Ghettoblaster Magazine

Stomping Grounds: The Hussy (Madison, Wisconsin)

timothy.anderl — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:07:16 +0000

The Hussy (Photo by Karen Gauger)

Some bands are heady and cerebral, expecting audiences to stand thoughtfully with arms crossed quietly enjoying their music. Others deliver bash-em-up-spit-em-out garage rock trash for listeners with short attention spans and inducing crowd-surfing, beer spilling and pogo dancing. Madison, Wisconsin’s The Hussy, a male/female duo, have been cranking out infectious two-minute blasts of shrieking, spastic guitar, and rhythmic punches since 2008. The March 20 release of their sophomore LP, Weed Seizure, via Tic Tac Totally records follows a highly successful debut (Cement Tomb Mind Control in May 2011), which sold-out in under a year. The latest album delivers the crude force of bands like The Oblivians, while retaining pop centrism of artists like Ty Segall Jay Reatard. Ghettoblaster recently caught up with Bob Hussy to talk to him about life in Madcity.

1. What’s your town’s nickname?
Madcity, Madtown, Ten Square Miles Surrounded By Reality (FOR REAL PEOPLE CALL IT THIS).

2. What’s your nickname for your town?
Home.

3. Why do you live there?
Because it’s home. Because Heather lives here. Because my best friends live here. I love the food/culture, and I love Madison as a city. It’s safe and clean and nice. The music scene isn’t as exciting as Milwaukee, but we get enough good shows to keep ourselves occupied. We spend so much time playing shows outside of town that we’re not even in Madison that much on weekends anymore.

4. Did you grow up there? If not, what brought you there?
I grew up about an hour and a half from Madison in a small town called Plymouth. I moved to Madison for college at UW Madison. I’ve been here ever since. After I graduated I moved out to the Bay Area for close to a year before coming back.

5. What’s the weirdest thing that has ever happened to you there?
Lots of things. Weird shows at the Corral Room. Fun shows at Mickeys. Halloween in Madison is nuts. It used to be worse when I was in college, they would riot and the cops would use tear gas to get rid of the crowds smashing shit. Mostly weird shit happens out-of-town when we’re on tour.

6. What is your favorite local attraction (monument, park, etc)?
Vilas Zoo is pretty great. It’s like one of the nicest free zoos you will ever go to. I like to hang out anywhere on Williamson St. (Willy St.). Lots of great things to see downtown too.

7. What is your favorite local event or festival?
Chopperfest. Our bud in the Midwest Beat, Chop, is in like a ton of bands and he always throws a fest with the Hussy on it during the fall. This will be the 5th year! I’m very excited! He has like three of his bands play the fest and then two others. It’s always a fun time! Always one of my favorite shows of the year.

8. What is the best time of year to be there?
The summer! Winter is brutal in Wisconsin, but it also gives you an appreciation for the summer (which is really beautiful in Wisconsin as well). I miss having sun all the time out in California, but there’s something really special about all four seasons. It really makes you appreciate the Earth or something hippie like that. Haha.

9. Who is your favorite local celebrity?
Tom Laskin from this awesome Madison band Appliances SFB (80s-90s band) I don’t think he lives here anymore. He used to write for the local paper and was a great journalist, but for some reason got pushed out. Goofy. I miss his writing. I never saw the band, but the records are great and he’s a nice guy. So yeah, Tom.

10. Where is the best place to drink and what’s their specialty or happy hour?
Mickey’s Tavern no matter what. Mickey’s is THEE best bar in Madison. It’s where we throw shows all the time! The shows are always free so that’s their specialty. They have great Old Fashioneds and great Long Islands. And great food.

11. Who has the best jukebox (and what’s in it)?
See above. Mickey’s has the best juke! Velvet Underground, Reed, Stooges, Replacements, Killdozer, Local shit, etc. Great stuff!

12. Where is your favorite place to play?
Mickey’s Tavern again. Haha. I could talk about it for hours. That or the Frequency are fun to play. It seems like venues switch around and shit about every five years, but Mickey’s has been going strong for a long time now and I hope to keep it like that. Heather and I really love to play at Mickey’s the most in town. It just feels like home.

