DOG SHREDDER RE-BRAND UNDERWAY: CURTAIN RAISED ON WILD THRONE.

Wild Throne is unfortunately not members of Wyld Stallyns and Joe Preston, that band would've been too incredible. And whether it's a better name than Dog Shredder is certainly up for debate. I liked the shock value of Dog Shredder. But the point to me is this: I love a punk rock re-brand and I can think of next to none in my time around bands and shows and records. I think it takes some gumption to say: "hey, this handle of ours might be keeping some people from checking us out, and among our modest goals is having some people check us out when we play live, so, you know what, we're gonna change our name."

If it means that even a few more people (735 at present) witness them covering Heart of the Sunrise by Yes (below), it will all have been worth it. We've been fans Josh Holland bands since he was putting on zombie facepaint in that one band. Cicadas were great too! And remember that incredible video when he was in Federation X? Where he brought so much rock that he slipped and fell down? Jeez. Epic. Can't find it on Youtube. Anyway, Dog Shredder have a great LP called Brass Tactics on Good To Die label. They slayed Total Fest XII. Enjoy them on tour with Red Fang.

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!

DOG SHREDDER RIPPING IT UP

Dog Shredder hail from lovely Bellingham, Washington.

Described as "prog-metal freakazoids" by Pitchfork, Dog Shredder deliver a blast of technical metal that almost veers into cacophony before returning to pummeling hardcore beats. Like the best stunt drivers, these fellas look like everything is about to explode, but they're totally in control.

Total Fest is proud to welcome them to our fair burg this year. Listen to a sample of Dog Shredder's album and EP on Bandcamp.
-Kate