OBNOX.

Being as omnivorous as Total Fest aspires to be can be a tricky thing because you've got the heavy music dudes for whom the pop, melody and rock and roll is for some weird reason offensive, and the garage nobs who turn nose up at anything not wearing a Levi's jean vest and Ray Bans and a Burger Records shirt, and you know, all the little stuff like that that can bum a guy out. For the most part, however, we really like to think of the average Total Fest attendee like an Adam Noble Bass type. Adam's a Seattlite who has a voracious appetite for music, and I'm sure he's got his favorite stuff, but he's also the kind of guy who can just be straight up stoked about whatever you put in front of him, provided it's done with guts and integrity. Good music has a way of providing some universal language.

So, an announcement like Obnox for us is obviously a pretty special thing because it kind of encapsulates Total Fest's omnivorous vibe in a single, seriously fucking excellent group. Bim Thomas has been playing in great, weird groups for years.  Some of my favorites are the Bassholes and Puffy Aereolas. Here's a decent write up. The music Obnox makes isn't really a fusion deal, no Thai pizza or Italian burrito or whatever. Rather, it's music that comes fully alive with the crud guitar, hard-hit drums, waves of rhythm and certainly some things like hip hop and experimental music, but mostly just one guy's ever changing set of ideas about how to write real music.

I need to credit former KBGA 89.9 FM music director and DJ Dane Hansen for introducing me to Obnox through the playlist at the station, and probably for introducing a burned CDR of about 5 7"s and some records directly into my hand, actually).

Without Dane, no Obnox. Thanks, Dane. Obnox plays Total Fest's opener at the Zootown Arts Community Center on Thursday, August 14.