MILK MUSIC. SHEETS OF UN-VERBED FUZZ WALL COMMENCE.
For a sort of bummer collection of mossy stipmalls, military bases, ports and clearcuts, western Washington and northwest Oregon has got damn near about every region of the country beat in terms of killer musical output. Think of it historically: frat rock bands like the Sonics and Wailers, hardcore groups like the Fartz, Dead Moon, the Rats, the Wipers, Gas Huffer, U-Men, Mudhoney, Seaweed, Beat Happening, Unwound, Karp, Fitz of Depression, the Lights, the Spits, A-Frames, etc. etc. Jesus. I can think of about 29 more off the top of my head. Add to that colossal list Milk Music, please.

This Oly (I think, based on their short MRR interview) group (Milk Music, I mean) has got an authentically blown-out and (in its reverb-undrenchedness) refreshing take on the pioneering SST hardcore (in approach vs. sound) deal of the late 80s. Every thing written about the band seems to mention old Dinosaur Jr, and I think that's apt, they also mention Hüsker Dü and the Feelies. Sure, why not. Good reference points for sure, but it's got it its own stuff too. This ain't some cover band.

Here's a link to their self-relased Beyond Living LP. Try it on for size. It blew my mind! And the thing gets better with age, the mark of good songs vs. a strictly tonally nice record. I think their web-presence is refreshingly meager. Maybe a Last FM page, though who knows how to make those work.

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TO CANDYLAND: SAN PEDRO'S PUNK TORCHBEARERS.
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.

MAKE WAY FOR THE MEN.

The Men are without a doubt a fresh breath of punk rock or whatever-you-want-to-call-it coming out west to Total Fest this year from New York. Part of an new wave of creative, young DIY punk/hardcore-rooted bands from the Empire City (that brings to mind ABC No Rio in the late 80s and early 90s), The Men offer up a smattering of in-your-face, blown-out, feedback-soaked post-punk, not afraid to throw in some elements of sludge, shoegaze, and even some completely left-field, twangy, country-tinged bits here and there. A bit of My War-era Black Flag? Yes. A bit of My Bloody Valentine? Yes. A bit of the Birthday Party? Perhaps. In the tradition of Total Fest and all that is damaged, desperate and weird (and by weird, we mean incredibly awesome!), we welcome and look forward to The Men knocking us all on our asses this August in Missoula.

Compliments of the band, here are some free downloads of their out-of-print Immaculada LP (which is soon to be reissued by Deranged Records) and "Think" single (featuring a cover of Devo's "Gates of Steel"), plus a TOTALLY raw live vid below:

LE SANG SONG. SANGING, SONGING (SHE'S JUST A WOMAN).
Seattle, WA's the town that added more hair to rock and roll than anywhere this side of Hollywood in the '80s, or wherever Black Oak Arkansas are from. So, bands like Soundgarden etc. are the well known exports. On the fringes, the town has an incredibly rich underbelly. Bands like the A-Frames knock out insane, cold, skronky punk. Climax Golden Twins washing psychedelic, err, 'scapes of some kind. And it keeps on going from there. AFCGT, the band that features people from both groups, does some insane, unhinged Kraut thing, without any motorik-ness, more just a wild dangerous swing.

This is a long way around an introduction for Le Sang Song. AKA, one of Craig (Lights) Chambers other bands. Le Sang Song's one of those groups that you hear about because the dude puts a CD in your hand. And you listen to it, and after about 5 more listens, you start to digest the thing and it's got a something about it that's completly like what the Lights do, only with a subtleness, or spaciousness that adds a dynamic and takes Craig's crazy baritone in a brand new direction, and you realize that this guy's songwriting ability runs deep and diverse. Live, the band is Craig and his wife Adria. It's also got a rotating (I think) cast of folks from other groups like Factums and A-Frames.

We're tickled pink to have 'em.