13. Does where you live influence your music?
To some extent sure. Sometimes we have a humor about our city (“Social Critique of Madison”), and sometimes just being in Madison makes me feel creative and alive. It’s definitely a part of this band. We definitely identify ourselves as a Madison band.

14. What is your favorite place to see live music and what was your favorite show there?
High Noon is great for really good bigger indie shows like Ty Segall and the Black Lips, both of which were excellent. I’ve seen a bunch of bands slay there. But if I wanna see some gritty punk band that’s not on a big label I go to Mickey’s. And that’s mostly the types of shows I wanna catch.

15. What is your favorite local band?
The Midwest Beat. Dead Luke. Lonesome Savages. There are a slew more from Milwaukee. But those are the Madison ones I love.

16. What is your favorite diner or restaurant and what is their best dish?
Ha Long Bay – AMAZING Mango Curry
The Torta at Taqueria Guadalajara is pretty great
Smoky Johns BBQ has great pulled pork

17. What is your favorite record store and what was your best find there?
Madcity Music Xchange! I work there! It’s the best store in town! I’ve found too many countless great records. Recent great scores: First press of the Ramones’ first LP, Fear’s The Record, The Fugs second LP first press, a lot of punk/garage stuff.

18. What is your favorite local publication (alternative weekly, zine, website or blog)?
The Onion. The national Onion was started here when two kids graduated from UW Madison. Now it’s huge all over. So good for them! But yeah they have the best record reviews and best show picks, so it’s definitely the best paper in town.

19. What is your favorite local shop?
Good Style Shop rules. Great people run it and they’re really vital to the music scene. They get a lot of people excited about shows and the current owner, Peter is a great dude! The previous owners (Indra and Aaron of Peaking Lights), were great as well but they ended up moving back out to California so Peter took over the shop full time now.

20. If you could live anywhere else, where would that be?
Back in San Francisco or Nashville. Both places are amazing, but I’m not sure I could handle the heat in Nashville.

(The Hussy’s West Coast Tour Dates for the band’s second LP, Weed Seizure, have been announced and begin later this month:

5.18 – Madison, WI @ Mickey’s Tavern w/ Street Smells, German Art Students

5.23 – Minneapolis, MN @ The 108 (108 Arion St. W) w/ Ex-Nuns

5.24 – Minot, ND @ Pangea House

5.25 – Missoula, MT @ The Palace w/ BLACK BANANAS (Ex-Royal Trux), The Shahs

5.26 – Seattle, WA @ The Rendezvous w/ The Pharmacy, Night Beats

5.27 – Tacoma, WA @ The New Frontier w/ Night Beats

5.28 – Olympia, WA @ Le Voyeur w/ Hotegaia

5.29 – Portland, OR @ The East End w/ Stay Calm, Free Weed

5.30 – San Francisco, CA @ The Hemlock Tavern w/ Sir Lord Von Raven (Greg Ashely of Gris Gris, and members of Wrong Words and Time Flys)

5.31 – Oakland, CA @ White Horse Bar for 1234 Go! Records Fest Day 5 w/ Uzi Rash, CCR Headcleaner, Twin Steps, White Fang

6.1 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Redwood Bar w/ The Shrills, Magic Trash

6.2 – Tempe, AZ @ Meat Market Garment Factory w/ A Ryan Wong (Ex Reatards, Destruction Unit, ETC) band!

6.3 – Las Cruces, NM @ Backyard BBQ 1335 Evans Drive

6.4 – Austin, TX @ 29th St. Ballroom

6.5 – Fort Worth, TX @ 1919 Hemphill w/ Hunger Artists, Ralpheene

6.6 – Dallas, TX @ TBA

6.7 – Memphis, TN @ The Buccaneer w/ Burning Sands, The Vignettes, Modern Convenience

6.8 – Nashville, TN @ The End w/ Useless Eaters, Western Meds

6.9 – Carbondale, IL @ The Lost Cross w/ The Hakks, These Magnificent Tapeworms

6.29 – Madison, WI @ Mickey’s Tavern w/ Outer Spacist, The Vignettes

6.30 – Iowa City, IA @ Gabe’s for Firecracker 500 Festival!

