The Loneliest Monk

so it seems that some one took up my offer to write for this thing, remember to check buddyhead for my stuff, i’ll post up some stuff tomorrow, o and check out Open Books, anna works for them -pat

Bands to watch out for: The Loneliest Monk
By Anna Piepmeyer
We trudge over to Logan Square on a Saturday, adorned in our best last’s night t-shirts and experiencing the simultaneous high/low of too much coffee and not enough sleep. It’s almost noon, raining, and a handful of folks form the thinnest simulacrum of a line across from a stage already coated in humidity and drizzle. I’m here for The Loneliest Monk, a band I started following after seeing them perform spooky, ambient interludes during a performance at EP Theater last winter.
This bare-bones twosome, composed of Michelle Morales (cello/keyboards/vocals) and Miles Benjamin (drums/vocals)—with their masks, three piece suits, and phantom-of-the-Opera flair—straddle the fine line between appearing puerile and developing an actual sound. In fact, part of me wants to hate them: their syrupy cadences, slow, drawn out notes, and theatrical sensibilities have the potential to be every bit as annoying as one would expect from any self-proclaimed “avant-garde” indie duo. However, Morales and Benjamin just bring too much skill to the table; unlike so many of their counterparts, the Loneliest Monk is comprised of two real musicians, whose intellect, poise, and tonal restraint give their songs an ethereal quality, and make their performances truly memorable.
Today is no exception. The Loneliest Monk takes the stage, and slowly begins to hum to the small group waiting, standing, and obfuscating my view with their medley of colored umbrellas and cigarette smoke. The day is miserable, but the perfect scene for the band; their protracted notes, wistful harmonies, and masquerade-ball garb blend with the rain like an old-fashioned haunting. Any less talent, and this pair would simply look like a couple of hipsters playing dress-up.

Buddyhead

incase you didn’t know, i got a gig writing for buddyhead. i wrote up a thing on the Obits. you should read it:

http://www.buddyhead.com/obits-i-blame-you/

What We Do Is Secret: Chicago, in 3 Parts.

What We Do Is Secret

Chicago. May 30th to July13th. A Story of Rock’n’Roll Salvation.

