Why Brisbane Rules : To The North & Quiet Steps

To The North myspace














Quiet Steps myspace

To The North and Quiet Steps are independent bands from Brisbane, Australia. Why 2 bands on one post? Well, they share a lot in common, hell they even share a bassist. They've been around since 2006(?) or maybe even earlier, don't quote me on this. During my stay in Brisbane for roughly about 3.5 years, To The North and Quiet Steps were the bands i get to see the most. They played shows pretty frequently and have played with probably almost every single other Brisbane bands as well as other national and international acts. I've seen them play with punk bands, hardcore bands, metal bands, indie bands, singer-songwriter, solo artists and anything in between as well as playing at different venues, clubs, houses and studios.

To The North plays jazzy-indie music (terrible description, but i've got nothing better) with a lot of tempo changes, clean and yet complicated guitar lines and semi-shouted vocals. If you're a fan of any Kinsella's bands, Hot Cross, Minus The Bear, This Town Need Guns or anything along those lines then you will probably enjoy them.

Quiet Steps plays a dynamic, at times sparse mid-tempo indie-punk (i know, i know) with screamed vocals. Their early stuff is more stripped down and focused while the newer songs that they've been playing seem to show more "progressive" ideas and directions. If you like Sinaloa, Suis La Lune, Tiny Hawks then this band is for you.

I won't say much more about their music because it won't do them any justice. One thing that equally as important as their music, in my opinion is their attitudes towards their music, arts, listeners, venues and the community. These things matter. These are the reasons why independent music is wonderful and for some people, more than just music. I learned about these things from Brisbane music scene, and mostly these two bands. To me they are not just friends, but also a source of inspirations.

Quiet Steps ep are still in print, so i won't post them. If you would like a copy, go contact the band on myspace since the Yellow Ghost online store page is all fucked up. Their new LP should be out really soon.

Here are some To The North goodies :

Landscapes EP
"Harms Way" (their side of split with Ohana)
Live Audio Set @ DIY Fest Ahimsa Hall (1-2-2008)
House Show video

Their new LP ...to Work and Not Feed is already out, fresh from the oven. If you like what you hear, please buy it.

Texas is The Reason/The Promise Ring split

Texas is The Reason myspace
Texas is The Reason website














The Promise Ring page on Jade Tree

Texas is The Reason (taken from a line of the Misfits song "Bullet") and The Promise Ring, both hailing from the states did a split in 1996, with each band supplying one song. The split, in my opinion contains some of the best materials both bands have written. When I first listened to the record, i noticed that TITR and The Promise Ring songs shared a lot similar qualities, sonically and musically which is funny since if it wasn't for the split i wouldn't have made any sort of connection between them.

Texas is The Reason were founded by the guitarist of a hardcore band, Shelter and drummer of another hardcore band from the mid 90's, 108. They existed from 1994 to 1997. The Promise Ring started off as a side project of guitarist/vocalist of Cap'n'Jazz in 1995 before turning into a serious band. They ended the band in 2002. Both bands did a few reunion shows in 00's ever since without any intention of reforming.

Texas is The Reason plays a brand of really catchy, personal mid-tempo punk rock and at the time it was fairly something new and fresh especially coming from a band on a hardcore label, Revelation. They got slapped with the tag "emo" and "post-hardcore" a lot (also goes for The Promise Ring and most of indie bands from the mid-west at the time) which i find to be about as useful and informative as twitter. I don't consider those mid-west bands as "emo" anyway. When i think of emo in the 90's, i think of Ebullition, Gravity and later, Level-Plane. It just makes more sense since emo is essentially hardcore punk and a lot of midwest bands seemed to embrace a more poppier, radio-friendly side of punk (this is not a bad thing, i assure you).

I personally find all Texas is The Reason materials to be gold, not that they have a huge discography to go through or anything. They released a 7" ep, a full-length and a few splits. As for The Promise Ring, well i haven't listened to them as much but from what i've heard it's okay. They're just a bit too poppy/upbeat for my taste and the vocals get a bit too much for me (same problem i have with Mineral). Their song on the split with Texas is The Reason "E. Texas Avenue" is a bit different than most of their stuff. It's hard-hitting and not as poppy which i like.


















