Riot Radio

Armed Forces Radio, Riot Radio, Joe Q. Citizen, Killdevil

Distillery, Sacramento
Friday, June 17, 2011
Words & Photos Jenn Walker

“I thought punk was dead,” someone recently said to me during a conversation about music. It’s a tiresome, ongoing debate that gets people way too worked up, and this writer has no desire to engage in it. However, for someone who hasn’t seen too many punk shows lately, the Distillery’s primarily punk lineup on June 17 led me to believe that punk music, regardless of style, is alive and well. The lineup included four bands (three of which were local): Killdevil, Joe Q. Citizen, Riot Radio and Armed Forces Radio.

Killdevil

The night started off with alternative indie rock trio Killdevil, which didn’t quite fit the punk ticket, but delivered several energetic songs nonetheless. Songs like “Last Reptile” featured a signature indie rock sound, delivering distortion-packed guitar riffs as vocalist Alex Dorame wailed into the mic over the humming bass. Brothers Art and Alex Dorame have been playing as Killdevil for four years now, with Art on guitar and Alex on bass. The two praised their new drummer between songs for playing his first show with them live.

Next was Joe Q. Citizen, four guys hailing from San Jose, Calif. If a punk band can be classified as suave, these guys were proof. Their choice of gear was minimalistic, with only one pedal in sight. They didn’t need more. They commanded the stage with short, fluid pop-punk songs like “Dumb in Love” and “Diggin Out,” making their job look effortless. Guitarists Dover One and Shawn Packer strummed out swift chords over Julian Ostrow’s—whose shirt was off by the second song—fleet-footed drum tempo. “Whiskey in My Panties” was another favorite, garnering audience catcalls.

Four-piece band Riot Radio followed, the only band boasting female members that night. They are a newer band on the local music scene, and their sound fits somewhere in the midst of garage and hardcore punk. Vocalist/bassist Kat was full of piss and vinegar—who knew the petite, feathery-haired redhead could release such a powerfully raw, growling voice? It’s not easy to come by in a female vocalist. The band’s fierce drummer Maggie crashed away at the drums with gusto while Kat and guitarist Jeff exchanged nonstop shrieking call-and-response vocals, not a single word of which could be understood. Song after two-minute raging song should have left ears bleeding by the end of their set.

By the time Armed Forces Radio took the low-lit stage after midnight, the audience had thinned down to lone beer-carrying stragglers. The first song was introduced with the bassist drumming a beer bottle against his strings, leading into the song “Manifest Destiny.” Their songs had a punk/ska flavor and the Clash influence was unmistakable. More people magically appeared, gathering around the stage to watch as vocalist/rhythm guitarist Albert crooned anti-war songs like “Compassion of a Bullet” with the same raspy lisp as Joe Strummer. With beers in hand the crowd broke into a peaceful, short-lived mosh pit during “Ghosts of Babylon.” It was the most animated the audience had been the whole night. As the last song drew to an end, Albert was drenched, sweat and spit dripping down his chin.

What caught me by surprise was the fact he used a Taurus Polytone practice amp not much larger than a microwave to play the set, which he had positioned on top of a chair. Submerge caught up with him afterward to ask about it. The amp he usually plays with was in the shop, he said.

“Punk rock taught us to make do with what you have,” he said.

If that’s not a sign that punk is alive and kicking, I am not sure what is.

Post from: Submerge Magazine

Words by Blake Gillespie • Photos by Josselin Basaldu

Bows & Arrows secondhand hipster apparel boutique is not known for its live entertainment, but the dozen or so hip enough to be in the know got a brief, but aurally excitable performance from Placerville’s Pregnant Dec. 3.

Formerly grid kids, Pregnant moved out to the sticks, possibly to their greatest benefit. Their album, Liquidation on Swans, is a complicated experience. Bountiful in picturesque collages, the record will rack your brain in wonderment as to where Daniel Trudeau found these sultry sounds—which is why seeing Pregnant perform is such an enlightening delight.

The Bows & Arrows atmosphere complemented Trudeau and his guitar-strumming assistant, Michael Saalman. The lights were turned off except in the small floor space, cleared for their instruments. The band played in the lighting of kitschy lamps for sale, while onlookers sat on the floor, giving these living room scientists a fitting workspace to kneel among their array of pedals and build each song from scratch.

The joy of watching Pregnant comes precisely from that. Saalman noodled at his guitar endlessly, while Trudeau methodically looped each piece of his instrumentation into the fold. Trudeau beatboxed, pitch shifted his voice into kooky layers and strummed a wooden lizard to complete the steps of “Do That.” He created bass from rhythmically breathing heavily into the microphone, tweaked a kazoo into a swarm-of-bees buzz, and skronked on a saxophone, proving his talents beyond the junkyard noise. The scatter of percussion tools on the floor and the effects pedals were all utilized to steadily bring each song to fruition. The sound was reminiscent of Brooklyn-based noise bands like Say No! To Architecture, GDFX and Zs. However, Pregnant is inherently California freak folk. Those Brooklyn kids are all harsh noise from buzz saw reverb and nose bleeds, while Pregnant is countrified and tender. Birds chirp, wind chimes made of bones jingle and the warmth is candid.

There’s nothing to fear in a Pregnant record and that kindness is present in their performance. The duo never acknowledged the audience, far too engulfed in their process, but once they finished, they thanked us, awkwardly bowed, locked hands and dry humped a lamp.

Pregnant plays traditional venues, but if you have the chance, see them in a living room, a boutique or a basement. Make sure there’s carpet and a place to kneel. It’s best to be as comfortable as the musicians, which means removing your shoes and letting those toes wiggle a little.

Post from: Submerge Magazine