TACOCAT CONFIRMS

Here's pieces of a perfect, I-Couldn't-Have-Said-It Better, review of Total Favorites, Tacocat: "Often dismissed as a joke band, Tacocat has surprisingly good pop instincts with a rough, unpolished riot grrrl sound." "...Bikini Kill... that’s who their sound immediately brings to mind. They have a similar lineup (three women and a male guitarist) and sing about personal women’s issues. Bikini Kill, however, saw the personal as political and Tacocat sees the personal as really funny (they’ve got songs about muffin tops, wearing leotards, etc.."

"Tacocat might be the goofy band that plays your party – except they write very catchy songs and don’t let the pop hooks get drowned out by the loud, messy guitar parts. Like The Ramones, most of Tacocat’s songs are around two minutes." "Singer Emily Nokes, whose hair might be the brightest shade of red I’ve ever seen, has a magnetic stage presence and her voice is very melodic. They are a fun band that has zero pretension and doesn’t take themselves too seriously. I think the moment they start, the joke will be over. In the meantime, I’m going to try to catch every upcoming Tacocat show I can."

To read the complete review click here.

NO FI SOUL REBELLION: SHOW US WHAT YOU GOT
Outrageous, Infectious, participatory and undeniably dance-rageous are just a few words that first come to mind when trying to describe this band. Something tells me though, that there are not too many people to whom this band needs introduction or explanation. No Fi Soul Rebellion has played Missoula a whole bunch, they've toured a bunch, self released a bunch of records and has spent a fair amount of a bunch of time blasting you with songs, videos, show announcements, art, etc... via every virtual platform available. Bonus: A few years back, they toured with Presidents of the United States of America, putting them on massive stages in front of massive crowds, which is right where they belong.

If you lived in or passed through Missoula in the early 2000s you had the pleasure of seeing a handful of different versions of NFSR before Mark met and finalized the line-up with his wife Andrea. It's a unique and special opportunity to witness that type of positive growth and transition and how exciting to see them here at Total Fest IX! One of the hardest working, furthest traveling, wildest energy producing, breaking-WAY-into-your-comfort-zone bands to ever form in the Garden City, No Fi Soul Rebellion, welcome home to Missoula, welcome finally... it's been way too long, to Total Fest!

RETURN OF THE EMIGRANT: SQUALORA
I have nothing against Portland. It's a great city, really. There's a reason we refer to it as West Missoula: it represents a horizon for our own growth. It's green, politically charged and maintains a sense of community. There's also another reason why we call it West Missoula. You can't walk down the street without seeing some Missoula transplant or go to some show without feeling like you encounter some pocket of a Jay's time-warp. It's nothing personal against Portland; it's just that its status as a metropolitan center and its location seems to siphon away Missoula's music scene. Squalora is a prime example. There's no fault in moving on to bigger and better, but it stings when memory is more exciting than the actual. Missoula tries; it does, but I dread when bands start to grow and take full shape. It leads to the question, “When are they leaving?” Larger issues are at play here, but when you find a place you like to call home and the music keeps jumping ship, a little bit of bitter begins to take hold.
Enough of the lament.

Squalora harkens back to the old days of hardcore. Think Born Against, Capitalist Casualties, Citizens Arrest, Infest, Antischism, Dirt, Resist, Mankind?, etc. Ok maybe some aren't that old, but the torch they continue to carry is one that we should all hope isn't extinguished. While pop-punk and garage-punk are easily nike-ified and swooshed into the “Do It” slogan, the angst and rebellion expressed in hardcore is something that continually defies pop-culture's co-optation. Sure that's a little naïve, but it's hard to imagine Squalora popping up on Guitar Hero or selling soda. Formerly Ass-End Offend, and, momentarily, Nazgul (not to mention parts of Venal IV and the Anti-Difrancos, among others), Squalora has been shredding ears in one form or another since 1999. With a litany of releases on Poison Candy Records, Wantage USA and Repetitively Futile Records, they froth with the DIY spirit of resistance. The frustration and general pissed nature of the music keeps you on your toes and, like Assuck, cries for you to wield a machete and storm the capital.

The brewing, fermenting bitterness that swells and cries for release in small towns breeds a unique type of anger. In a larger city, there is always someone else already creating an outlet, there are groups of people where you can lose yourself in the collective. In a small town, there is usually no option for release. You either flee or meet the bullshit head on. Squalora chose the latter. So Portland, you can keep your 2 million plus because there's something special that small city angst creates, and we'll continue to proudly identify with our exports.

