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.

Submission Deadline Approaches!!

Hey Total World,

In spite of this drab March 25th, April will still come (if we allow ourselves to believe in calendars). April means that the submission deadline for Total Fest X is a week from today! Grab your puffy envelopes, your sharpies, your rolls of penny stamps and send it in already! We're super excited and determined to make Number 10 one of the most memorable Total Fests to date, and we'd be saddened if you somehow missed out. We look forward to this part of the planning process so do whatever it takes -- stalk that mail carrier, push yourself to the front of the line, etc. -- to drop it in the mail:

Wantage USA Attn. Total Fest X Submissions
P.O. Box 8681
Missoula, MT 59807

GOD DAMN, and BOY HOWDY. THIS GODAMMITBOYHOWDY 7" IS INCREDIBLE.

Neighbors be damned, the lads of Godammitboyhowdy didn't even get to play their own record release show the other night at the Bike Doctor! That didn't stop me from picking up a copy of this new 7" of theirs, it's a white hot artifact, and in two days time, I've played it more times already than I can recount.

Part East Bay '89, part pow-wow, part rural punk, this thing has got personality and guts in spades. It's all the things a perfect punk 7" should be: loud, fast, and memorable. Godammitboyhowdy has played a couple of Total Fests, and there are few things not to like about 'em.

We've got them for sale over at wantageusa.com

TOTAL TIME.

2011 will mark the tenth year we will have gotten all Total out here, and to celebrate, we're working on some extra-ambitious stuff. More on that soon, but for now, let's just commence the accepting of applications. We want you. Deadline: April 1, 2011. Here's what an application looks like:

1) A good recording, CDRs are fine, of three or four songs that best represent your band. One CD is fine. Electronic submissions are a hassle for us, so don't email us saying "Bro! Just go head and go to our myspace page. It's all there." We are old, weird, "traditional" folks for whom computers, MP3s and the like still are confusing and frightening.

2) A promise that you understand that by applying, you're holding onto the days of August 18-20, 2011 and not simultaneously figuring out how to do 16 other things simultaneously.

2.5) Some type of paragraph explaining your deal. Who are you? Where do you live? Why do you play tunes? Why do you like the Pink Fairies and Karp? We don't need a long list of the bands you've played with, but we like context, and if a decent writer has written about your band, that'd be a nice thing to get.

3) Good contact information for you (i.e. a single contact person for your band, a good phone number and email address).

4) Your patience. We will listen to everything we get, discuss it, give it a fair shake and decide upon the bands and artists that most help us with our mission of Totality. Totally. Thank you.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: APRIL 1, 2011. Send to:

Wantage USA Attn. Total Fest X Submissions
P.O. Box 8681
Missoula, MT 59807

Josh's Top List of 2010

And with no ado whatsoever, here are some top lists for last year. I'm going to see if I can't collect these from some of our Total Fest organizers!

RECORDS
Bassholes: And Without A Name LP (Columbus Discount)
Don Howland's records keep getting better, spookier and more excellent and time goes by.

Kieltolaki LP (Feral Ward)
Finnish hardcore done so well it's unfunny.

Kvoteringen LP (Feral Ward)
Swedish harcore done so well it's unfunny.

White Shit: Sculpted Beef (PPM)
For a one-sided 12", this thing packs in adventure, Jim Morrison references and plugs four of my favorite musicians into a single, ripping band.

Fleshies: Brown Flag LP (Recesss)
Who knew this killer band was still killing?

Omar Khorshid LP (reissued material by Sublime Frequencies)
Offers crucial pre-surf, and showcases Arab guitar at its absolute finest.

Fist City: LP (Deadbeat)
Southern Albertans whose sound is as rurally-isolated, beautiful, and frustrated as Lethbridge.

Harvey Milk: Small Turn of Human Kindness LP (Hydrahead)
Not rock whatsoever, but good in spite.

the Lights: Failed Graves LP (Wantage)

Jangle-jangle donk, jangle-jangle donk. Rhyming choruses... the formula is unchanged and perfect.

Japanther: Rock N' Rolle Ice Cream (Menlo Park)

My soft spot for Japanther's pop is real, and their pop keeps improving.

Shahs: Dry Heat/Valley Low (Riley Bushman) LP
One man and a tropical, washy mission.

Post Regiment: Czarly reissue LP (Nikt Nic Nie Wie)
Polski punk at its finest.

White Lung: CD (Derranged)
Canadienski punk at its finest.

Bird's Mile Home LP (Minor Bird)

Missoula's only 12" in ... what, 4 years? A fist pumper.

Child Abuse: Cut and Run CD (Lovepump)
Lightning Bolt's estranged west coast cousins? Or is it just a west coast label?

Broken Water: Whet LP (Radio Is Down)

Great, slow, enveloping rock and roll music.

Konono #1: Assume Crash Position (Crammed)
Congolese all-stars continue to thwack at their likembes.

Custody Battle 10" (Morning Star Tapes)

My sleeper hit record of 2010.

AFCGT CD (Sub Pop)

A-Frames dudes, Climax Golden Twins dudes. A one time collab? Who cares.

1776 12" EP (Aerodrome)

Federation X fix, four songs worth anyway.

Mordecai CDR (Self-released, LP soon on Killer Tree)

Rock a rolla from the caustic, environmentally-troubled part of the state.

LIVE

Ohsees @ the BSMT

Capricorn Vertical Slum: Live at

Mordecai

Broken Water @ the ZACC

Warcry @ Total Fest IX

Night of Joy @ Total Fest IX