There once was a mighty band called Slapstick. I am fairly certain that they are in some way responsible for 90% of the great bands from the Chicago-land area. Wikipedia has a really good family tree for slapstick.
I have written about The Broadways before, I think I transferred that posting to this. Following the slapstick split, The Broadways made some amazing music. Once they called it a day, we were lucky enough to have The Lawrence Arms and The Honor System. The Honor System followed the same political-punk lean that was started with The Broadways. The instrumentation was tighter and more complex, the vocals and lyrics were more mature. Heck, most of these guys went to my high school. I remember being a middle school kid hearing guys that were then seniors play in jazz band. I had heard they were in a band called slapstick then I heard about the Broadways. When they graduated and we moved up, we had some pretty big shoes to fill.
The Honor System had 3 "official" releases. Single File, 100% Synthetic (which I was only able to find on vinyl for a long time" and Rise and Run. I loved the first 2 albums. "Rise and Run" never really did anything for me as a whole. Bits and pieces of Rise were fun, but overall, I felt it seemed too heavy-handed. It was almost too blatant of an album. This however does not diminish the straight up badass earlier records.
When I heard that The Honor System were going to be putting out their "Demo Tape" album, I was pretty excited. This would be the first time the recorded output of the initial incarnation of the band could be heard "officially." This initial lineup featured Dan Hanaway, Rob DePaola, Nolan McGuire, who all appeared on the first 2 albums, but the last member of the band was Tim McIlrath, who later formed Rise Against. That's right, TIM MCILRATH.
The demo tape has 3 songs on it. "Fool's Gold" and "Facelift" have Dan singing and both songs appear on the album "Single File." There is one marked difference and that is that Tim does the backing vocals which bring an entirely different sound to the overall mix. The second song on "Demo Tape" is the missing title track from "single file" called, surprisingly, "Single File." Tim takes over lead vocals on this track. This single track really has something special to it. No, it is not just a Rise Against song, it is something more. There is just some kind of melodic difference to the song that makes these 3 tracks completely rock. Like, the keystone at the top of the arch, it is a piece that makes this demo tape worth owning. The alternate versions of the other songs are rockin' but alone, they are only for diehards. However, you add this unreleased track into the mix and you really have a 3 song album that is completely worth owning.
I ordered mine from interpunk and got a free button and patch with the vinyl. If you are a music nerd like me, that rocks.
Showing posts with label the broadways. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the broadways. Show all posts
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
reposting some old things
These are the only old blogs I still want on here for now. Sorry for any confusion this might lead to.
From the archives (originally posted 9.4.2009)
I have been trying very hard to not spend money on stuff. But, really I mostly buy music. So, that being said, I have not been buying music. Well, I have, but from sites like amiestreet.com, used cds from disc replay or amazon, random sites with hard to find stuff, but I DO NOT download music illegally. But, one thing that this is making me do is listen to and appreciate stuff that sometimes gets pushed back. I know I have talked like this about lucero before, but today, today it was THE BROADWAYS.Now, I am not talking the new band "broadway" that just came out. I am talking about the band that evolved out of the death of SLAPSTICK. THE BROADWAYS. There are only 2 albums for this band. "broken star" and "broken van" both of which are amazing. to be honest "dropjaw" is my all-time favorite song. That band and music just seems to hold up year after year after year.The reason I am thinking this way is because I was talking with my boss and how there are just some songs that DO NOT hold up. You can totally tell and Elliot Smith song, something from The Cars, all of those "new wave" bands. They just sound '80s. There is no way to get rid of that fact. One person that I get irritated with in regards to holding up is Bruce Springsteen. His songs hold up as a whole, but really, stuff like "glory days" and "born to run" just kind of have that cheesy 80's feel to them and to be honest, i usually end up skipping those songs. They just kind of add a little more cheese year after year.However, The Broadways have a sound that is still being copied and still could be a successful band. The Lawrence arms are great, but I still love the Broadways just as much.