O, hey there. I almost did’nt see you. Yeah, it has been awhile. How are you doin? Thats good to hear. I’m doing great, thanks for asking. Why yes, I did move back to Chicago, and yes I’ve had a great deal of adventures. You want to hear about them? Well, too bad.
So lets get down too it. We have a lot ot talk about. For starters, Chicago is just as great as I remember. Its nice to be in a town that feels alive. A town where people do things, and all the time. In this section of “What We Do Is Secret”, we shall be covering the narrative of the gigs and other cool shit i’ve hit up. Lets get started.
So, it was a tuesday. As with the last time I moved to town, I headed down to the Cobra Lounge for a free, Victim of Time show. Swami Bryce meet me there, and enjoy the great $3 pints. A sweet deal, free show, cheep beer. The bands playing were: Liquor Store, The Mahonies, and Big Knife. All around loud rock. Liquor Store are a New Jersey based act, they did’nt really blow me away. It was solid noise garage rock. Kinda standard (like i said), fun, but nothing that made me recall anything in partiulcar. The Mahonies on the other hand, are two brothers detroit that made some great sound. Its drunk’n sloppy, no bunny/ramones-esk rock’n’roll music. I dont think any song was longer than like 60 seconds, it was some fun stuff, and i’d go see’m if i was you. Big Knife was perhaps the big surprise. Sounding like Black Flag, Ginn had Kira front instead of Rollands, they tore my ears a new one. I am super down with Big Knife, in particular what ever song they sang that was dedicated to the fact that Rollands ruined black flag. I had a good time.
My next adventure came on saturday, starting with the PrintersRow Lit Fest where I saw, Ivan Brunetti, Chip Kidd, David Dajdu, Chris Ware, and Lynda Bary all speak. Sometimes, I like highbrow things. The Chris Ware and Lynda Bary shindig was just as cool as you’d think, and oddly really motivating. Their back and forth about art, being productive, and how they think of their work was really cool. It was kinda what you would expect, Ware being bumed on himself, and Bary cheering him up. It seem like that has been their relation for the past 15 years or so, which is cool, and oddly reassuring. These giants of comics have the same issues we all have. I also go to see AP at the Open Books both, so that was nice.
Later that night, I headed out solo to the Cobra Lounge for another show, this time Wheels on Fire, Radar Eyes, and Mothers of Tears. I also ran into Bill and Lisa of Cococoma, who my buddy Brennen does artwork for. They were very nice and i suppose were friends now. Anyhow, Wheels On Fire and Radar Eyes were fantastic! Mothers of Tears, not really so sure on. I saw them, but was mostly talking to Bill at that point. Anyhow, from what I recall, they were’nt nearly as good as the other two bands. I guess people like them and HoZac is doing a 7”. But then i was drunk. Anyhow lets talk Radar Eyes. Its got a Velvet Underground, Strokes, Joy Division vibe to it. The demo I got is simple, like so much of the chicago underground rock world, the band takes the utmost joy in taking the standard formula of indie rock and breathing life back into it. The four song ep is solid, save for the syth-joy division styled track “Shakes”, or thats what I called the first track. The live show was savage, as Bill said, it was their loudest gig he’d been too of there’s. Radar Eyes came with the buzzsaw attack that i love. I shall have to see them more often.
Wheels on Fire is a different story. They did not bring the buzzsaw, but rather the sweet garage sound. Its right off that goner/crypt records block of rock’n’roll. Its got a pop tinge, with boy and girl vocals and an organ that rounds out the whole thing. Plus, I got the record from the band by paying with beer. Totally worth it. The churning treb on the guitars, and the almost total lack of bass, make it not only an interesting record, but something that sticks with you in an odd way. I really dig on the record, Get Famous! and you should probably go check it out.
Now we start having real adventures. Though the grape vine I heard that The Yolks were playing a house show with some other bands. I was’nt gonna go, but Caesar, the ruler of all rome, convinced me that I had to go. Boy was he right. That night I got to see, Tyler Jon Tyler, the Empty Heads, Real Numbers, Day Creeper, and The Yolks. It was amazing. Tyler Jon Tyler were a revalation to behold. As with Radar Eyes, and as I will discuss in more detail later, Tyler Jon Tyler take what starts out sounding like another boring rock’n’roll band and make it into something outstanding. I have to credit frontwomen Rebecca for most of that. Her voice and guitar work is really what sold me on this band. There is something about her voice, its scratchy softness, that fits in perfectly with the bands sound. They key their songs short and simple, but they jump with energy that will slap a smile on any jerk hipster’s face. I got hopes up for this band!
The rest of the night was a garage rock party, just the way I like it. The crowd was friendly, I made some friends. It was fun. As for the other bands, Empty Heads, Real Numbers, and Day Creeper, you can count me as a fan. It was the Yolks though, who were the highlight of the night.
