It’s 3pm. Get your collective butts down to the State Theater, pay five bucks, and see some of the best music Kalamazoo has to offer. It’s gonna be a party ladies and gentlemen.
and The 27s
If you need any other reason to bail on Bronco Bash, then I don’t know what to tell you.
That is all.
Excited about the big Rangda show tonight? The Gazette is. Check out this article from Kalamazoo’s own Mark Wedel.
If tonight’s show isn’t enough for you. Stay tuned for more info on future cool Strutt shows such as Avant Midwest Conference on 9/11; Caspian on 9/16, Tera Melos on 9/18, Malaikat Dan Singa & The Bismarck on 9/19, So Cow on 9/20, Shonen Knife on 9/22.
The community for the back-to-basics style of punk continues to thrive in Kalamazoo as its younger offshoot folk-influenced cousin begins to stake more of a presence for itself.
Saturday night saw the inaugural show at the New Frontier House, the recent venture of our good friend Zach Smith. They kicked it off in traditional Vine Neighborhood basement show fashion with the local hardcore of the Destrukters and Ackley Kid opening and closing the show respectively. Making their way to town was South Bend punks The Distractions and the dance-punk of International Espionage from Minneapolis; always a favorite here in Kalamazoo.
It was heartening to see how much everyone enjoyed themselves, especially as the night went on and the energy only increased. All in all, a Saturday night well spent in the company of friends and a great start for a new venue. Keep your eyes out for more activity at the New Frontier House.
On the folkier side of things, as our own Almanac Shouters prepare to play what will be a monster of a show with legends Defiance, OH in Grand Rapids on the 18th (be there), folk and folk-punk continues to assert itself with a show at the No Fun House this Thursday.
The show will be starting a bit earlier, 8:30, so we can have local gal Peggy Wray open up. She’s a lady with an acoustic guitar and a gigantic voice and you’ll want to make sure you’re here for her performance. Then we’ve got the acoustic act Foreign Flowers coming down from Grand Rapids and Broken Half on tour from Oklahoma City. Washoard and a homemade upright bass? Gimme a hell yeah.
Then closing out the night will be our very own power couple Lincoln County War doing an unamplified performance.
Are you coming to The Strutt‘s amazing show this Wednesday? If not, allow me to attempt to convince you otherwise. You probably have not heard of these bands before and might be wondering why you should care about this show. Here’s why:
Rangda is pretty much the supergroup of the decade. Comprised of Sir Richard Bishop from Sun City Girls, Ben Chasney from Six Organs Of Admittance and Comets On Fire, and Chris Corsano who has most recently been doing a lot of work with Bjork. Suffice it say that these guys have been around the bloc more than a few times and are pretty much masters of their instruments(guitar, guitar, drums). If you want more info, check out this interview or the video posted below.
Stare Case is the new project from Nate Young and John Olson. If you don’t know them by name, you’ve probably heard of their other band, WOLF EYES. Stare Case tends toward the more ambient side of noise. Some people have even called this their “blues project”. Check it.
Forget The Times is the brand new project from myself and Benji of Rotten Wood Moon, Peter of The Philly Crawlers and Jarad from Son Drop and just about every other band in Kalamazoo. We sound a lot like Rangda except we have an extra guitar player and maybe about 1/8th of the talent.
If this at all sounds like something you’d be interested in, PLEASE MAKE IT A POINT TO COME OUT. These first big shows at The Strutt are crucial. The more people we can bring out for shows like this, the more interesting bands I can start bringing in. Let’s work together and put Kalamazoo back on the map for cool music!!!
Monday night at The Strutt saw a Roman Invasion, as two most excellent jazz bands from the Mediterranean displayed an absolute amazing command of the finest intricacies of music, as well as the parts that others may argue sound nothing like it. I was unable to see Tribraco’s set, but Neo was in, a word, spectacular. In two words, absolutely terrifying.
If jazz-punk isn’t really your thing, maybe a little punk-rock or folk-punk would serve your palate better. If that’s the case, then make it a point to check out the rockin’ and rollin’ at No Fun House tonight. Most notably on this evening’s bill is California-based Tiny Lungs. These punk rockers may not be a world away, but Cali is still a three-day drive. That said, these guys tear it up.
On the way from the Golden state, Tiny Lungs picked up Jason 
Clackley and the boys. Sliding effortlessly between hard-hitting rock tunes to softer acoustic folk music, this Seattle original is sure to get the blood pumping and the bodies moving.
Rounding out the set, Kalamazoo’s newly formed local group Lincoln County War will be in the house just long enough to tear it down. This time, Benji and Sofia will be joined with a rock-and-roll rhythm section, so if you want to get down some home-brewed local folk-punk with an edge, check it.
Show starts at 9pm, 2 bucks at the door goes to the touring bands. Hope to see you there.
Then you should probably come to The Strutt tonight. We’ve got three bands playing that will be right up your alley. Not literally though, seeing as how two of the bands are from Rome, Italy. Check it out:
Rounding out the night will be local post everything noise rockers, Rotten Wood Moon. We haven’t played Kalamazoo in almost two months. So, come show your support and help us make these Romans feel welcome.