Texas is The Reason/The Promise Ring split

Here's another treat :

Texas is The Reason live at Coney Island High (NYC) - 03/24/96

Converge post #2

Converge myspace

Okay, so it's obvious that i'm rather fond of this band. I always think of Converge as one of the more relevant hardcore bands out there. I mean there are a lot of other hardcore acts out there, but how many would you say have their own sound? How many of them can make you go "hmmm what bands could i compare them to? i'm not sure". Don't get me wrong, i'm all for bands paying tribute to old bands that have paved the way, but wouldn't you rather have a band that took influences from those bands to create something new, something original, exciting, unpredictable and relevant? Hell, most bands who cited Black Flag or Bad Brains as their influence don't sound remotely like them anyway.

Converge has been actively involved with the scene from the early 90's and hasn't slowed down since. Chucking out a handful of full-lengths and splits, they continued to reinvent themselves in terms of musical direction while still having a recognizable, distinctive sound. Their early albums such as Petitioning... and When Forever...display a lot of thrashy, chungky riffs while Jane Doe and You Fail Me has more of a "mathy", chaotic sound and atmospheric production, thanks to Kurt Ballou's Godcity Studio.

Axe To Fall, their new album is due to drop on October 20, 2009. So far, 2 new songs has been released. The first song is called "Dark Horse" and it honestly has left me feeling indifferent. The main riffs sounded like something Mastodon would've written and that to me, is not a good thing. Obviously its just one song and the rest of the album might not sound like that. Converge are currently touring across the states with Mastodon and Dethklok and i'm not sure what to make of it. I'm just not a big fan of those bands i suppose.

The second song, "Axe To Fall" however kicks so much ass that i felt like someone just ripped my soul out upon first time listening to it. The drumming is the highlight with it's d-beat influence driving the song at breakneck speed. Ballou's twiddly hammered-on riffs also really makes up the song, giving it a really chaotic crazy foot-stomping feel. So far, one good song and one okay song. I can't wait to hear the rest of the album.

You can listen to "Dark Horse" on their myspace. You can download the track "Axe To Fall" HERE.

Black Flag

I'm sure most of you know who Black Flag is. But for the purpose of being informative, here's a little background of the band. Black Flag was formed in 1976 in California. They were considered to be one of the first hardcore punk bands ever (yeah yeah The Middle Class was formed in 1976 as well, save the argument for next time). Greg Ginn, the founder, main song-writer and the guitarist of Black Flag set up his own independent label, SST Records in 1978 in purpose of releasing Black Flag's material. Since then SST has also released albums by other bands such as Husker Du, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, etc. Black Flag was one of the first punk bands who tour throughout the states and basically play anywhere they can. A lot of other bands later follow their path and play places that Black Flag had been to.

Black Flag to me, until this day remains as one of the best punk/hardcore bands ever. I've discovered a lot of great bands in recent years (Die Kreuzen, Articles Of Faith, Siege, Zero Boys, Rorschach are among my favorites).But the fact is Black Flag did it first and better. The thing that boggles my mind is how the band went through so many member changes and yet kept producing quality materials. I can safely say that i actually enjoy all Black Flag releases (yes, even Family Man, Loose nut and The Process of Weeding Out).

This post is about Black Flag bootlegged LP 1982 demos and more. This demo features a short-lived lineup of Rollins, Ginn, Dukowski, Dez Cadena on second guitar and Chuck Biscuits of D.O.A fame. It was recorded secretly back when Black Flag was having a legal dispute with MCA /Unicorn and wasn't allowed to release any record with their name on it. The band released a compilation record Everything Went Black shortly after, crediting the individual musicians and thus not having the words Black Flag anywhere on it. Unicorn found out and take Black Flag to the court resulting in Ginn and Dukowski as co-owners of SST spending five days in jail.

