TOTAL MIXTAPES

If you're the kind of person that enjoys convenience or just the satisfaction that comes from consolidating everything in one place, today is probably the best day of your life. We've put together three mixtapes featuring the majority of our Total Fest lineup for this year. They're not really tapes, we know, but they're streaming online so if that's the kind of the thing that totally floats your proverbial boat then hell, we're here for ya. Each mix is loosely based around a genre or two and we tried to make each one have a sense of flow because, well, half of the Total Fest committee is made up of radio DJs and that's something we care about.

Yeah, we're aware not every band playing Total Fest this year is on the mixes. We'll be posting more stuff like this in the future so no worries, we wanna make everyone part of the party. We'll keep you updated like we always do from this blog. 

Here they be:

SMILING IS TOTALING.

Smiling, photo from future-breed.com

Our friend Anna set us up with this newer Seattle band called Smiling and said they were playing some of her favorite tunes out there currently. I think Max also said they ripped when he saw them with Stickers, another sweet band. I might be all mixed up though.

We listened to this record of theirs called "Pink" (with a cover image of zipper-mouth bondage mask wearer rendered in pink) and liked what we heard. It's frenetic, thrashy and has a song called "Annoyalist."

That's what we know. I also know we don't get nearly enough of these kinds of tunes out here since Ass-End Offend moved away. Here are some hashtags I made up to help you prepare: #hickpit #windmillguy #watchfromadistance

Smiling, photo from future-breed.com

 
Smiling - Live at Cairo from What's Up Seattle on Vimeo.

YES WE 'MUURICAN WITH AMERICAN LIES

We hereby welcome Glendora, California's American Lies to Total Fest XIII!

This quartet delivers heartfelt tunes of a melodic and/or punk nature. Folks might remember being stoked when they played Missoula around the spring of 2012, which seemed fairly recent 'til I realized that was about two years ago. Anyway, American Lies provides an excellent soundtrack for jumping around like a dork at their live show, or for hanging out at home with a PBR and feeling some feels.

(The dudes also play some rad Saves the Day acoustic covers when the right mood strikes, as I vaguely recall.)

Stream American Lies on Bandcamp. (KW)

NORTHWEST EXCLUSIVE SHOW: SHANNON AND THE CLAMS

Oh man, you guys. SHANNON & THE CLAMS are playing Total Fest XIII. It's real, it's happening and I can't wait. We're so excited to welcome these rocking Total Fest XI veterans back to Missoula. If you've never seen this band play, you seriously need to. They're proficient musicians, have great energy and wear costumes. What's not to like? If you can make it through the set without being pulled into their enthusiasm or the energy of the crowd, you might be a robot.

Musically, Shannon & the Clams hits on garage, soul, doo wop and pop. The band is comprised of Shannon Shaw, a bombshell on bass and lead vocals. Cody Blanchard, who I'm consistently impressed at his ability to play sweet surf riffs while wearing that tight of jacket and highly buttoned collar and Nate Mahan, until recently I thought his last name was 'Mayhem' and it fit after seeing him on drums. 

Let me put it this way; I've never even considered writing a blog post before and this doesn't feel weird because it's about a band I'm stoked to see.

— Mikki "internet" Lunda

Check out more info and find downloadable tracks for Shannon and the Clams here.

GUANTANAMO BAYWATCH

Guantanamo Baywatch returns to Total Fest this year, bringing more of its trademark garage-scuffed surf pop to a Missoula stage. The perfect tunes for lying around the house on a summer day feeling "heartbroken yet groovy," as one reviewer (ahem) wrote in the Independent back before Total Fest XI last year. It's also good for hanging out in the sauna-like atmosphere of Zoo City Apparel with a Pabst.

photo by Tim Goessman

We're pleased to have these Portland partiers back in town, and look forward to enjoying Guantanamo Baywatch's surf vibes in another delightful venue!



Listen to 'em here.
-Kate

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.

THE ARRIVALS - JUST IN TIME!

Calling them unapologetic, heartwrenchingly sincere, and goddamn catchy still somehow seems to fall woefully short when trying to describe the Arrivals. Having been around for well over a decade now, these Chicago punks, and especially the more recent record on Todd Congelliere's Recess Records, wear their Clash and Pegboy influences flawlessly by cranking out soulful and intelligent rock'n'roll songs without all the bullshit patriotism and bogus I'm-Americana-Cause-I-Have-A-Mustache garbage that destroys (for me) most modern bands of this sound. Sort of the way Avail made you feel inspired and proud of your hometown, yet didn't try to dispel the idea that employment and social justice is a sickening joke. But don't get me wrong, the Arrivals aren't rehashing working-class rock - they're ripping it a new one that makes London Calling sound fucking boring (yeah, I said it).