7.12 – Milwaukee, WI @ Quarters w/ The Man

7.13 – Chicago, IL @ The Burlington w/ The Man

7.14 – Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class for WONDERFUL FEST – w/ KING TUFF, USELESS EATERS, HEAVY TIMES, CAVE TEENS

7.15 – Fort Wayne, IN @ The Brass Rail w/ The Slow Pokes, No Bails)

Seven More Ohio Bands You Should Really Listen To Now

timothy.anderl — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:54:33 +0000

Paste Magazine posted this — http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2012/04/10-ohio-bands-you-should-listen-to-now.html — which I happened across this week. In addition to completely excluding Ghettoblaster’s homebase (Dayton), which I think sucks, there is a band or ten they overlooked. So here is the first installment of Ghettoblaster’s “Seven More Ohio Bands You Should Really Listen To Now.”

Hyrrokkin: This post rock leaning avant-jazz band has huge chops. http://www.facebook.com/hyrrokkinband
Feathered Serpent: Tons of attitude and a skull-rattling Am Rep-inspired sound.
http://www.reverbnation.com/featheredserpent3000
Footbinder: Pulverizing math- and noise-rock inspired sonic experimentation.
http://www.footbinder.bandcamp.com
Neon Warship: Arena-ready stoner metal from the states finest heavy songwriters.
http://www.youtube.com/user/NeonWarship?feature=mhee&fb_source=message
Struck By Lightning: Destroys shit!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Struck-by-Lightning/213670235570?ref=ts
Mixtapes: Adorable, poppy and heartfelt punk rock.
http://www.facebook.com/MixtapesOhio
Worship This!: Hardcore-inspired punk from the heart of the Midwest.
http://www.facebook.com/WorshipThisOH

Seven more to come in the near future…

ÆGES announce upcoming 7″

timothy.anderl — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:50:28 +0000

In support of their debut album The Bridge, out now on The Mylene Sheath, Los Angeles-based rock band and super-group ÆGES have been named Google Play’s Antenna Artist of The Week, featuring a free download of the band’s latest single “My Medicine”. Featuring members Mark Holcomb (Undertow, Shift), Larry Herweg (Pelican, Tusk), Kemble Walters (The Rise, The Blank Faces, Juliette and the Licks), and Tony Baumeister (16, Cutthroats 9), ÆGES are also announcing their upcoming new 7″ release featuring album track “Southern Comfort” b/w new song “Stars,” set for release in late summer/early fall on The Mylene Sheath.

Watch the video for “My Medicine” here!

Stream “The Bridge” here!

Old Crow Medicine Show to release album in July, tour (2012)

timothy.anderl — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:49:00 +0000

Old Crow Medicine Show will release their new album, Carry Me Back, on July 17 through ATO Records. Carry Me Back is the band’s fourth studio album and first since 2008′s Tennessee Pusher. The album was recorded at the legendary Sound Emporium studios in Nashville (O Brother, Where Art Thou?; REM’s Document; Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’s Raising Sand).

OCMS is also a part of the tour documentary Big Easy Express, which screened recently at the Nashville Film Festival. The movie documents last year’s Railroad Revival Tour, which featured OCMS on tour with Mumford & Sons and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros.

Here are the band’s upcoming tour dates:

June 30 – Owensboro, KY @ ROMP Festival

July 19 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room

July 20 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant

July 21 – Kansas City, MO @ The Crossroads

July 26 – Louisville, KY @ Palace Theatre

July 27 – Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre

July 28 – Nashville, TN @ The Woods at Fontanel with Special Guests

August 1 – Richmond, VA @ Maymont Park w/The Milk Carton Kids and Special Guest

August 2 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club w/The Milk Carton Kids and Special Guest

August 3 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club w/The Milk Carton Kids and Special Guest

August 4 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory w/The Lumineers & The Milk Carton Kids

August 6 – New York, NY @ SummerStage, Central Park w/The Lumineers & The Milk Carton Kids

August 8 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre w/The Lumineers & The Milk Carton Kids

August 9 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues w/The Lumineers & The Milk Carton Kids