The first 10 tracks are songs that would end up on My War, Slip It In and Loose Nut except for "What Can You Believe" and "Yes, I Know" which did not appear in any official Black Flag releases until this day. The last 4 tracks are live songs taped at Radio Tokyo studio in Los Angeles. One of the tracks is a 8-minutes interview from the same session with the band whom at the time were Ginn, Rollins, Kira and Bill. Let me just say that regardless whether you're a fan of the band or not, this is the best Black Flag recording out there. The band is at it's prime here with Rollins really intense vocals performance and Ginn riffs destroying everything sonically (listen to the intro to "My War" on this, crazy shit).

Ps. Kira was/is gorgeous.

Black Flag 1982 Demos and more

Caitlyn Bailey

Caitlyn Bailey myspace

It's interesting to see what the internet has done to independent music all over the world. The internet has made everything easier (networking, promoting, acquiring music,etc) and perhaps even too easy as some people like to put it. And although i somewhat agree with the sentiment, to a certain degree, the fact is i was and am part of the internet generation. Without the internet, there's no way that a 17-year old Indonesian boy who didn't have a cool older brother who listen to The Misfits would have gone to the local record store and buy London Calling cd or found out who Converge was.

The internet has made the world smaller. Anyone can listen to music coming out from every corner of the world as they please . Over the years, i have found myself exposed to heaps and heaps of great bands from different parts of the world. It thrills me that South East Asian countries such as Malaysia , Singapore and Philippines all have a thriving regional DIY scene and actually produce interesting music. I met Francis (singer of Caitlyn Bailey) on some music forum/messageboard years ago. And funnily enough, i came across Caitlyn Bailey's myspace one day and recognized him.

Caitlyn Bailey is a 5-piece from Davao City, Philippines. Without any intention of restricting what sound the band is trying to achieve, it would be fair to say that they fall under hardcore music umbrella. Although not entirely original, Caitlyn Bailey took parts of different sub-genres of punk/hardcore and even metal to create something of their own. The music is akin to late-90's fast heavy screamo such as Neil Perry, Orchid, Pg 99 and even Union of Uranus or Shikari with heavy dose of driving riffs of late 90's/early 00's metalcore act such as Every Time I Die. The vocals are pretty similar to Pg 99 and maybe Converge. What sets them apart is their approach on the whole thing. No riffs are too metal, no breakdowns are too predictable or solos are too wanky for them. And this allows them to experiment with their sound and creates a lot of memorable moments on their ep, Fuego! (means Fire in Spanish). The song-writing is strong and all the songs flow quite well. Some of the lyrics are poetic and the others are more straight forward but they are pretty introspective in nature. It also needs to be mentioned that the recording for the ep is really good. Everything is crystal clear without being overproduced.

Enjoy












Fuego! (2008)

No one cares but.....

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been occupied with moving and stuff. I'm just a slack really. I left Brisbane and its wonderful music scenes =( a few days ago and came back home. I will start posting more entries soon and probably do few posts on australian bands and why they rule.

G'day

Show Review : Daniel Striped Tiger, Circuits, To The North, No Anchor (The Step Inn 7/5/2009)

Nothing gets me excited more than a show with a good line-up. Daniel Striped Tiger were playing 2 shows in Brisbane and i couldn't be more happier with the supporting bands since i considered them to be some of the best bands Brisbane has to offer at the moment (No Anchor and To The North on the 8th of May and Tear Gas and Quiet Steps on the 9th) . I got to the venue at about 9 o'clock, and to my surprise (and relief since the fliers says the door opens at 8) there were only a few people in there and no band has played yet.

Fifteen minutes after stepping my foot into the Step Inn, No Anchor was set to open the show. No Anchor is a 2 piece band - drums and bass/occasional shouts/vocals. I believe the drummer used to play in Look!Pond, another awesome band. To describe No Anchor sound would be quite a task. Just imagine a fuzzed out rock with Sabbath/Melvins riffs meets Boris stretched out into an affair of droning mess. Their set that night consisted of all songs from their new album Steam if I'm not mistaken, my memory is a bit fuzzy (pun intended). I managed to get my hand on a copy that night. The packaging is quite unique and cool, just like they did with their debut Fire Flood And Acid Mud. A lot of thoughts seemed to be put into the artwork to reflect the band's aesthetic and sound which is something i really admire.