(originally posted 8.21.2009)
when we get to 20 tell me, I'm gonna throw up or "hey where do these stairs go?" "They go up"
(originally posted 8.14.2009)
she's just that kind of girl
Ok, so I go in phases with music. Sometimes I go for weeks and just listen to uptempo poppy stuff, then weeks of folksy, bluesy stuff, then hardcore screamy stuff, then rough hardcore...anyway you get the picture. However, no matter what I am currently into, there are a few bands that always make their way into my list. the Lawrence arms, Alkaline trio, hot water music, against me!, emery, the gaslight anthem...i talk about these bands all the time. But, there is one band that i kind of forget about. They never really go away from my list, but they kind of step outside the circle of my ears from time to time. That band is Lucero.Now now, do not put the "country" fact into your decision to hate them right off the bat. Most people do. I tell you, i have seen them live quite a few times, and my first experience listening to them was live, they blew me away. So much raw energy. Its almost impossible to listen to that band and not start moving some part of your body. The go from shake your ass alt-country to southern bluegrass in the drop of a hat and every time i get their music going, i find something new and amazing about it. typically, i do not like modern country. Not really at all. Yet, I can really get into the old old stuff. Roots music. Bluegrass. johnny cash. That stuff works for me.I guess that is what i see in lucero. A band that makes the music they feel. Not what people want to hear, not what is all over the radio. They make music that my mom can get into as much as me. That's something. Very little music transcends the generation of the artists creating it. Yea, yea...there is alot of old music out there that will always be good, the Beatles, the doors, the rolling stones, the who, pink Floyd...that music is not going to go anywhere. But its when a modern artist that appeals to "punk" kids as much as their peers and their seniors, that's when a band has something. how much of the music do you listen to that your parents also enjoy? Shit, i am only 27 and basically feel like the old crusty punk guy at a lot of the shows i go to. Too many swoop haircuts, skinny jeans, faux-hawks and stupid fucking scarves year round when it is 90+ degrees out. I just do not get that shit. All this hipster shit is driving me insane. Quit doing things because you think they are cool. Flat ironing your hair is not a comfort thing. Having your hat cocked with a straight brim pretty much defeats the purpose of a hat. Your hair in your eyes is not comfy, its fucking annoying.anyway, i digress. Lucero is a fucking amazing band. Check out all of the albums. Really, you will not be disappointed. Just make sure it is not the latin singer chick who is also named Lucero, that stuff is WAY different.Its the weekend, i am going to put all of my lucero shit on shuffle and go to bed.
From the archives (originally posted 9.4.2009)
I have been trying very hard to not spend money on stuff. But, really I mostly buy music. So, that being said, I have not been buying music. Well, I have, but from sites like amiestreet.com, used cds from disc replay or amazon, random sites with hard to find stuff, but I DO NOT download music illegally. But, one thing that this is making me do is listen to and appreciate stuff that sometimes gets pushed back. I know I have talked like this about lucero before, but today, today it was THE BROADWAYS.Now, I am not talking the new band "broadway" that just came out. I am talking about the band that evolved out of the death of SLAPSTICK. THE BROADWAYS. There are only 2 albums for this band. "broken star" and "broken van" both of which are amazing. to be honest "dropjaw" is my all-time favorite song. That band and music just seems to hold up year after year after year.The reason I am thinking this way is because I was talking with my boss and how there are just some songs that DO NOT hold up. You can totally tell and Elliot Smith song, something from The Cars, all of those "new wave" bands. They just sound '80s. There is no way to get rid of that fact. One person that I get irritated with in regards to holding up is Bruce Springsteen. His songs hold up as a whole, but really, stuff like "glory days" and "born to run" just kind of have that cheesy 80's feel to them and to be honest, i usually end up skipping those songs. They just kind of add a little more cheese year after year.However, The Broadways have a sound that is still being copied and still could be a successful band. The Lawrence arms are great, but I still love the Broadways just as much.
(originally posted 8.21.2009)
when we get to 20 tell me, I'm gonna throw up or "hey where do these stairs go?" "They go up"
(originally posted 8.14.2009)
she's just that kind of girl
Ok, so I go in phases with music. Sometimes I go for weeks and just listen to uptempo poppy stuff, then weeks of folksy, bluesy stuff, then hardcore screamy stuff, then rough hardcore...anyway you get the picture. However, no matter what I am currently into, there are a few bands that always make their way into my list. the Lawrence arms, Alkaline trio, hot water music, against me!, emery, the gaslight anthem...i talk about these bands all the time. But, there is one band that i kind of forget about. They never really go away from my list, but they kind of step outside the circle of my ears from time to time. That band is Lucero.Now now, do not put the "country" fact into your decision to hate them right off the bat. Most people do. I tell you, i have seen them live quite a few times, and my first experience listening to them was live, they blew me away. So much raw energy. Its almost impossible to listen to that band and not start moving some part of your body. The go from shake your ass alt-country to southern bluegrass in the drop of a hat and every time i get their music going, i find something new and amazing about it. typically, i do not like modern country. Not really at all. Yet, I can really get into the old old stuff. Roots music. Bluegrass. johnny cash. That stuff works for me.I guess that is what i see in lucero. A band that makes the music they feel. Not what people want to hear, not what is all over the radio. They make music that my mom can get into as much as me. That's something. Very little music transcends the generation of the artists creating it. Yea, yea...there is alot of old music out there that will always be good, the Beatles, the doors, the rolling stones, the who, pink Floyd...that music is not going to go anywhere. But its when a modern artist that appeals to "punk" kids as much as their peers and their seniors, that's when a band has something. how much of the music do you listen to that your parents also enjoy? Shit, i am only 27 and basically feel like the old crusty punk guy at a lot of the shows i go to. Too many swoop haircuts, skinny jeans, faux-hawks and stupid fucking scarves year round when it is 90+ degrees out. I just do not get that shit. All this hipster shit is driving me insane. Quit doing things because you think they are cool. Flat ironing your hair is not a comfort thing. Having your hat cocked with a straight brim pretty much defeats the purpose of a hat. Your hair in your eyes is not comfy, its fucking annoying.anyway, i digress. Lucero is a fucking amazing band. Check out all of the albums. Really, you will not be disappointed. Just make sure it is not the latin singer chick who is also named Lucero, that stuff is WAY different.Its the weekend, i am going to put all of my lucero shit on shuffle and go to bed.
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