GULL: The Masked Man Confirmed for TFX

Virginia native Nathaniel Rappole is a wearer of many... err masks. He's been involved in some pretty out there, abrasive and unique punk/rock music for awhile now, from his contributions as guitarist/vocalist for Ultra Dolphins to drumming in the ever-morphing instrumental band Snack Truck. A couple years ago he started a solo project called GULL, taking the show out of the basement and into the streets, literally. He started off playing to mystified passerby audiences on the street in front of the local record store and art galleries in his hometown of Richmond. Before long, Nate found himself blowing minds in a variety of unique places around town, joining with other musicians for experimental one-off collaborations, releasing an EP, and touring throughout the US and Mexico. Recently, he returned home from an east coast tour opening for local rocker Jeff Ament's new group, Tres Mtns.

GULL's performances are magical, energetic and almost supernatural - playing guitar and drum kit all at once, and vocals ran through a homemade microphone-fitted mask, he explodes into a hybrid of rhythmic, freaky noise rock and vision quest jams. It's tough to explain in words so you'll just have to witness it for yourself this August at Total Fest X. In the meantime, here are some videos to salivate your senses...

QUIT YOUR WHINING: UNSTOPPABLE DEATH MACHINES SET TO COLLIDE WITH TFX

What is it about a two-piece that automatically brings a smile to my face? There's something spontaneous built into it, some sort of give and take that jettisons unity for the sake of clarity -- or maybe not. Maybe it's that this old brain can only focus on two people at once. Whatever it is, two pieces jar me into happiness.

The beyond aptly named Unstoppable Death Machines -- brothers Billy (drums) and Mike (bass) -- produces hard hitting sounds that you'd expect from their name. This isn't some pre-programmed drone-plane assault -- Brooklyn's UDM is a "blown-out distorto-punk-rock freak-show." Does that do them justice? Probably not. I like to think they got their name from the 1995 film , but they've transcended the mechanical, hydraulic visions into a beautiful, brutal chaos. They're sure to draw comparisons to Lightning Bolt. They should. Take the noise/hard core sound, mix it with some no wave aesthetics and throw on some homemade mics, you're bound to take that step. But, UDM is a particularly different experience. If you were lucky enough to catch them when they played the BSMT in March, I'll let you carve out the differences. Their Slumlord EP on Last Ever Records is four tracks of brilliance. It meanders and drives all at once as it smacks you in the face, drinks your beer and eats your leftovers. And we're tickled as punch-drunk lovers to have them back in Montana.

The tag line to the video says it all: "THIS BROTHER DUO WILL RIP YOUR FACE OFF AND KISS YOUR SKULL"

BIG BUSINESS AFOOT, AND CONFIRMED.
Big Business has been a band now for something like eight years. Wantage did their very first wee little Tour I EP way back when. It reminded us at the time of pulling the pins simultaneously on 73 hand grenades. It had that kind of immediate, jump-off-the-stereo kind of vibe. Big sounding, and really in more of a large way, than just a loud way.

Jared of course had the Karp and Whip, err.. deals, in his past and shy of starting a Gordon Lightfoot cover band, it would've been hard for anything he did to bum us out. Coady had drummed for bands like the Murder City Devils and Dead Low Tide. In the early days of Total Fest, before they moved to Los Angeles, when they lived over in Seattle, they were able to make it more regularly. Now, generally, they're on tour with their other band, the Melvins, playing Oslo and Buenos Aires and All Tomorrows Parties. Well, thanks to KBGA 89.9 FM, Missoula's college radio station, we've got them back this year. And right after their epic tour with Torche, Thrones and Helms Alee wraps up. If you don't know them yet, you're in for a treat. Listen to "Grounds For Divorce", it's got this great line: "I heard he dabbled in the witchcraft, I heard occult. Oh, they're pretty much the same." "White Pizazz" is pretty ripping too.

Anyway, you get the idea. Here's a video of them before they added members.