Blood on the Wall (fr. NYC, Social Registry), Viva Viva, Headband

Sunday, May 18th, 2008
The Middle East Upstairs

BLOOD ON THE WALL (From NYC, Social Registry)
VIVA VIVA
HEADBAND

18+
$8adv/$9dos
9pm Doors

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BLOOD ON THE WALL


Hailing from Brooklyn, NYC, Blood On The Wall is a three piece indie rock outfit comprising brother and sister, Brad and Courtney Shanks, and drummer Miggy Littleton.


BOTW first got started in 2000 when Courtney (bass, vocals) met Miggy (drums) on the way home from shopping for records with friends. As they got off their stop on the train, she noticed a man selling records on the corner. That man was Miggy, who ran the infamous Big Deal Records out of his own house. The pair struck up a conversation about music and rapidly became best friends and band mates. Shortly after, Courtney’s brother Brad Shanks (guitar, vocals) had graduated from college in Lawrence, Kansas, moved into his sister’s apartment in Williamsburg, NY, and was enrolled as the third band member.

Miggy has been in a lot of bands - from the hardcore outfit The Shit to Ida and most recently the NYC band, White Magic. Brad was in a two-piece drunk band called Bandit Teeth, whilst Courtney plays music with solo death blues man T.K. Webb in Laughing Waters. When BOTW come together to play, they do it just to get together and have some fun. They smile a lot when someone says they enjoy them and they feel like they are in the practice space when they are on stage. Their songs reflect that comfort you find with your best friends. They can be shaky and frantic or heartfelt and warm.

Initially slow moving, the band at first existed as a place for the three of them to get together and play music. In 2000, they played a total of just three shows. By 2001, they decided they should record their songs just to have them on tape. They spent one night in the Hall of Fame practice space on Orchard Street in Manhattan recording on an eight-track that only had five channels operating with Nicolas Vernhes (who has produced David Grubbs, Silver Jews, Animal Collective, Black Dice, and The Fiery Furnaces) and Dan Brown. Two songs came to the surface and were self-released as a 7” on the Big Deal / Rejoice label.

Vernhes has remained as the BOTW producer, and in 2004, a self-titled debut album was released on NYC label, The Social Registry (home of Gang Gang Dance, Samara Lubelski, Jah Division). The same label released a second album, ‘Awesomer’ in late 2005 with minimal distribution outside of the USA. On hearing it we were totally blown away, but not being able to find a copy in shops, decided to get in touch with the band and try and put it out on FatCat.

Artist Website: http://www.myspace.com/bloodonthewall

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VIVA VIVA


When Officer May and Lot Six both called it quits, Boston lost two of its most promising bands. Their ships had sailed, and against everyone’s will, had sunk. Formed from the wreckage, however, is a music vessel with an all-star crew that brings the captains of both bands to the helm.

Their previous bands had shared bills and even covered each other’s songs, but despite their friendships, projects and run-ins, Chris Warren (Officer May) and Dave Vicini (Lot Six) had never collaborated— until now. “I just came back from New York City and moved in with Chris,” says Vicini. “At that point he already had the idea that we should be in a band together and had some songs he wanted me to sing.”

After spending the next couple of weeks 4-tracking, Warren and Vicini quickly compiled 23 decadent late night demo songs. All they needed now was a band.

“We kinda knew who we wanted to play with,” says Vicini. “But we didn’t tell anyone about the project until months later—until we were completely sure.” Enlisting Dan Burke (Frank Smith, Lot Six,, Beat Awfuls) on bass, Julian Cassanetti (Lot Six) …s, John Allen (Dirty Holiday, Reports) on drums, and Tommy Allen (Dirty Holiday/Drug Rug) on guitar, the Viva Viva supergroup was born.

“We booked our first show before we even played together with the band,” says Warren. “The commitment to the band is more mental than physical. We don’t practice. We’re not running the songs into the ground at the rehearsal space. But there’s a certain spark and spontaneity because of that.”

After settling on seven of their favorite tracks Viva Viva took to the studio to record the “Art, Sex, Death and Time” EP. The result is an, as of now, unheard masterpiece. Combining the junk punk delivery of Vicini with the soulful snarl of Warren, their voices culminate in vocal chaos and exist in alternated verses and eerie harmonies. Add to that their creepy keyboards, death march drums and dirty guitars and stomping blues rawk and you’ve got an album full of gritty, boot-stomping blues rock. — Boston Metro

“Basically we’re the second greatest band in the world,” says Vicini. “Yeah, second to the Rolling Stones circa ‘72,” adds Warren.

Artist Website: http://www.myspace.com/artsexdeathtime

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HEADBAND

Although the group has been in existence for nearly 15 years, we still wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve never heard of Headband. While not exactly a joke band, Headband certainly doesn’t take itself too seriously and sings mainly about, well, music. But they do it in such an endearing and catchy way you learn to love it. “We’re working on a silly country song right now,” says Don Lofthouse, one of three active members of the group. “My mom listens to so much country music it drives me crazy. So we’re working on a song called ‘I’m a Gonna Wanna Talk Raunchy to You.’ ‘Can’t Afford to Rock,’ is another one of my favorites. I’ve never been motivated to tell people my personal feelings about a girlfriend or a shirt that I’ve been wearing.”

“‘Heavy Metal Drunk-Driving Basement’ is another one that we have been working on,” says Matt Byers, who, along with new member Johnny Allen form the current core of the group. “When we started, we didn’t really know how to write songs, you know?” Byers says. “It’s like ‘Is this a song? It’s some chords and some singing, but is it really a song?’ We just started writing songs about bands and being in bands. Well now over 75 percent of the songs are about that.” When the legendary group got on its feet, they split a practice space with Sebadoh, who inspired them to swap positions while playing live and stay away from having a de facto lead singer. “I’d never seen them but I knew how they switched off instruments,” says Byers, an idea that they maintain today. Even new member Allen is learning to pick up the bass and drums for different songs, a technique Byers call “The Switcheroo Thing.” Lofthouse learned something different when he met the lo-fi indie pioneers. “When I met Sebadoh,” he says. “I mean, I knew their music, but when I met them personally I was like ‘Oh, this is what a rock band is, just crawling on the ground looking for joints.’”

Neither Byers nor Lofthouse consider themself rock stars by any stretch. Byers’ day-job consists of being a self-described “bookmonkey” for the Cambridge Public Library while Lofthouse is currently celebrating his 10th year at a ball-bearing company in Allston. “I had to remind my boss it was my tenth year. I told him and he was like ‘I’ve been here longer than that!’ … It’s not an ‘atta-boy’ type of place.” They are in the middle of recording another album and with Allen in the band now, they feel like they have an even better shot to actually finish recording. “He’s the man to go to,” says Byers. “He’s somehow wound up with us, which is pretty amazing because we don’t really do a whole lot. None of the band before officially played drums, so once we got a ‘drummer’ in the band, we went into the studio and tried to make everything sound better.”

The result is a kick in the ass of their recording process. “We started on Marathon Day in April,” says Byers. “And gosh, we’re probably about halfway there.” The group also plays sporadically, so seeing them live is a treat. “We don’t really go after shows. We just wait for people to ask us, really. We went from July and October without a show, for example, but there was no real plan to go on hiatus.”

Expect Boston’s greatest garage band to gig out more these days, and maybe even get a CD done. Live, they might play the classic “I Get High on Music” or the renowned “Satan Wraps His Wings Around Your Safe College Rock Band.” But don’t expect a love ballad anytime soon. “No one writes any love songs in the band,” says Byers. “We just don’t know how.” — David Day, The Weekly Dig

Artist Website: http://www.myspace.com/headband