August 10 – Burlington, VT @ Waterfront Park w/The Lumineers & The Milk Carton Kids

August 12 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE w/The Lumineers

August 17 – Salem, VA @ Salem Civic Center w/The Lumineers

August 18 – Cary, NC @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre w/The Lumineers

August 19 – Charlottesville, VA @ nTelos Wireless Pavilion w/The Lumineers & Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three

August 23 – Birmingham, AL @ Alabama Theatre w/The Lumineers & Milk Carton Kids

August 24 – Knoxville, TN @ The Tennessee Theatre w/ The Lumineers & Milk Carton Kids

August 25 – Atlanta, GA @ The Fox Theater w/The Lumineers & The Milk Carton Kids

Silversun Pickups release Neck of the Woods, tour (2012)

timothy.anderl — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:47:15 +0000

Grammy-nominated Silversun Pickups, Neck of the Woods, has debuted at #6 on the Billboard Top 200, and marks the highest chart position in the band’s career. The lead single “Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)” (HERE) is currently #9 with a bullet on the Billboard Modern Rock chart and is top 10 on both the BDS and Mediabase charts. Neck of the Woods was produced by the Grammy Award-winning Jacknife Lee (U2, Weezer, REM, Snow Patrol).

The band will be touring throughout 2012 and 2013 in support of the album. Dates are listed below.

5/28 – Sasquatch Festival – George, WA

6/1 – Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA

6/2 – Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA

7/5 – Moose’s Tooth Pub – Anchorage, AK

7/14 – Edgefest – Toronto, ON

7/20 – Firefly Music Festival – Dover, DE

8/8 – Richard L Berkley Riverfront Park – Kansas City, MO

9/1 – Xfest – Calgary, AB

9/2 – Sonic Boom – Edmonton, AB

More dates will be announced soon. Keep an eye here: http://www.silversunpickups.com/

Soul Control ready Bore Core, tour with Verse, Ritual (2012)

timothy.anderl — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:45:47 +0000

Providence, RI’s Soul Control, are back with a five-song E.P. (with a bonus song available digitally). Bore Core will hit stores on July 31 from Bridge Nine Records and new music will be posted online soon. The band are also headed overseas for a July and August run. Dates are below.

06/04/12 Pawtucket, RI @ The Met w/ Ceremony, Screaming Females, Raindance

07/14/12 Providence, RI @ Fete w/ Verse and others

22.07.12 Rokycany Czech Republic Fluff Fest w/ Verse, Ritual

23.07.12 Austria Wien Aera w/ Verse, Ritual

24.07.12 Germany Munchen Feierwerk w/ Verse, Ritual

25.07.12 Switzerland Zurich Dynamo Werk 21 w/ Verse, Ritual

26.07.12 Italy Vimercate Into The Pit Festival w/ Verse, Ritual

27.07.12 Germany Karlsruhe Gotec Hoffestival w/ Verse, Ritual

28.07.12 Germany Bausendorf Riez Open Air w/ Verse, Ritual

29.07.12 Germany Lichtenstein Jz Riot w/ Verse, Ritual

30.07.12 Germany Braunschweig B 58 w/ Verse, Ritual

31.07.12 Germany Berlin Bi Nuu w/ Verse, Ritual

01.08.12 Poland Warsaw Radio Luxembourg w/ Verse, Ritual

02.08.12 Germany Hamburg Hafenklang w/ Verse, Ritual

03.08.12 Belgium Knokke-Heist Zaal Ravelingen w/ Verse, Ritual

04.08.12 Germany Koln Allschools Fest w/ Verse, Ritual

Oct. 26-28 Gainesville, FL @ The Fest

Lemuria offers 7″ tracks online, tours (2012)

timothy.anderl — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:43:51 +0000

Lemuria had an extremely good year last year. Their Bridge Nine debut album, Pebble, hit stores in January of 2011. More importantly, the band scored the cover of Ghettoblaster! This year they’ve kept busy touring the globe and cut a 7” for Record Store Day. Tracks from the 7”, Varoom Allure, can now be found online. Check out “Cannonballs to Hurt” on RCRD LBL and “Varoom Allure” on Facebook. For those of you not in the UK, you can pick up copies of the 7” in the B9 Store.