By the time the Yolks came on, everyone was drunk (even the band), and ready to get down. When Eekrock gave me his “I Hear Swami Pat/Tallman” mix tape on of the stand out tracks was the Yolks “I Do What I Do”. Everything they played was up to that level of quality. Which is to say really fucking great. I know I talked more indepth about everyone else up until now, but its hard to put into words what these bands all sounded like. So i recommend you go to acidmarshmallow.com and watch the entire show yourself. You can see the back of my head a few times during the Yolks set. But! back to the point, the Yolks. They rocked and rolled, and set the crowed ablaze. Everyone was dancing, singing along, and having a fantastic time. It was what a backyard house show should be, everyone having fun. The Yolks are clearly at the front of what I like to call, the new chicago garage punk. With bands like No Bunny, the Smith Westerns, CocoComa, and plenty others, the kids these days are bringing back that Ramones, Sonics, type vibe. Its happenin man, and you better get on board now!
Some weird shit happened after the gig. I ended up at some loft party, there was a weird noise hipster band. yeah, weird. But the next day the rock and roll kept coming! The Smith Westerns played a record release show at my new favorite record shop, Permanent Records. I had’nt seen them in months, and was super charged up for the gig. The place was packed to the rafters, and the new glamed out sound was far more amazing in action than on paper. In the time i’ve been gone, the Smith Westerns learned to play, but still bring that same riot energy to the stage. They know their good, and they know shit happenin. You can see the whole set, also at acidmarshmallow.com. We’ll come back to these kids in part 2, as we gotta talk about their fantastic new record that everyone should own.
So yeah, I took notes on everything up until the 13th. At this point, I kinda forget what I was up too. Aside from looking for gigs and working a bit here and there not much happened. Gay Pride with AP, the Dirty Projectors and the Sea and Cake with AP. Um, my friend Steph’s band played. So things just moved along.
. So that brings us Bomb The Music Industry! and Laura Stevenson and the Cans. My buddy Matt “The one who moved to nyc” Keegan is in Bomb, which is why I went. To be honest, I’m not really into Bomb. Not cuz I dont like them, but I just havent taken the time to get into them. I saw them last year on the Asian Man Tour here in chicago, and it was a fantastic show. Their gig at Ronnies was not quite as solid, and for that I blame underage kids. Still, having seen them this time around, I know that I need to pay attention, get my ass on the Bomb the Music Industry wagon. They really are a solid and diverse band, and though I did’nt get down, I did really enjoy the sounds they made. Jeff Rosenstock is a smart dude, and talented as fuck. So I’ll be paying more attention to Bomb in the next few days and weeks. Consider me converted. But I do have to tell you about Laura Stevenson and the Cans (aka Laura Stevenson and Bomb the Music Industry). It was like seeing Neutral Milk Hotel fronted by a lady. So yeah, it was some nice indie rock goodness. I really really dug on it.
So some other stuff happened, and then it was July 4th, Daily Void got kicked out of the Cobra Lounge for some bullshit and I went home. Then it was July 6th, and CoCoComa, Maximum Wage, and Tyler JOn Tyler played a free gig at the Empty Bottle. Tyler Jon Tyler ruled, Maximum Wage’s front man looked Gordon Young, my advisor for KSCU, (he also runs http://www.flintexpats.com/). So that was neat. But o shit did I get down to CoCoComa. Bill and Lisa Row’s return to the stage after their baby was everything I dreamed off. Lisa played like a women possessed by rock. The new stuff ruled, the old stuff ruled, and they played the Wipers “Messenger”. My mind was blown. I cant wait for the new record, and for more shows. If your reading this you should know who CoCoComa are so i wont bore you with a recap. If you dont. Whats your problem?
The next day was a shit show. Swami Pat buddies The Dirty Tactics rolled into town, so I returned once more to Ronnies. I have come to the conclusion that they gotta get their shit together over at that place. Its some amateur shit. This time out, the sound was terrible. The sound guy couldn’t fucking leave the mikes at the right level. I was super bummed out on this gig. Dirty Tactics and their tour mates Landmines were great, when you couldh hear them. The openers were godawful, and their names shant be mentioned. But what did’nt get me down was the new Dirty Tactics record, which i’ll talk about in part 2 of “What We Do Is Secret.”. The real story of the night was the after party, where I was up until the sun came up. We partied at Atlas Studio (home of nice guy Matt Alliston). It was great.
That brings us to now. Over the weekend I saw my buddie Dale Beach and his buddies Bankrupt and the Barrowers. Dale ruled as standard, his folk/country/texas style is far more effective in action that you’d think. Bankrupt was weird. Really cool dudes, with a rather hard to pin down sound. I dug it live, they gave me their record. I should probably get around to listening too it. I also got dragged out to see Local H at West Fest. People tell me their some type of cult awesome band. I guess their alight, personally i’d rather listen to Mudhoney.
Now i’m home, writting this, putting off doing real work. So thats part one of what i’ve been up too. Next, i’ll do some record reviews, cuz i have bunch of good stuff to tell you about.

