the Day - Pressure the Hinges 2007

So Haste the Day just released their 3rd album titled Pressure the Hinges, and man it rocks!!

I've slowly become a Haste fan, but its taken a lot of listening. These Christian rockers have a great mix of hardcore sound with screaming vocals and some melodic sing alongs, but this new record breaks the mold.

The first two albums, Burning Bridges '04 and When Everything Falls '05 were straightforward; one beat (fast), typical breakdowns, screamo singing with a sing along chorus. very predictable. good, but predictable.

Already on this new album, the first 2 actual tracks, Pressure the Hinges and Minor Prophets, they've changed speeds to a little slower rock beat, the screaming in much more quality sounding. It almost sounds like a new singer all together, wait, it is. Original singer, Jack Ryan got married in December and therefore quit the band. The new guy Stephen Keech is the former singer of New Day Awakening. I like both dudes, but this new is a good change of pace.

So far, the Oracle comes across as my first favorite song. Heavy breakdown early in the song and an actual guitar solo in the bridge. Also, this song is great to sing along with.

Servant Ties really sounds like the old Haste, chugga chug drum beat right off the bat and heavy singing. Great breakdown. The old schoolers should like this one.

In the end, this is 13 tracks of a new Haste the Day. i personally really like the new refined sound, great energy and positive lyrics. I hope everyone will give this record a chance, especially if you've listened to Haste the Day before and didn't like them. Lately a bands 3rd album has sucked (think Dead Poetic, Thrice, Underoath, Rise Against...) but these guys have put out what i will listen to the most.

Sick of it All Tribute CD

So I've been reading about this project, but it seems to finally finished, at least, it'll be released May 8th.

If you haven't checked out Sick of it All, they probably have the craziest live show. They've been around for what seems to be decades and they have more enjoy than a lot of these young bands. The most recent time we saw them play was last year with stretch Arm Strong and First Blood and it was amazing.

Anyway, i thought I'd give you a heads up on this CD, the track list looks awesome and they've got a few songs up on the myspace page.

1. Rise Against "Built To Last"
2. Unearth "Clobberin Time/What's Going On"
3. Hatebreed "Ratpack"
4. Madball "Give Respect"
5. Bleeding Through "The Truth"
6. Comeback Kid "Step Down"
7. Ignite "Cease Fire"
8. Bouncing Souls "Good Lookin' Out"
9. Pennywise "My Life"
10. Kill Your Idols "Friends Like You"
11. Sepultura "Scratch The Surface"
12. Himsa "Maladjusted"
13. Most Precious Blood "Alone"
14. First Blood "Just Look Around"
15. Stretch Arm Strong "Busted"
16. Walls Of Jericho "Us Vs. Them"
17. Suicide Machines "Goatless"
18. Bane "We Stand Alone"
19. No Redeeming Social Value "World Full Of Hate"
20. Napalm Death "Who Sets The Rules"

Positive Hardcore

I just uploaded a playlist to FIQL.com that includes songs from christian and/or positive hardcore bands. Some people really shy away from the Christian label on music, but trust me, this isn't DC Talk.

Anyway, don't be scared to check it out, you might already be listening to one of these bands and not even know that they're Christians. Most of these bands would fit into the category "Christian's in a Band" instead of actually Christian music.

Either way, i think the positive spin on hardcore is what separates this style of music from Buttrock. A lot of the stuff you hear on the radio is so depressing or negative and its great to listen to underoath or Comeback Kid sing songs about sticking together and the positive things in life.

so i hope you check it out

http://www.fiql.com/playlists/positivechristian_hardcore/

FIQL.com

So I'm really excited about this. I found this site, www.fiql.com where you can upload a text file of your homemade playlists (itunes, winamp, wmp...). This site apparently only works when I'm at work but i brought 2 text files in today, uploaded them and BAM, it worked.

So now you guys have to check it out. This way you all can stay up to date with me Converting Atheists Into Believers compilations that are designed to combing already amazing music with new stuff so that people will understand the greatness of the Hardcore scene.

anyway, check this out and tell me if it works. FIQL: Converting Atheists Into Believers v.5

Side note, www.BMerCO.com is very close to being launched, there you'll have this blog, my sports blog, Isaac's blog and many more all located at one place. so that will be a good day.

Bouncing Souls are comin' to town

So my homie Drew called me up yesterday to tell me that he heard on the radio that the Souls were coming, so i looked into it and it's true.



Friday, May 11 the Bouncing Souls will be playing at the Fillmore Auditorium with Single File, P.O.S. (which might be the weirdest/crappiest sounds I've ever heard) and Denver's own Love Me Destroyer.
So this appears to be the worst lineup possible for a Fillmore show, especially since tickets to the Fillmore are usually out the roof! Both POS (Piece of Sh!t) and Single File sound terrible. I like Love Me Destroyer, but not that much. So who knows, I'll probably skip this show if the ticket is more than $20.


As for now the only info i could find was on their homepage, www.bouncingsouls.com and on the Fillmore's homepage where you can buy tickets.



If you haven't listened to the Souls, they have been around forever and they're hilarious live. The first punk show i ever went was at the El Dorado Saloon with Mustard Plug, Bouncing Souls and the Pietasters. These guys hold a special place with me.



So check em out!

Good Riddance R.I.P.!!

So one of my alltime favorite punk bands called it quits today. Truly a loss to the punk scene as one of the last good skate/political old school punk bands is no more.

Good Riddance became big on Fat Wreck Chords just as i was really getting into punk back in high school, my old band Guiltripp even covered one of their songs...actually, we did quite a few of their songs.


I don't even know what to say, i really like these guys even though i don't truly stand in line with their strong political views, and their last few albums haven't really done much, but they had some classics like Ballads of the Revolution and Operation Phoenix.

If you have listened to any of my Converting Atheists Into Believers compilations you will be familiar with their songs, and if you don't know them, please check them out, they have a great sound, borderline pop-punk with an edge.

I think my best memory of this band was seeing them at Big Shots in Sacramento on the Fat Tour with No Use for a Name and Mad Caddies or something. Anyway, our whole crew was there and this dude pissed me off in the pit so i punched him. Well things got hecktic and the dude got kicked out. Russ was yelling at us to stop, and i was so short that no one saw me slink away unharmed. Good times!

Wish i could see them one more time

If you having withdrawls worse than me, Russ Rankin, lead singer, has another band Only Crime who has been touring a lot lately, and were on Warped Tour last year. Not quite Good Riddance, but close.

Thanks for the memories.

Shallow Man Down @ the Cricket 3/31/07

So last night i went and checked out my co-workers band, Shallow Man Down, and i have to say, it was an entertaining night.

First, we can start with the terrible. Terrible mix, terrible PA system, terrible looking crowd, terrible clothes, terrible tattoo's, terrible stage candor("can i say i have a woody onstage?"), terrible crowd dancing (yes, people actually danced), terrible bar prep (one bartender for a packed bar), terrible hair, terrible cliche's, just terrible.

But

the music wasn't all that bad. I went into this little show with a mindset that i was going to hear some pretty bad music, and i was surprised. Shallow Man Down is your typical jam band and thanks to a really good drummer and bass player, the music actually makes you want to nod your head. Since I'm pretty young its hard for me to find a group to compare the music to, just stereotypical jam music for your average 40 yr old dive bar patron.

Unfortunately the vocals were mixed into the background music so the sound was driven by the bass (note the "terrible mix"). Jake Scott, the guitarist, was a lot better than i anticipated, i wish his mix would have been louder and could have been helped by a rhythm guitarist because the keyboardist forgot to play keyboard.

Jake, Matt and Tim (guitar, bass and drums) are the obvious talent in the group. All three looked comfortable on stage and besides the cliche rugs and no shoes, were very fun to watch. David, the singer, apparently has a pretty good Creed-style voice though you couldn't really hear it and he lacked any range, and humor for that matter, and he needed a haircut, and he was reading his lyrics from a notebook...

As for Poppa Baca on bongo's / percussion, definitely didn't need this element of the group, but, it didn't take away either. The only element that didn't seem to fit in was the keyboard/tambourine player. He added nothing of music interest all while doing a fake Scottish accent and looking like a total fool.

All in all, the songs were good, predictable, but enjoyable. I would love to hear these guys in a better venue though i am partial to small, intimate places so maybe just another bar where the sound guy actually stays in the sound booth. For $5 i am glad i went, I'd see these guys again, especially since this was their first live show and there's no denying that the guys had some jitters.

Good job fellas.