The band will be playing some dates this Summer. Here they are:

June 3 Austin, TX @ Chaos in Tejas

July 6 Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary

July 31 London, UK @ Underworld

August 1 Southampton, UK @ Joiners

August 2 Exeter, UK @ The Cavern

August 3 Manchester, UK @ Night & Day Cafe

August 4 Leeds, UK @ Cockpit 2

August 5 Kent, UK @ Hevy Festival

August 6 Kingston, UK @ The Peel

October 26-28 Gainesville, FL @ The Fest

You Are Here Festival returns to NYC (2012)

timothy.anderl — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:42:18 +0000

This July, Trouble (Sam Hillmer of ZS and Sculptor/Projectionist Laura Paris) and the Secret Project Robot Gallery bring the You Are Here Festival back to NYC at the Secret Project Robot Gallery in Bushwick Brooklyn. As with all You Are Here festivals the month will feature a gigantic life size maze that will house myriad performances and artists throughout the month.

This year’s festival will feature performances by: Laurel Halo, Miho Hatori’s New Optimism, Ann Liv Young, Dustin Wong, Zs, Win Win, Jack Quartet, Hunter Hunt Hendrickson’s Kel Velhaal, JG Thirlwell, Babycastles, Dome Theater, Nymph, Noveller, Extra Life, Mick Barr, Lucky Dragons, Larking Grimm, Amen Dunes, Diamond Terrifier, C. Spencer Yeh, Hieroglyph Thesuarus, Vaz, GDFX, Dan Friel, MV Carbon, Loud Objects, Bachanalia, Driphouse, Psychic Reality, Black Jeans, Fuckton, Phonetag and more.

The maze will be in operation from Thursday through Saturday every week for four weeks beginning July 12. In addition to show times, the You Are Here curatorial team will be presenting a gaggle of performance and time based artists during gallery hours from 2pm til 8pm Thursdays through Saturdays as well.

This is the third maze installation mounted by Trouble in NYC. Click here to view images. For more information, visit:
www.troublemaze.com
troublestuff.tumblr.com

Rock The Bells announces 2012 shows

timothy.anderl — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:49:09 +0000

Rock The Bells 2012

Boost Mobile, in association with Guerilla Union, have announced the return of the Rock The Bells 2012 Festival Series. The world-class platform will feature an array of seminal and flourishing artists over an expanded two-day period in four major North American markets, including headliners Kid Cudi, J Cole, Wiz Khalifa, Atmosphere and more, with special guests Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

The touring hip-hop festival will kick off in San Bernardino, CA on August 19 and 20 at the NOS Events Center. The festival will then make its way to Mountain View, CA on August 25 and 26 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre and will wrap on the east coast in Newark, NJ on September 1 and 2 at PNC Arts Center.

Rock The Bells and non-profit organization Hip Hop and Hope for Haiti have joined forces to shine light on the disaster-stricken country and to provide continued relief efforts; that of which have progressively decelerated.

Podcasts from Bridgetown Comedy Festival 2012 hit the net

timothy.anderl — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:45:45 +0000

Podcasts from 2012′s Bridgetown Comedy Festival have hit the internet. Here they are, available for your download and enjoyment:

improv4humans

http://www.earwolf.com/episode/live-from-bridgetown/

Kevin Allison’s Risk!

http://risk-show.com/podcast/live-from-portland/

Wired’s coverage of “The Humor Code” panel discussion with Professor Peter McGraw, Joel Warner, Pete Holmes, Mary Mack, Myq Kaplan and Jordan Morris

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/04/humor-code-podcast/

Who Charted?

http://www.earwolf.com/episode/42012-two-charted-11/

Comedy Film Nerds

https://store.comedyfilmnerds.com/2012-Summer-Movie-Preview.html

Roast the Week with Mike Bridenstine

http://sideshownetwork.tv/shows/roast/2382

Gelmania

http://www.earwolf.com/show/gelmania/

Doug Loves Movies

Saturday taping: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/doug-loves-movies/id281816774# (look for the Matt Besser episode)
Sunday taping: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/doug-loves-movies-back-in/id520289880