No Anchor website
No Anchor myspace



To The North were up next. The venue was a bit more filled by the time they're about to play. For those who aren't familiar with the band, think of Kinsella's bands (especially Owls and Ghosts and Vodka) meets Hot Cross with some jazz tendencies and you're somewhat close. In my opinion, these guys mashed their influences pretty well and turned it into something refreshing and relatively new. With only an EP and a 7" split with Ohana in their back catalog under the span of 3 years, they have managed to sustained a small group but loyal following. Their set consisted of mostly new songs that they have been playing for a while now except for "We Are Not Ashamed "which can be found on Face First Compilation (www.myspace.com/facefirstcomps). Their new LP should be out in a few months.

To The North myspace
To The North blog



Up next is Circuits, from Melbourne who happened to be Daniel Striped Tiger national support for this tour. I had heard a few tracks on their myspace prior to the show and they didn't sound too bad. It turned out 3/4 of the band are also in Majorca with the chick who runs Yellow Ghost Records on vocals and ex-bassist of Quebec. Straight off the bat, they launched into song after song with very manic and enjoyable performance. The music itself has that thrashy screamo vibe to it with a lot of melodies and octaves. I could definitely hear parts that reminds me of His Hero Is Gone and more current bands like Ampere. Some parts are really cool, and some are just downright sloppy. It'd be interesting to see where they would go from here, after all they're still a young band.

Circuits myspace

Daniel Striped Tiger were the last band to play and it's no secret that i like their music a lot (see a few post below). They launched into their set with "Dawn Flared Into" off the Desert Bird EP and their set that night pretty much consisted of a few songs from each releases plus a new track, Was It? which will be on their upcoming split with Teenage Cool Kids from Texas. Singing along to "Untying Knot" is still the highlight of the night for me as it's probably my favorite Daniel Striped Tiger song. At the end of their set, the crowd asked them to play more songs. And they did!

Overall, it was a really good show although the turnout is somewhat disappointing. There were maybe about 40-50 people tops. It might have been because the show was on Thursday night. Whatever. They've missed out on a great show!

Daniel Striped Tiger myspace

Tear Gas

I've been listening to a lot of Japanese hardcore lately. And i gotta say, as a fellow Asian i have to give them massive props for making such ferocious music...................and Godzillas. One can't help but notice that Japanese hardcore has a fairly distinctive sound. It's usually fast, raw, thrashy and features (if any) guitar leads/solos not unlike a lot of 70's/80's rock/metal bands. They seemed to take a lot of influences from heavy/thrash metal, UK d-beat and glam/death rock (G.I.S.M?). Another thing i couldn't help but notice is the impressive chops that these guys have when it comes to their ability with music instruments. While it is normal for most American hardcore bands to change their sound or move onto something else after getting better at their instruments (see : Black Flag, Fugazi, Die Kreuzen, etc), Japanese tend to stick to hardcore while at the same time implementing a lot of advanced techniques and skills they can bring into the band, resulting in a more complex, modern, epic sound (Paintbox, Etae).

Why all the Japcore talk? well, this post is about a band called Tear Gas who very much play this style of hardcore with maybe a bit of Poison Idea thrown into the mix for good measure. The vocals delivery are gruffy, pretty similar to Bastards/Septic Deaths. Hailing from Brisbane, Australia these guys have been around for maybe about a year or two? I'm not too sure, but from the countless times i have seen them, they've managed to get good reactions and thus made a name for themselves in the local scene. They also have opened for bigger bands such as Extortion and Trash Talk (USA).

Tear Gas put out a demo tape sometime last year and all 200 of them have sold out. I believe there's also a 10" bootleg floating around somewhere? Don't quote me on that one. One of the members have put up their demo up for grab on a few local message boards, so I'm simply just passing it along. Unfortunately it's pretty hard to get more info on these guys since they are too punx for myspace kekeke. Anyway, enjoy the demo.













Tear Gas Demo (2008)

We Followed Tigers

We Followed Tigers myspace

I don't know much about these guys but their music ruled okay? I found out about them through some message board on the internet 3-4 years ago. They're a 3-piece from California and they, unfortunately were only around for a short period of time because they had to go separate ways for school and shit. They managed to put out 2 Eps, And Then We Were Killed (2003) and So Much For Summer (2004). I'm not sure if there were ever hard copies version of these releases. The band decided to put up their entire music on the internet for free.

