MUCHAS GRACIAS, HERMANOS/AS!

Dead, from Melbourne. Picture by Tommy Martino.

Man, excellent Total Fest. All kinds of stuff we can't get out of our heads. Like how Thrones doesn't need a bass to make the wildest music out there. Or how much we like Dead, and Brain Tumors. And Mr. Dad. And Benjamin Von Wildenhaus. And Seawhores. It's a little ridiculous to try to sum up in a single place, frankly. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the bands that played and lent gear to one another (especially Brothers of the Sonic Cloth and Dog Shredder), the folks that volunteered, the businesses that sponsored us, and you the folks who came and raged.

Hey, let's keep the momentum going! Lots of us put on shows across the other 362 days of the year, and we have some incredible ones coming up this fall in Missoula. Here are some spots to learn about them:
Minor Bird Records Blog (TF Organizer Marty's blog)
Missoula Punk News (TF Organizer Kate's blog)
I think those two are some of the best resources for DIY happenings in Missoula, MT. Weird Missoula is Tom Shahs website, and it's great as well. 

Some other endeavors we TF organizers do are listed here:
Shahs (Colin's band with Tom H.)
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival (Travis's awesome film fest.)
Wantage (Josh V's label/distro)
Hans Bagworks (Paul's bikepacking bag business)
ART, BLOG, INK. (TF O

Michael Workman, who's (TF co-Boss) Kari's brother, shot and edited a couple of awesome Total Fest XII videos:
Red Fang at Total Fest XII
Seawhores at Total Fest XII

We absolutely love it when folks share photos and videos with us. Feel free to do that via our Facebook page, or through this email. See you before Aug. 2014, we hope!

BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH IS LIKE A FINE OIL ON THE HEAD

Remember Tad?

Yeah, that was a long ass time ago. Hurts to say that.

Tad Doyle's most recent project, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth , featuring bassist Peggy “Pegadeth” Doyle and Drummer Dave French (Brokaw) offers up a decidedly heavy beast of sludge. I remember the excited whispers that flew around when news broke that Tad had a new project in the works, and a few people were annoyingly vocal about how good the 2009 release Brothers of the Sonic Cloth/Mico de Noche split sounds. It is one hell of a record, but we all know those people who don't let up and become even more insistent when you tell them you listened to it and you like it.

As I gathered up links and such for Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, I was somewhat struck by the number of times people mused over their fondness of Tad only to say that BotSC sounded nothing like it. Well, they don't (I guess I'm doing that too). There's no mistaking Tad's vocals, but the music is so much heavier than anything I've heard Doyle do before. The twelve-plus-minute slog "Fires Burn Dim in the Shadows of the Mountain" is a doom, sludge filled delight, proving that heavy music can still impose its will on time and space. There's some sweet rhythms fluctuating throughout this with just the right mix of vocals and riffs. I've yet to see Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, but everything that I've heard offers some promisingly thick jams that speaks for itself. There's no exaggeration, no extraneous fill -- just pound the ground brutality churning over itself. Doyle and company craft swift, elegant, epic marathons of sonic thunder.

It's an awesome development in a continually evolving career. Once we have the schedule posted, you'll want to circle this one.

If you're in Seattle check out Sub Pop record label’s 25th Silver Jubilee. ex-Tad guitarist, Gary Thorstensen, will join BotSC to play a few song's from God's Balls, Salt Lick and 8-Way records as well as a few new gems from BotSC.

Sadly, former drummer Aaron Edge has been diagnosed with MS. Please consider donating to help Aaron and his wife meet some of their financial challenges associated with the disease. More info at www.taddoyle.com.

For your nostalgic pleasure: