Todd "Recess" Congelliere's a bro. He's been in bands that we've been fans of for like, uh, 20-some years. I think if you were to consider all of the
Todd-related bands that have played Total Fest over the years (Toys that Kill, Stoned At Heart, Underground Railroad.., Audacity) the guy takes the prize for most time on a Total Fest stage.Part of what we so dig about Todd's projects is that he still does everything diy and keeps up a feverish release pace, and he remembers everybodys' names. Hell, he met Johnny at some point, briefly in the early 00s, and hasn't forgetten that guy!, and same goes for a lot of us. One of my all-time favorite Total Fest anecdotes comes from Todd, via Ben Wildenhaus from Federation X: it was TFIV, the one we held at the American Legion hall. The beer had run out and the alternative alcohol was Sparks, the nasty acidic orange alco-caffeine hybrid. Todd, and some bandmates, had switched from beer to Sparks out of necessity, and got wired-buzzed on the stuff. They were staying at Niki's house, and.. (this is where it gets a little fuzzy) when Todd took a shower, he looked down at his chest and hallucinated a feathery bird's breast, rather than what you normally see. Was it the combination of being in a 90 degree, sweaty room and a massive dose of pharmaceutical grade caffeine and dodgy malt liquor...or was it the Total Fest je-ne-sais-quois? We'll never know.
In the past year, Todd's done a great solo record called "Clown Sounds," he played on the Stoned At Heart LP, and now there's this great new Underground Railroad To Candyland record. It's all got his stamp on it. If you're into modern skate punk, and the torch-bearers of the best of southern California's punk output, Todd and his crew(s) are your folks. The band that's playing Total Fest X is the Underground Railroad to Candyland. They have got a new record coming out, and are massively fun and excellent.
No comments:
Post a Comment