REUNION ALERT (CODE BROWN): SASSHOLE!

Back in the '80s, err, I mean '90s, man, there was this mystical place called Jay's. From it issued only goodness and positivity, to it came only the most talented. Blahhh blah blah… I’m always concerned with nostalgia clouding my recollection of some of my absolute favorite Missoula bands, especially when we talk about our reunion acts. I saw Sasshole dozens of time, as did a lot of my err, vintage. Often, I guess, like similarly great bands (Humpy, Oblio Joes, Honky Sausage/the Fireballs of Freedom, VTO, Hughes, the Helltones, and the Hedons, etc.) it was more or less waiting for the of town band I wanted to see more. At some point I reached the important understanding that really good bands can and do from this, our very own town. Sometimes it’s easy to equate a band’s foreigness with goodness, or having some special je ne sais quois, and missing the really good stuff that's right in front of you. I imagine it's called something like "xenophilia"... So, anyway, at some point I started to listen to Sasshole on their own merits. They have John Waters style senses of humor, obsessions with: death, murder, stalking, bodily functions, corndogs, shit, blood and are gifted in the art of late-night-full-on debauched partying.

Sasshole started as a four piece, did a handful of lineup changes with dudes like Andy and Justin from Humpy, and settling on Dave (also from Humpy) Goatboy Parsons. During the eight or so years that Sasshole were active, they did what few Montana bands regularly do and regularly left town. They made friends up and down the west coast, toured in a pet-grooming van, and did a couple tours a year before they essentially broke up around 2004 or so, after introducing another fine Montana punk export, Disgruntled Nation, to the west.

From my fan’s vantage point, the last three years of Sasshole were some of my all-out favorites, bar none. The band had grown from a trashy, barely-holding-it-together-but-charmingly-awesome punk band into songwriters who’d found a unique voice and worked hard at forming it into a gritty and dynamic force. Their shows were fun as hell, the band was good, and their melodies were unique and awesome. I always think about L.A. punk like the Germs and X when I have to describe Sasshole to a newcomer, probably doesn’t do justice to the influence the Moo-La-La catalog, or Sacramento '90s scene had on them, but it’s an alright starting point. Total Fest is pleased as-can-be to announce Sasshole! Be sure to listen to the MP3s that are up on sasshole.net and dig around on places like Terminal Boredom message boards to read up on this wild bunch.

JULIE AND THE WOLVES: OUI!
June and Julie get it. Less is more, more often than not. These girls, currently living in France, go way back, but have only recently re-connected to write and sing out their pockets full of sweetly simple, sometimes sad, sometimes sassy, songs. They were a band for 3 short weeks before they recorded with Travis Sehorn and released a (totally free) tape. Soon after, they were gone, over seas, to write, play, travel, work and return just in time for Total Fest IX.

Prepare for well-written tunes accompanied by seaside accordion, summery ukulele and extra-lovely harmonia. Julie and the Wolves are on the new side as a band but see them play and suppose they've been at it for years. They're a rad team, playing awesome songs and we're stoked to bring them to you via Total Fest this August. They'll be a perfect match for your record swapping, DIY Bazaar perusing, ice cream eating Saturday afternoon. In my book, they're right up there with Scout, Joanna, Edith, Salt and Pepa.

TOTAL FEST "PURE COUNTRY GOLD" STYLE
Growing up, the phrase “pure country gold” meant a combination of Wyoming, a 1977 Ford custom pickup, my Dad, an AM radio frequency and a trip to the dump on a Sunday afternoon. However, Portland’s very own Pure Country Gold may have just changed my view on these three words. The duo play blues charged garage rock with a pinch of - wait for it - country. These boys take just as much from The Oblivians as they do from The Flat Duo Jets, but please don’t think of The White Stripes here – Pure Country Gold are way too reckless and loud for the comparison. Trust me you do NOT want to miss their set.

CUSTODY BATTLE: TOTALLY!
It wouldn't be Total Fest with out a little Flagstaffery and it's safe to say that we're pretty pleased with what's coming our way this year. Custody Battle is pretty intense in a 90s punk/garage kind of way, which is great and a fantastic fit into this year's line-up. We always have fun with the Flagstaff crowd and since we've been listening to Custody Battle's demo they sent in (recorded to tape by one Greg Casebeer) ... well, it's hard not to get excited.

They're not holding anything back, they're not hiding a thing; they're recording sweet songs, they'd like you to dance. Dearest Missoula, Total Fest IX is proud to announce Custody Battle.