Touring all over the damn place this summer, as well as sharing members with the unkillable Dillinger Four, the Arrivals embody the inspirational and emotional power of music. A desperate rallying cry to stay afloat in a sea of "progressive" shit. We here at Total Fest, Inc., LLC, DOA could not possibly be more excited to raise our fists and go completely hoarse when the Arrivals take the stage and send your wimpy, banjo-cuddling butts back to the bar to earn that goofy whiskey voice you've been trying to pair with your ironic hat collection. This is how it's REALLY done, kiddos - take note!

GUN OUTFIT

There are some bands that lend themselves to bizarre introspective thought that only really makes sense during the asphalt daze of a roadtrip or whatever the hell you think about while passing in and out of consciousness. For example, Meat Puppets, Sebadoh, and Unwound are bands that have always lent a connection when I find myself on a long walk home after a shitty day's work. The weirdness and warm feelings those bands evoke seem to draw away the tedium of pounding the sidewalk and dwelling on the concept that the only good boss is a dead one. When my friend gave me a tape of his new band, Gun Outfit, I popped that shit in the tape deck and was instantly excited about the next time I found myself pissed off and bored (which, if you know me, didn't take long).

The riffs Gun Outfit seem to come up with in their sleep are so awkwardly catchy that it sends me back a decade or two to trading tapes of "You're Living All Over Me" and zoning out until the school bell releases my mind to more productive pursuits (like finding out why Jenny said hi to me in the hall - does she LOVE me???). My friend doesn't play in Gun Outfit anymore but unlike many of your "friend's bands," that hasn't done a damn thing to keep me from loving this band more with every release. Get ready to lose your head in the clouds and get weird.

SAY 'YES' TO BIRD'S MILE HOME
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years, you've probably gotten the opportunity to have had Missoula's own Bird's Mile Home send you on your way completely worn out and unable to get their damn songs out of your head no matter how many times you hum them. What can't this band do? From getting a hall full of seniors shakin' their butts on the dance floor to whipping the kids into a fury with Circle Jerks covers and thrashing originals, these guys bring to mind the best elements of the Minutemen, Fifteen, hell even the Boss. The semi-recent addition of cellist Genevieve Smith completes the picture by perfectly fleshing out the songs and adding a hint of melody to the addictingly gruff delievery of Bird's Mile Home's rolickin' jams.

With lyrics that tell a rollercoaster ride of a story - goddamn I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff - and songs that make it nearly impossible to pinpoint their sound (folk? punk? weird?), Bird's Mile Home's recently released debut LP on local upstart Minor Bird Records (Total Organizer Marty Hill, yes!) sets the bar for Missoula's underground music scene. Don't sit on this - get a head start by picking up the record now and learn the songs so you too can impress your friends by finger-pointing at all the right places and adding your own drunken rendition to the songs' chorus.

ARCTIC FLOWERS ARE A GO!
Another mind-blowing group from the City of Roses - I tell ya, Portland's ratio of ripping bands per capita is downright absurd - make their way to this year's Total Fest. Arctic Flowers sound like they would have fit in perfectly with their refreshing take on the UK anarcho scene of the 80's and have the intensity and riffs to leave you wondering what decade we're in anyway. Consisting of folks from Signal Lost, Deathreat, Defect Defect, Vivid Sekt, blah blah blah, this is ferocious and uncompromising punk rock that will send your band back into the practice space trying to figure out where you went wrong. These guys and gals have cruised up and down the West Coast already this year and lucky for us things don't look like they're gonna be slowing anytime soon. I've been wracking my brain to come up with more ways to describe Arctic Flowers and have only been able to come up with this: if you don't like this, you're wrong.

Following on the heels of last year's ridiculously great demo, Arctic Flowers have a handful of records coming out this summer that I'm already reserving a spot for on my Best of 2010. I got a chance to see them play a couple of months ago that left me floored and unable to even remember what the other bands sounded like. In addition to all this, it's worth a mention that Stan also records bands at his Buzz or Howl studio on 24-track, 2" analog tape - just finished mixing the new Raw Nerves a few days ago. All you Montana bands take note! So skip school, tell mom and dad to fuck off, and prepare to lose all sense of time in the raging tunes of Arctic Flowers.