First bands kicks off at 9pm. ONLY $5. Make sure you bring a little extra for merch though. See you there.
In the past, I have been fortunate enough to work with one of Kalamazoo’s finest rock outfits – Graham Parsons and The Go Rounds. These five men of varying ages and heights have come together to make music that at different times is sweet and serene, overpoweringly soulful, absolutely rockin’, or just plain bizarre. Graham Parsons, Adam Danis, Andy Catlin, Todd Kloosterman and Grant ‘Gitis’ Litler put on a show a few months back, recorded it, and turned it in to an album. The result is something that is nothing short of excellent.
The disc was handed to me in nothing but a black cardboard sleeve with ‘GO ROUNDS’ printed in white on the front, and a small ‘Strutt Records’ logo with the address of the Go Rounds’ website printed on the back. There was no liner notes, no lyrics sheets, and even a track listing was omitted. The simplicity of the packaging, however, belies the overall quality of the music to a staggering degree..
The album starts right out with a blatant and brazen display of the esoteric touch inherent in the Go Rounds’ music. The first few seconds of the disc is nothing but a quickly building wall of cacophony, which cuts sharply into the soft sounds of Graham Parsons and his acoustic guitar sharing an intimate moment. Over the course of this track, the band’s collective ear and feel for music is made appearant: the sweet sounds of guitar and vocal harmonies being joined now and then with absolutely tasteful movements by the bass guitar and organ, only to be interrupted by swirling drums and slashing electric guitar chords, and finally an all out rock-out session for a few bars. Then, it’s back to that afore-mentioned wall of cacophony, until finally the band slips into an ultra-smooth Latin groove, with Graham’s vocals seemingly afflicted by a multitude of effects.
The second track again displays The Go Rounds’ absolutely masterful hand at arrangement. This particular tune comes complete with band hits and enough experimental sound to keep anybody happy. The third track is a bit more traditional (although it does have it’s moments), with a great deal of care towards the overall dynamic of the tune at all times. Professional is an understatement of these boys’ ability to perform, and at some points it’s difficult to believe that the whole thing was done live and on stage.
Track four sees the Go Rounds going high-powered and country-fried,
with the drum’s rather sprightly-paced train-track beat driving this tune forward in a big way. Graham takes this opportunity to get a little grit in his voice and something off his chest, and the idea is absolutely not lost on the listener (well, this listener anyway). The guitar goes nuts, the bass goes nuts, the organ gets raunchy, and then all of the sudden the whole thing crashes in to what sounds like an audience. Hopefully nobody got hurt.
The fifth track is beautiful and atmospheric right from the get-go. At first, it’s mostly just Graham and his guitar (though Andy helps a bit with the organ), and then the band comes in, with just enough southern twang that the lyrics really sting a bit. Then the ‘beautiful’ gives way slowly for the ‘somewhat terrifying’ variety of atmosphere (best experienced through a loud and well-EQed sound system – preferably something with volume enough to make your ears bleed a bit), until the band comes in again and all is right with the world.
The final track begins on a rather hectic note, with strange mumbled vocals buried beneath sharp-edged guitar, screeching organ, and all multitude of interesting sounds. The thing builds and builds and builds and cuts to just vocals before really grooving a few bars. Then for the next stretch of territory there are tasty, smoothed out lows twisted up with vicious band hits. Rather an opus in it’s own right, the last track was my personal favorite (though I must admit it only beat the third by a small integer).
This album overall was a fantastic listen. if you like good music, you’ll love this album. I use the future-tense, of course, because this puppy has not dropped yet. It will tomorrow, though – The Go Rounds are having their CD release party at The Strutt. Music starts at 10, and this disc will be for sale. Plus, you get to see and hear the real thing, which really should be a good enough reason to go to begin with.
The No Fun House brings you two nights of music in a row this week.
Monday night
Tuesday night
It’s a relaxed sort o week for a lot of DIT constituents, what with no shows going on at No Fun House for the next few days. Instead, general maintainence is being is being administered to all applicable structures and apparatus within the building – a venture that should prove to be copacetic for it’s inhabitants, which will in turn translate to a better show experience for everyone involved. I don’t have the numbers in front of me at the moment, but I assure you it’s all very official-looking, and had you a chance to glimpse them you would similarly have no doubts.
While a mandatory rest enacted at No Fun does cut down on shows held there, it doesn’t stop excellent shows from rolling through at The Strutt and other places. Tonight sees the Strutt hosting Eastern Blok, an excellently eastern-flavored acoustic jazz outfit. Then, later in the week, the same joint is holding a free show featuring technically-excellent math rockers Chinook and post-rock atmospherists Lights At Sea. Should make for an awesome and inexpensive Friday. No excuses on that one.
Saturday is the 4th installment of Kalamazoo’s own Shoegaze festival, aptly named Kalamashoegazer 4. Also at the Strutt, featuring a host of musical acts both local and from distant lands. Also guaranteed to be a good time, especially if you like to dance. We’ll have more on that later. But for now, check out the flier, then get out to some LIVE MUSIC and enjoy yourselves!
DITKalamazoo 