And Then We Were Killed showcases We Followed Tigers ability playing a brand of instrumental modern rock that incorporates post-rock elements and mathy/modern-post hardcore stuff. Imagine a mix of early Thursday with Tera Melos, Explosions In The Sky melodies and a superb songwriting. It's no doubt that they are clearly a bunch of talented folks. They somehow managed to use a lot of qualities and dynamics that post rock bands tend to have and use it in a more straight forward rock approach with a good amount of technicalities and changes to keep things interesting. So Much For Summer is way more straight forward than ATWWK and the first two songs on it are probably the heaviest songs they have ever done. In my opinion, it's not nearly as good as ATWWK.

FYI, members of the band are currently involved in these 2 projects :
www.myspace.com/atmnl
www.myspace.com/wkndlfe

Below are links to both Eps and the only 2 videos of them existed on the internet showing they're practising songs in a garage.

P.S. The bass solo in "Ronnie Beck, Former Child Star" still gives me goosebumps every time i listen to it.


















And Then We Were Killed
So Much For Summer

WFT Jam

We Followed Tigers - Ronnie Beck

Daniel Striped Tiger

Daniel Striped Tiger myspace

Originality is something, if not the most important thing that i value in music (asides from being good, obviously). I have utmost respect for artists/bands that manage to take their influences, putting their own spin to it and keep pushing a genre forward. Punk music isn't generally known for it's originality. Punk was never about technicality or how well you can play your instruments. But strangely enough a lot of talented musicians was born out of playing this type of music. Bands like Minutemen, Husker Du, Fugazi, Rorschach, Indian Summer and Off Minor have proven time and time again that punk music doesn't always have to be one-dimensional and that it's possible to bring something new to the table.

Daniel Striped Tiger are one of those current bands that i believe are doing something exciting and different. The Desert Bird was an ep that they put out in 2004 and was my introduction to the band. One word that i use to describe the band would be "ambitious". The ep contains 4 tracks of angular and noisy post-hardcore with a lot of tricky rhythm sections and discordant melodies more than you can shake a stick at. The two guitars in the band proved to be effective as they keep cutting through the rhythm section with clever little leads and twangs. They somewhat reminds me of Wolves and Stop It! but with more grit.

Condition, released in 2005 is the band first LP and probably their most ambitious work to date. The LP showcases DST adventurous and progressive nature throughout the album. The sudden break in "Slalom" followed by a trumpet/sax solo (!), the post-rocky middle section of "Your Birthday (cake)", and DST use of dynamics in epic instrumental "The Untuned Piano In The Assembly Hall" are just few examples of how far this band has come from their previous efforts. And the best thing about it is all these changes are done effortlessly and doesn't sound forced. Capital Cities, their second LP follows similar sound with less emphasis on experimentation and better flow songs and songwriting.

Luckily for me Daniel Striped Tiger are touring Australia in May! I am so keen for those Brisbane shows. Since most of their releases are still available, i only put up Daniel Striped Tiger split with Sinaloa which i believe to be out of print. "Untying Knots" is probably one of the best songs they have ever done.















Download here

Converge

Converge website
Converge myspace

I remember when i first bought Jane Doe on cd in 2003. It was my first exposure to Converge's music and i remember hating it upon first listens. I hated it as much as i didn't "get" it. The chaotic music, the dog barking vocals, the odd time signatures were too much for me. However, just like most of my favorite albums, it grew on me. Big time. It ended up changing my view on what extreme music could possibly offer. Jane Doe still remains as one of my favorite albums until today.

Converge once described themselves as "hardcore kids with leftover Slayer riffs". And that gives you fairly an idea of what they sound like. Converge started in 1990, and their sound were greatly influenced by what was going on around that time. Nineties hardcore is known as an era when a lot of bands incorporates elements of metal into their sound. Besides being influenced by metal bands such as Slayer, Anthrax, Entombed and a lot of crossover bands (D.R.I, Suicidal Tendencies), Converge also taken cues from noisier bands such as Today Is The Day, Starkweather and who i believe to be their biggest influence, Rorschach.

