Tag Archives: Spinal Tap

Ripple Music – The Second Coming of Heavy, Chapter One (2015) and Chapter Two (2016)

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The Second Coming of Heavy, Chapter One – Geezer / Borracho (Ripple Music, 26 July 2015)

 

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The Second Coming of Heavy, Chapter Two – Supervoid / Red Desert (Ripple Music, 27 February 2016)

 

“Now it’s time for YOUR Classic Rock” says the title at the top of Ripple Music‘s website, and the slogan is fitting: since its formation back in 2010, the label has made a name for itself as one of the premier sources for stoner rock and metal, psychedelic rock, and all things fuzz-laden. We’ve talked about some of their releases in the past, for example here and also here, but more generally, the label has come to be known for putting out music of consistent quality, within the circles of those styles. And now (starting last summer), they have begun a brand-new series of 12″ splits called The Second Coming of Heavy, which so far has featured some pretty serious heavy hitters, with plenty more on the way. Today we’re going to take a look at the first two of these, Chapter One which came out nearly eight months ago, and Chapter Two which hit the streets at the end of February.

 

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Person or Persons Unknown: Six Questions with Steve and Aaron Kaczynski of Jericho Theory

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Person or Persons Unknown

 

Six Questions with Steve Kaczynski (guitar) and Aaron Kaczynski (vocals) of Jericho Theory

by Mrs. Valley of Steel

 

Here I am again, writing another Person or Persons Unknown about another Pittsburgh band member, but this time I decided to change things up a bit. This time I am focusing on two guys actually: Steve Kaczynski and his son Aaron.

While I have never really had too much interaction with Steve in the past, I have seen their joint band Jericho Theory and was impressed with the chemistry and talent they both posses. I must admit, doing this particular article was one of the main reasons for starting these interviews. In truth, I have known Aaron for a while now, and I’ve liked him from the first time I met him. He’s got an infectious enthusiasm that you couldn’t fake if you tried. I have gotten to know him better through this journey of Facebook messages, attending shows together, and also attending shows that his bands have played. I am not sure if I have ever met a more honest and caring person in our music scene. He is that guy that knows all your songs, and knows what shows you’re playing; he’s the kind of fan that makes playing in a band in Pittsburgh worth it. I don’t even think people realize what a positive and caring member of this circle he really is. He has a way of making shows I attend with him more fun — even with my weird habit of buying him a PBR at least once a show — it’s more a level of comfort and happiness when I know he’ll be attending a show. He’s kind of turned into an unofficial little brother for the husband and me, and listening to him tell me at least once during each show that this is his favorite band or his favorite song makes me happier then I could ever state — because his influence has actually made me want to be a better fan.

So with that, I figured that this kid with his infectious nature and love of music had to have an amazing musical role model just like I did. Now that I have the ability to figure that out, I was on a mission to do so — hence the reason for this interview, so I could see if my inkling about him was correct. I am very proud to call Aaron a friend, and I hope after reading this you’ll want to be friends with him and his dad too, and I hope it will make you want to see them in action this Saturday, March 30th, at the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern.

 
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VOS Interview: A Drummer Double Feature! Molasses Barge vs. Vulture!

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Hello folks, and a happy Friday to you! Just when it felt like it would never happen, the weekend’s finally here. I’ve got a feeling this is going to be an especially good one, because there’s a ton of amazing shows and events happening! I’ll have more on that later, so stay tuned.

One of them in particular stands out, though — tomorrow night at the 31st Street Pub is the first date on the joint headlining tour between Relapse Records artists 16 and Tombs. That by itself is reason enough to get excited, but opening the show will be two of my absolute favorite local bands, the heavy doom armada that is Molasses Barge and Steel City sludgelords Vulture!

I’ve only seen Molasses Barge once before (and it was over a year ago! — read more about that here), and (believe it or not) although I’ve been listening to Vulture for a long time, I’ve never had the chance to see them play live yet! So needless to say, I’m really looking forward to this show. I’ve already got my tickets (they can be ordered here) but if you don’t, it’s just twelve bucks when you show up at the door. More info on the show itself can be found here.

Anyway, in anticipation of this event, I decided to get a couple of interviews lined up. If you’ve been reading my reviews for a while, you may have picked up on the fact that I often tend to focus on drumming while listening to music. It’s just the way I hear things, I guess — and I don’t know if it’s because I play drums (occasionally) or if I chose to play that instrument because it’s something I pay a lot of attention to.

In either case, the drumming in each of these bands’ genres is one of the main things that attracts me to those particular styles. So, it only seemed natural for me to talk to the two bands’ drummers. Here, then, are the questions and answers from Molasses Barge’s Wayne Massey and Vulture’s Kelly Gabany…

 

 

 
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Hey, Did You Hear? There’s a New Soundgarden Album Coming Soon!

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Iconic Seattle grunge/rock/metal band Soundgarden plans to release King Animal, their first new studio album in over 15 years, on November 13th, 2012!

The band had pretty much been on extended hiatus ever since I was in high school, during which time singer Chris Cornell put out a couple solo records (in addition to working with three-quarters of Rage Against the Machine as Audioslave), bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron formed Wellwater Conspiracy (while Cameron also served as a member of Pearl Jam — by far the longest-tenured drummer in that band’s Spın̈al Tap-esque revolving door at that position), and guitarist Kim Thayil occasionally popped up with guest appearances but otherwise kept a generally low profile.

However, the quartet emerged from the woodwork a little over two years ago, playing various shows all over the world. And now they are announcing that their sixth full-length will be available in just about two months. I doubt there’s anyone reading this who isn’t already familiar with Soundgarden, but just in case your only exposure happens to be the small handful of maddeningly-overplayed singles (for example, “Black Hole Sun”) that constantly grace the airwaves, you really owe it to yourself to dig deeper into their discography — over the course of a decade or so, these guys put out some incredible albums that never faltered in quality. From their earliest singles like “Flower” or “Loud Love” up through the gems from the Down on the Upside album (“Pretty Noose” or “Ty Cobb”, to name a few) in the late ’90s, there really aren’t any weak spots or low points in the band’s career.

 
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