TOTAL CACAPHONY: DEFACEMAN

Towards a well rounded review that not only captures what it means to listen to Defaceman but also serves the equal and added purpose of convincing you, dear reader and hopeful Total Fest participant, that said band is 100% worth your attention, I give you a this cavalcade of word-garbage:

Maximalist Olympia, WA hardcore? Free jazz by another name? Does that equal free rock? Can rock ever truly be free? Noise and skuzz and inadvertent (or intentional?) Royal Trux worship? Mounds of sounds piled atop sounds and sounds? Base jumping from the Freedom Tower into the seven levels of hell? Total Chaos? Losing a very real grip on reality? Are any of these descriptors helpful? Are any of them mutually exclusive? Do you even know what I'm trying to say?

I have no idea, because when I listen to Defaceman I'm almost scared at how disoriented I become, how completely unhinged some of this "hard" core seems to be. How much can you take? Is that a dare? Am I daring myself? I think so. I'm definitely daring you. If you're the kind of Human Being that enjoys hearing the edges of the world turn up and consume you, drown your brain in a thick blanket of musical oblivion, the kind of Human Being that at least for one moment, finds solace in losing yourself against the abyss that has been staring back for a long, long time...you've found Defaceman. Prepare, buddy. You best prepare.

PLACENTAL RECKONING: BROKEN WATER

I think I first saw Kanako Pooknyw and Jon Hanna play music together at some point probably eleven or twelve years ago when Niki and I saw their old band Sisters (which I think is blatant Sonic Youth reference/love) play with Japanther and maybe Kimya Dawson at a DIY space in downtown Olympia. It was a great venue that really allowed the music, and not bar/drinks/hookups be the focus. I wish I remembered its name.. Anyway, Kanako and Jon are the core of Broken Water, or the constants, rather. Their music is proof to me that hardcore as a way of doing music, or living has much more to do with how you carry yourself and how much heart you put into it versus any kind of specific sound.

Sisters, like Broken Water, remind me of a grungier, more American version of 90s 4AD bands like Lush or the Cocteau Twins or some kind of band like that. But unlike the shoegazers Broken Water has a kind of engaging presence that always puts a grip on me when they play. I saw Lush in 1992 and it was fine, it just had a kind of druggy dullness about it that ultimately made it a little unmemorable. I remember every time I've seen Broken Water pretty well. They're that kind of group. The fact that a lot of their records and songs reference thinks like Czech New Wave film and Russia's Yanka Dagilieva just kind of seals it all up.

BROKEN WATER

NO MORE NICE GIRLS

Straight from Olympia, Babies! Broken Water is a three-some of self-declared feminists and grunge-aholics. In an interchanging instrumentation of bass, guitar and drums, Abigail, Kanako, and Jon blend together punk and pop with shoegaze and psychedalia. If you enjoy Total Fest veterans like RVIVR, Milk Music, and Gun Outfit as much as I do then Broken Water is a must see/hear/experience. Just consult Maximum Rock and Roll if you don’t believe me (specifically issue #320) or check out their new full length Tempest released by Hardly Art. I can’t wait to watch this band and fantasize about being them. Broken Water is not gender specific and watching them is like watching three ambiguous people hum together, it really doesn’t matter who has the dick. Maybe it is not okay to say that, but their songs like “Stop Means Stop” and “Boyfriend Hole" lead me to believe that their brand of tongue-in-cheek sarcasm so well hidden in their tunes overcomes the suffocating political correctness that surrounds the topics of gender, sexuality and politics. Stop being so sensitive and let the music stroke your gender, whatever that means.

2012 Begins Now

We've been promising this for a few weeks. Apologies for our delay.


We received an overwhelming number of great submissions this year. A few evenings spilled into a handful of marathon listening sessions, followed by days of talking through the crazy amount of talent that came through the submissions inbox. By no means is it a perfect system, but we, here at Total Fest, feel like we've come up with an awesome, well-rounded line-up that will get your blood moving. We have a limited amount of slots, and we're saddened by some of the bands that we have to leave out of the festival. It's tough, but it's a welcome problem to face. Thank you to everyone that put their hat into the ring. Submitting to a festival can be a tough, cold process, and we hope that we add a little more of a human element to things. We appreciate all the support  that you give us. Although it seems trite at times, it simply cannot be said enough -- Total Fest does not and cannot exist without you.


Lamentations aside, we're frickin' stoked about this year. We have approximately 45 bands lined-up, and there's not an out in the bunch. It's rewarding to see this come together, and we hope you'll erase that pencil and solidly ink in your travel plans for the 16th-18th.
A few changes: We'll be posting more as the days go by, but, unlike previous years, we'll throw-up a dozen or so bands at a time and follow-up with some write-ups and general musings on individual bands. So, without further ado here is the first installment for Total Fest XI:


Big Fiction    Arlington, TX
Brain Tumors    Minneapolis, MN
Broken Water    Olympia, WA
Buildings    Minneapolis, MN
Dikes of Holland    Austin, TX
Dreamdecay    Seattle, WA
No-Fi Soul Rebellion    Bellingham, WA
Pins of Light    San Francisco, CA
Rock n Roll Adventure Kids    Berkeley, CA
Roomrunner    Baltimore, MD
Sandrider    Seattle, WA
The Be Helds    Austin, TX


Stay tuned for blog posts on these bands with more updates to follow in the coming weeks!