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Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Boats * The Enlows * The Wrong Ones * Cop Warmth
Boats - (Sacramento, CA) Boats! are taking sail and making waves with their catchy power pop punk sound and steady time on the road. Matt Leonardo (vocals/guitar), David Hayden (bass), and Jeff Melendez (drums) play punk that has influences of everything from 70s bands like Buzzcocks to more current bands like The Briefs. Boats! keep it short, simple and snappy with most songs clocking in at around two minutes.
Boats! have toured relentlessly since their first show in August 2007. They played nearly 100 shows in 2008 alone. The band’s strong work ethic seems to be paying off this year with a 2009 SAMMIE nomination for "Outsanding Punk/Hardcore Band" and an upcoming release on No Front Teeth Records/May Cause Dizziness. The band hopes to release their 10 inch album in June.
I caught Boats! live in action at R5 Records on Saturday, May 2. Although Saturday’s lineup centered on Pansy Division singer Jon Ginoli’s book read and acoustic set, Boats! held their own following Ginoli’s performance.
As Boats! sailed through their set, the band’s popularity was plain to see as fans shouted out song requests and sang along to songs like “Motorcycle Weekend,” “Heart of Gold,” and “My Mother was Right.” (My mother was right/I shoulda stayed with you/Well now my boat has gone to sea/I wish you still want to be with me.)
As I watched the bassist dance around the stage, I was reminded of Green Day’s bassist Mike Dirnt in both sound and movement. Also similar to Green Day are Leonardo's vocals, which sometimes mimic a bad (but good for singing) British accent. Still, Boats! are no Green Day copycats. They have been influenced by the greats in power pop/pop punk and have created a sound and image that is best described in one word simple, punctuated word: Boats! - Sacramento Music Examiner
The Enlows - (Sacramento, CA) The Enlows started playing music in the greater Sacramento area in the year of 1999. The original line up included the brothers Ry S. on bass, Steele S. (of Mallrats fame) on guitar, and their good friend Keith D. (of Three Weeks Yesterday) on drums. When Keith left the band in 2000, the brothers were joined by Ryan G. on bass, whilst Ry took a shot at drums.
After a couple shows, Steele and Ry switched instruments and recorded 2 singles - "Nitwit" and "Think of Your Happiest Thoughts." The band also produced a few home recorded cassette tapes (their self titled “The Enlows”, “Psycho Over You” and unofficial "The Morning After Tape") which were released to a limited audience. Upon starting to record their "first" digital album at Sacramento's The Hangar, Steele decided to pursue other interests (The Mallrats), but not before completing 21 frantic songs in one day...only a few of which were ever released.
After Steele's exit, Chris "Gabba" S. (of The Failures) joined the group. Although originally sought as a second guitarist, he decided to take on the drums as both a challenge and out of necessity. This would become known as their classic line-up. They played a lot of shows around the Sacramento and San Francisco area and released a limited quantity of CDs entitled "The Morning After Tape." But in 2002, just after acquiring a second guitarist (Jeff Melendez of Milhouse, Boats!), the band regretfully called it quits, though it would prove to not be the end.
In 2004, the classic line up began working on some new material, recorded a couple tracks, and played one reunion show before going on an unofficial hiatus for 2005, during which, Ryan focused on his work in the local band Deimos whilst Chris and Ry collaborated in a band called Middlesex with Chris H. (Three Weeks Yesterday), and later Ramiro G. (Alarms).
After Ry left Middlesex in 2006, he and Ryan began working on new material for a tentatively titled band called "The Return of The," a nod to their old band name. Within a year, Chris joined them in their project and they decided to ditch "The Return of The" moniker and return to the music scene under their former title, The Enlows. By the summer of 2007, they began recording a new EP and by Autumn played a really fun house party Halloween show as Alvin and the Chipmunks (check it out on YouTube). In 2008, they released their new ep titled "Reboot".