Bands I Saw:
Liquor Store: http://www.myspace.com/liquorstorenj
The Mahonies: http://www.myspace.com/mahonies
Big Knife: http://www.myspace.com/bigfuckingknife
Kid Congo Powers: http://www.myspace.com/kidcongoandthepinkmonkeybirds
Wheels on Fire: http://www.myspace.com/wheelsonfire
Radar Eyes: http://www.myspace.com/radareyeschicago
Mothers of Tears: http://www.myspace.com/motheroftears
Tyler Jon Tyler: http://www.myspace.com/tylerjontyler
Empty Heads: http://www.myspace.com/pleasegoandfuckyourself
Real Numbers: http://www.myspace.com/therealnumbers
Day Creeper: http://www.myspace.com/daycreeper
The Yolks: http://www.myspace.com/theyolks
Smith Westerns: http://www.myspace.com/smithwesterns
Bomb the Music Industry!: http://www.myspace.com/bombthemusicindustry
Laura Stevenson and the Cans: http://www.myspace.com/laurastevenson
CoCoComa: http://www.myspace.com/cococoma
Maximum Wage: http://www.myspace.com/maxwage
Landmines: http://www.myspace.com/landminesrock
Dirty Tactics: http://www.myspace.com/dirtytactics

Watch Some Stuff I Was At Here:
http://www.acidmarshmallow.com/

Also Check this out
http://www.flintexpats.com/

What We Do Is Secret

Ok so its been a while. Sorry about that. But starting tomorrow you’ll bet getting part one of my three part scenes of what I’ve been up too, listening to, and generally where i’ve been. Sorry its taken soooooo long, but i’ve been putting off spell checking, and well lets face it, things keep happenin. Anyhow i’ll be at Pizza Fest day two tonight at Cals checking out CoCoComa. if your in chicago you should go.

Dirty Tactics: Untitled Second Record

So i have here the second record by Dirty Tactics. I kinda forgot the review the first one, but i liked it, it was more standard rock band. Anyhow on the new record, it seems they found records by Superchunk and Les Savy Fav. I mean that in the best of ways. This record is a huge departure, it still sounds like the same band, but one who’s hit the road and started to figure out where they wanna go.
Perhaps the most pronounced changes are the bands new fascination with samples placed at the start of songs, both spoken word (ie: interview with the clash? at the start of the record), and far cleaner vocals. The band still plows onward with their guitars, but now Gary’s vocals are placed up front, and done with far more clarity than on their prior outings. Upon seeing them at Ronnie’s here in Chicago, i was highly pissed off at the sound guy for mixing the vocals almost right out. The other huge thing that’s changed is that Dirty Tactics can now write a song. Their first record, although good, lacked the song writing chops they now have, save for the song Philadelphia, which if anything was a precursor to this record. Adding to the vocal fidelity is Dan’s added role on back up vocals, or well more like a second singer. His voice adds a few more fun layers to the whole thing.
The songs are, as you can guess from the above comments, solid. In particular Track 2 is a stand out, and one I’ve been jamming rather often. Its a fantastic tune that really highlights the bands strengths, with its melting of Gary’s vocals and some serious riffage, matched with a progression that moves the song from fast to slow to explosive. Its a good representation of the record, as the band holds back, preferring to use that old 90s strategy of momentary bursts of energy and noise. Although live, its one big punk rock noise fest, and although I enjoy the record version of each song, live each one is played hard fast and loud.
I’m not sure what the final version of the record will sound like, the band is looking to get mastered right now, although personally it feels done me. As far as where their going, who knows. Times are tough these days, but this is a solid record, leaps and bounds above their prior work. I just hope next time i seem them, the sound guy wont suck, and no one pees on the wall.

