The Power of the Riff Heads East

After three years of hammering away at the West Coast, Southern Lord's The Power of the Riff Festival is making its East Coast debut at Brooklyn's Warsaw this weekend (September 1 & 2). Much like the kind of finely-curated roster we've come to expect from a label that specializes in all things downtuned and acerbic, the fest will feature some of the heaviest acts around today. And since it's New York—plenty of local flavor.

Headlining the two-day event will be Pentagram (set to perform their '80s-era hidden gem, Relentless in its entirety), local legends Agnostic Front—who'll be running through Victim in Pain and United Blood, Negative Approach, Sunn0))), Winter, Repulsion and Double Negative. And though Poison Idea were forced to drop off for medical reasons, MA's Hoax have stepped in to replace them.

Rounding out the bill are buzzed-about up-and-coming bands Xibalba, Coffinworm, Power Trip and a slew of others. It should be interesting to see how the juxtaposition of doom-heavy headliners and hardcore legends balances out, along with the turnout for Pentagram, who are currently basking in the attention of their new well-received documentary, Last Days Here.

For tickets and merch options, check out thepoweroftheriff.com. See you there.

Big in the UK

So this happened.

Last Thursday morning, I got a call from a coworker asking if I'd be willing to discuss Baroness' near-fatal bus accident near Avon, England with BBC News, who were looking for an American journalist to contextualize the band and expound on the Yanks currently recuperating in their local hospital after surviving a 30-foot swan dive off of a viaduct during a rainstorm.

"Sure, as long as they don't expect me to be on camera."

They asked for me to appear on camera. I had a little under an hour to sum up my thoughts before heading up to the BBC's midtown studio for a whirlwind taping. I was mic'd up, given an earpiece and seated in front of a green screen with three giant lights shining at me. It was pretty trippy seeing myself in the monitor; glad I washed my hair that morning.

Watching the segment, especially the shot of the reporter from below that panned out to display just how tremendous of a tumble Baroness' bus took, it's truly a miracle they and their crew survived. Let's hope the band and all involved heal quickly and get back to their families and music as soon as possible.

With that, below is my international television interview debut. Please be kind as I'm not used to being on that side of the camera.

#freerandyblythe

These Are a Few of My Favorite Memes: Rev 25 Edition

One of the worst kept secrets in music circles has been the planning of the East Coast series of concerts celebrating Revelation Records' 25th anniversary. So although the dates, October 11-14, have been in my calendar for months now, the official announcement from the label was made this week. And while speculation about which artists could logistically appear has had many a hardcore kid abuzz, a few new graphics posted on Rev's Facebook page have hinted at Chain of Strength, Texas is the Reason and my beloved Into Another.

But this is a meme culture, so some creative people decided to make up their own. See if you can spot the fakes. And let's get some info about the on-sale date, please.

Turbonegro's New Video

Last year, I was lucky enough to catch Turbonegro's American debut performance with new vocalist, The Duke of Nothing (aka: Tony Sylvester). And while the broad Brit turned out a consistent set of hits that won over the demanding crowd, it was clear that emulating Hank Von Helvete's flamboyant over-the-top ways was not part of his M.O.

Are the infamous Finns heading into a more "straight" mainstream direction? Check out the video for their new single, "You Give Me Worms," and share your thoughts.

Oh Hey, It's Been Awhile

In fact, it's been so long that Blogger has changed its dashboard layout in my time off from posting. It's been increasingly difficult trying to make time to consistently write when the inspiration just isn't there. And nothing in music has been really inspirational as of late. Unless you count the Afghan Whigs reunion show, which was fantastic - and I still can't believe I was lucky enough to experience it.

What has been going on?

This!

Z100.com won the 2012 Online Presence of the Year Award at the Worldwide Radio Summit

And this...

Read the whole thing HERE and many thanks to Natalie Zina Walschots for including me.

Finally, there was this. Granted, it's been a minute, but some other folks don't take things seriously until they're "Facebook official."

I'll try to do better about posting more often - and in fact, have some stuff lined up for Doro Pesch and Lita Ford (what year is this, again?) - plus others. No more long-term disappearing acts, I promise. ::fingers crossed::

Shut Up & Listen To... Into Another

Richie Birkenhead's voice is polarizing. Either you love the Underdog/Into Another frontman's falsetto or you find it torturous and grating (like a certain prick I know). Personally, I adore Into Another. They were emo before emo existed — in those days, they were frequently referred to as "post-hardcore" — and they were truly difficult to pigeonhole; managing to gel the members' various interests into a cohesive, eclectic sound. There was Drew Thomas as the mod drummer, the late Tony Bono was their bass player with a metal past, guitarist Peter Moses who added a psychedelic tinge and some of the prettiest tones ever heard, and, of course, Birkenhead brought the vegan hotness.

Though completely different from one another upon sight, the foursome made it work by creating music that reflected their personalities but defied all boundaries and categories. After three official albums (plus the record only released in Germany) and a handful of EPs, Into Another succumb to the curse of Hollywood Records and split up. And to date, they remain the only band whose logo I'd readily tattoo on my body—if only because they wrote my favorite song of all time ("Two Snowflakes").

Recently, it was announced that Into Another would be performing at one of the Revelation Records anniversary shows in California, with murmurs that they'd be adding an East Coast date to the mix. Good? Sure. But rumors that Moses will not be joining them dampens things as his guitar sound is so unique.

Love 'em or hate em? Can't know unless you try. Shut up and listen to Into Another.