The Enlows are currently working on a full length album of new material and will be posting some demos, out takes, and b-sides on this page sometime in the very near future. They hope to have the album done by early next year.The Wrong Ones - (Houston, TX) It must have been a few years now ,or perhaps only cooler months. the ones that are most grey, and skin goes pale . when you sit in your car with the doors locked in mid afternoon ,and watch people shop. you sit there chainsmoking with the window slightly cracked ,or looking at stack barely legal mags bestowed to you from your store manger. just thinking about all the anti-social behavior. for this is the time in between storms where the ties to the past friends have washed . then all of sudden as you lie in your bed at night the fit is pouring and the protells open swinging out for your blood the fever gets worse the devils take there turns raping your mind pulling all directions through the vortex like an indian bruial ground or a pet cematary and sprits whispering tv fuzz in the ears then your personailty breaks gets stolen hijacked ransomed for sins pay the bill or break your legs or it just dies because its so fucking bored of its self so here we out for your hearts and innocence to feed off we are writing you love songs and killing ourself only for your affection
BECAUSE LATE that night the sweet little devils talked me out of my heart while i was half asleep they put it in a plastic bag and off they ran to get a bite to eat to the bakery" make me a pie of hearts mincemeat" it certantly was an odd request but the baker was broke, despretly straped for cash she had never prepare one before but said she would try his very best those devils snarled and shouted , "you' d better tomorrows our sister brithday and thats her favorite dish the baker ran to the back and started mixing ingerdents she stuck her finger in the bowl for a quick taste test then smiled with xzooberents it was not bad as a matter a fact it was the best food she'd ever had surly she could get out of debt with this and maybe even become a famous chef so she finshed the pie and traded it to the little devils for my heart or at least what was left.
5 derranged people came together to make in your face sleeze-ball rock and roll music.
Cop Warmth - (Houston, TX) Cop Warmth is one of those bands that has a distinct live and on-record experience. Their live shows are ridiculously sloppy affairs, where descriptions that would encompass ‘masterful and crystal clear live sound’ would occur just as infrequently as ‘wore matching uniforms’ or ‘kept pants on for entirety of performance.’ So fuzzingly energetic are their shows, however, that it's hard not to get carried away in their cranky and catchy tide of hidden-in-the-backpack Natural Light fueled hardcore. But it’s totally doublemint if one actually knows the songs, which is why we’re so chelada on both their first CDr giveaway, and the new Centaur Cop Top ep.
Picking the nose of the same pleasure synapse as the early recordings of another whips set of local prunks from beyond the beltway, these John Sears-produced tracks tap into the final stiffie and oxy shared life experience that we all pretty much have in our list of mental scars – high school. That the (typically) bonks and dumbs lyrics of opener 'Ankstiyeti' (Angsty Yeti?) are as appealing to those way past the 10 year reunion as they are to kids still needing to remember to turn to the left, past zero, to the second number says something about those of us who might not have picked a duet by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes as their senior class song. Observe:
I HATE KIDS! DON’T STOP PLEASE STOP DON’T STOP LOOKING AT ME! HIGH SCHOOL HALLS! YOU’RE TOO PACKED! HIGH SCHOOL HALLS! FILLED WITH RATS!
Remember that? Or how about the lyrical entirety of 'Dancing is My Bad,' which we are going to assume is a succinct and brilliant incitement of the Coke-n Apparel explosion that’s taken the city by hold as of late:
DANCE CRAZE(?)! NEW WAVE! GOLD CHAINS! HEADACHES!
You see, without Centaur Cop Top, you wouldn’t get this. It would just be slamming around to whatever the hell they were singing and wondering if that was actually how things were supposed to sound. Think of it as a tourist brochure to the real experience – a narration to the rawness of the live experience, and a reminder that the primacy and takes-you-back of the experience is multifaceted. Though the recent departure of original bassist Nate (FTDHD) might change lord knows what about them, we remain pretty assured with this recording that Cop Warmth isn’t just a cute band that people like cause they are so young. If they stick it out, and we hope they do, we’re pretty stoked about the one-minute acts of vinegar snakes pissing pepper sauce that they come up with next. Recommended. – Skyline Network
Last Update Sunday 18 July, 2010