It Will Return

O no, the blog is rising from its resting place! I have not forgotten about you my dedicated followers, this friday expect a lot of action. Gonna drop some serious action. So stay tuned for:

Smith Westerns new record
Obits new record
Kid Congo Powers (record and show)
Big Knife, the Mahonies, and Liquor Store
Wheels On Fire (record), Radar Eyes (record), and Mother of Tears
Death (record)

o yeah, we’re going BIG!

More From the Smith Westerns

So its 5 long days until I go back home to Chicago. So close. Anyhow to tide you over, check out this new Smith Westerns song.

http://www.transparentblog.com/blog/332/uh-huh

see you all friday!

6) Drive Like Jehu: Yank Crime

I picked up Yank Crime simply because John Reis was involved, and in my rocket from the crypt induced record buying haze that was enough. I had no idea what Jehu sounded like, and boy was I in for a surprise.
I found this record at LA’s storied Amoeba records during a trip up with a few friends. I got this (and i’m sure a few other things that I cant recall), and they got stuff from Silverchair and Ben Folds. Yeah. So excited about new sounds from Speedo, I threw in Yank Crime, and out of the speakers came “Here come the Rome Plows”, it was an awkward moment as these loud ranging guitars and odd time signatures came belting out of the speakers. It was by no means what I had expected. Although today I hear all the melody and nuance of Jehu, that first moment all I could hear was noise, and the clear dislike on the faces of those I was with. Nothing is farther from Silverchair and Ben Folds than Jehu, and boy did I learn that lesson. After Rome Plows ended, we changed CDs to some Ben Folds album.
Where as with all the other records on this list so far, I tried to preach the good news to others, I kept Jehu to myself, almost out of fear that it was so different, so “hard”, that people would just make fun of it, or something like that, it was years ago so I forgot what i was thinking. Regardless, much of that had to do with the fact that I really didn’t grasp or even like Jehu the first time around. I found it dense and indecipherable. I really just didn’t get what the big deal was. The only song I really liked was “New Math” as it was the only one that fit into a nice small formula that I understood.
So here is where things get fuzzy, both in terms of time and space. I dont know when I finally got into Jehu, but sometime around the end of freshman year on college I moved them from the “loud and weird” category to the “yes i do listen to this all the time and i really enjoy it” category. I think it was a matter of repeated play and being super into the hot snakes. that and everyone kept telling me it was fucking super tight shit, and well they were right.
Regardless of when I came around to this record lets talk about what I found. As with Burma, what I now see as Jehu’s post-Fugazi stylings, contains one of the most powerful artistic statement made during the 1990s, I can think of no better guitar based record made during that decade. Mr. Froberg and Mr. Reis are masters of their weapons of choice and the intensity and layers that they create on Yank Crime are almost unprecedented in the world of punk rock. Sure the band comes out of the post-minor threat world of DC hardcore, but they also embraced Televisions complexities along with the energy of Fugazi, Rites of Spring, and Nation of Ulysses, but those only seem like starting points for the band does on this record. Jehu is, if anything, a force of nature. All those references almost do a disservice to the bands power. The record feels like as thought it emerged from the either, complete and full. (Although story has it that its not the case at all). As with the bands name, everything is Biblical
Ok enough bullshit, i’m turning this into some fucking “Pitchfork” style review. Lets get down to brass tax. All those bands I just name dropped, people really like them, I cant tell you how many times I’ve heard about how good Fugazi are. Well, I own a few Fugazi records, and none of them, not even 13 songs stands up to Yank Crime. Drive Like Jehu is a force of nature, they are the pinnacle of complex guitar centered punk rock, that and Rick’s voice is the best fucking voice in the history of rock’n’roll.
To put it simply, Drive Like Jehu fucking rule.