Fast forward a few years, they have since released another two excellent studio records, You Fail Me (2004) and No Heroes (2006). They also put out Unloved and Weeded Out in 2003, which i believe is a compilation of demos and live tracks. It's about time they come out with a new album, which is pretty much the main point of this post because they just posted 2 videos of them playing a new song.

The first video is of them playing the new song in a studio. Its just intrumentals but my god it's good. The pull-off's riffs, the d-beat drumming, the crushing slow part at the end. What's not to like? The second video features a short interview with Nate (bass) and bits of them playing a recent show in Philly. It has parts of them playing "Plagues," "No Heroes" and of course the new song with vocals. I also put up my video of them playing "Concubine" in Brisbane 2 years ago just because.

CONVERGE New album out soon on Epitaph/Deathwish

Extortion

Extortion myspace

I came to Brisbane 3 years ago. Since then i have been going to local shows and enjoy finding new bands to listen to. I discovered that Australia has so much to offer when it comes to music. There a lot of good bands here. A lot. Sometimes you just have to dig beneath the surface to find the really good ones. Upon my journey, i managed to discover bands like Insurgents, Tear Gas, Hard Luck, Deaf Wish, Snake Run and heaps more. And last but not least, Extortion. I have had the pleasure of seeing them last year. And it was one of the funnest shows i've ever been to.

Extortion is a hardcore band from Perth. Extortion play a blazing fast hardcore, with start-stop riffing and occasionally slower groovy parts. I can hear the influences of 80's Boston bands like Negative FX, SSD, DYS as well as many fast/power violence bands such as Infest and Crossed Out. Perth is also responsible for Heist, another awesome band who plays this style of music.

This is Extortion's self-titled. This is their first release and it's also my favorite release from them. I believe it's out of print. It it isn't, someone let me know and i will gladly take the link down. Download this and have your mind blown.

Download here

Joe Lally

Joe Lally Dischord page
Joe Lally myspace
Joe Lally website

I'm not gonna lie. I wouldn't have bothered checking out Joe Lally's solo stuff if i didn't find out he was touring Australia. Being a Fugazi fan myself,I knew i would kick myself in the head if i missed the gig. I had missed The Evens when they came out here 2 or 3 years ago and i'm still bummed over that.

So i downloaded (gulp) his latest solo effort, Nothing is Underrated not knowing what to expect. I'm not really good at describing something but if i were to describe his music it would be a minimal, sparse, bass-driven alternative rock. Upon first listen, i was disappointed. The songs were nice, calm and well...safe for the most part. But they seem incomplete and goes nowhere. They didn't have the explosiveness that Fugazi has nor the unique quality that a lot of Dischord bands have.

After a couple of listens, the album started to become more interesting since i'm picking up things that i wasn't before. Guitars in "Scavenger Garden" is simply 3 minutes of ear-blistering walls of noise and feedback. "Pieces of String" is a quiet piece only utilizing Lally's simple bass as the backbone and organs at the end. It became clear to me that Nothing is Underrated is a really personal album. The lyrics are very much social-aware and poetic at the same time. Lally's sparse arrangements and somewhat monotone vocals delivery achieves what his songs intended to do. Nothing is Underrated is not an amazing or groundbreaking in any way but Lally's attempt at individuality and honesty is simply admirable and enjoyable.

Here's a video of Joe Lally performing Scavenger Garden at the Step Inn, Brisbane that i recorded and uploaded myself.

Apparently on this Australian tour, Lally is accompanied by 2/4th (A drummer and a guitarist) of a Sydney band called Gallucci who i ashamedly had never heard of before this tour. They were great musicians when i saw them playing with Lally in Brisbane so i will definitely check them out soon.

Also, at one point during his last song, Lally put his bass down and proceed to sit on the floor right in front of me (I sat about 4-5 feet away from the band) while the rest of the band kept playing. Cool.

Hey!

Just like everyone else i'm doing this blog as a mean to post my thoughts, opinions, rants, comments, reviews, and everything in between about things that interest me. Music. Shows. Records. Whatever. Hopefully i'll get a kick out of doing this. I just have nothing better to do with my time. Internet rules everything.