I Can Make These Songs Sing

So ladys and gents, its still Wednesday, sorta. i mean its like 1 am my time, but i’m still up. so here is the deal, we are moving to updating on fridays only for the next two or three weeks. I’m pack’n up and moving to chicago so i’ll have less time to write. I’m moving on the 31st, this week i’m packing, next week i’m leaving, then i’ll be in chicago and be looking for a job. i’ll stop by every now and then during the week to post stuff if I have something, but otherwise we’ll be on a friday update run until after I get back home to chicago. see you then kids.

- Pat!

8) Mission of Burma: VS

This was IT. The final straw, the moment that I left mr. video game crazed pat behind and started down the path towards becoming swami pat. This record is where I departed from my high school peers, and importantly the lady of my eye during the time. This record was it, and to this day Mission of Burma’s VS stands as one of the most important musical documents of all time.
My experience of this record will always be tied to both high school and my trip to DC when I watched the band blast though the entire album live, well more than that, its tied to all of my experiences seeing the band.
But lets get to the story about how I came to discover this record. Back when I turned 18, Pitchfork was still a quality website, Buddyhead led the way in music reviews, and there was no Wikipedia, there was no easy way to find out about your favorite bands with ease. It took a lot of work to find out about stuff. So in the twilight days of radio, and the dawn of the internet, came The Swami, the real Swami. A mythical man who commanded me to buy records. As with Pere Ubu, and many of the following records on this list, come from The Swami’s commands. The Swami informed me of this record a few weeks before Burma reunited in Boston, a gig The Swami was flying back to attend. He played three songs, talked about the band, and that was it. It was all I had to go on, and so on the day I turned 18, I went on to Amazon.com, picked VS (because it had more songs than Singles, Calls and Marches), and ordered it. In those few weeks between placing my order and getting the record, my infatuation with Burma grew. I discovered a website, Epitonic.com (urlm.in/ccfs), where I found the songs “Progress” and “Peking Spring”, both b-sides, and tunes that I was hooked by. That’s all i had, memories of a few tunes on the radio, two mp3s, and hope. I talked about the band to everyone who would listen, and oddly, my friends kinda cared.
I had gone, in a matter of a few months, from being a dedicated fan of Saves the Day and Weezer, to jumping head first into a love of Pere Ubu and Mission of Burma. A big jump if there ever was one.
But lets get to the record proper. I’m writing this cuz Balex (who wrote a very cool write up of Burma’s first reunion album “ONoffON)”, told me too, also it was on the list. But regardless you should check out Balex’s blog (http://tonightwemeanit.blogspot.com/). OK, so the record, its perhaps one of the most impressive musical achievements in the history of man, up there with Bach, the Beatles, Robert Johnson, and the 1812 Overture. Its an amazing thing, one that words really cant describe with any effective range. Like its closest relative, ‘Double Nickels on the Dime”, it comes out of the first punk blast of the late 70s, but moved beyond the following hardcore stylings. This record brings together early punk’s art school tendencies with hardcore’s energy and power. My first memory of this record is a wall of noise, something that felt overpowering in its intensity. As odd as it seems, the record has lost much of its original power, as I’ve plowed though it so many times, i’ve worked my way behind that wall of sound, finding behind it a gem of artistic brilliance. What brings me back now, is that each time I put it on I find something new. That and its just a really great record. I mean just look at the track list, its filled with classic tunes that double as both a mental exercise and great rock tunes, who among us can deny the punk rock glory of Certain Fate or Johnny Burma?
I really do implore you to check out Burma, its not for everyone, but if its for you, it will change you life. Burma fans are a particular type, and as odd as it seems, if i run into someone who’s into Burma, I know were gonna be friends (hi kevin!). Its a record that, as Blaex said “[you] have to experience it”.