New Band Alert - Kitner Plays First Show At O'Brien's Pub on 9/23

See you at a rock and roll show.

Comprised of members of Choke Up, Save Ends, Holiday Music and a few other folks around town, new band Kitner will be playing their first show at O'Brien's Pub in Allston this September. Sources say the guitar driven sound is "like Weakerthans meets Bruce Springsteen." We do not have the words to describe that, so we'll have to hear it live for ourselves.

Head to O'Brien's Pub in Allston Rock City on Wednesday, September 23rd to catch Kitner open for Lee Corey Oswald (PDX), Soda Bomb (Long Island, NY) and local band Sneeze. Killer lineup = will sell out ∴ buy tickets in advance here. The show is 18+ // $10 // 8PM doors. View the official Facebook event page.

Z*L Calls It Quits

Midriff Records announced today via Facebook that fuzz rock band and 2014 Rock 'N' Roll Rumble participant Z*L has called it quits.

"It is with great displeasure and a tear in our eye that we announce that the great ZL has called it quits. We'll update you on any future projects of its members. RIP Z*L."

 Digital download of Z*L's S/T full-length is available for purchase via Midriff's website.

First Batch of Bands Announced for the 2015 Boston Fuzzstival

We're getting that fuzzy feeling again.

Illegally Blind took to the internets to announce the initial Boston Fuzzstival 2015 lineup late yesterday.

The three-day festival (August 6-8 at The Middle East) features some of the best bands in the region that make psychedelic/fuzz/garage/surf rock noise including 2015 Rock 'n' Roll Rumble champions Zip Tie Handcuffs.

Line Up (so far)

DrugRug
Bloodshot BILL
CREATUROS
Ghost Box Orchestra
The Barbazons (formally The Fagettes)
Littlefoot
Herbcraft
The TeleVibes
The Mystery Lights
NICE GUYS
Beware the Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion!
Zip-Tie Handcuffs
GYMSHORTS
Blinders
Wakes
Mini Dresses
Midriffs
Soft Eyes

Schedules and additional bands TBD. Visit the official Facebook event page for full details.

Boston Fuzzstival 2015...Is Coming...

Art by John Magnifico and Will Thomas from Boom Said Thunder

Boston Fuzzstival 2015 is coming!

The goal of Boston Fuzzstival is to highlight the best bands in the region that make psychedelic/fuzz/garage/surf rock and to build bridges within the local music community. This years Fuzzstival is a 3 day event, with 2 shows at The Middle East Upstairs and the 3rd show at The Middle East Downstairs, hosted by Illegally Blind.

Join the event on Facebook for future information including schedules and lineups.

AUGUST 6 @ Middle East Upstairs

AUGUST 7 @ Middle East Upstairs

AUGUST 8 @ Middle East Downstairs

Pet Sun, L.A. Jeff, Lesser Knowns, Tyler & The Names at O'Brien's Pub

Adorable seal says go to a local music show plz.

UPDATE: Due to a broken hand, Pet Sun will be unable to make the show. 

Head out to O’Brien’s Pub in Allston on Wednesday, February 11th for…

Pet Sun – Ontario lo-fi psychedelic rock
L.A. Jeff – Garage jams from Cambridge
Lesser Knowns – Bluesy rock and roll from way down south (New Bedford)
Tyler & The Names – Mystery grab bag

...because cheap beer, local music, supporting touring bands, this adorable seal told you to do so. 21+ with valid ID, 8PM, $8, full event details here.

A Warm and Fuzz Homecoming - Boom Said Thunder's Boston Single Release Show

Boom Said Thunder Single Release Party, 1/23 at Great Scott.

Fuzz rock trio Boom Said Thunder will return to Boston on Friday, January 23rd to debut their two-song single. A moody concoction including 6:43 fuzz rock steamroller of a track “Carnivore” and 5:45 worth of luxurious and intoxicating trance rock in “Summer Twin”, both of which you can listen to via the advanced demos streaming on Bishop And Rook.

4 Bands and 1 Rockin Holiday Flea Market to See in December

Support local music, go to a show.

So successful in October, we’re doing it again! What any self-respecting music lover will tell you is, “you gotta see the live show man.” Spontaneous, interactive, at some points vastly different from the recordings, you can’t have a true opinion about a band until you catch them live. Also cocktails, mingling and sometimes fancy outfits. Here are 4 bands and 1 rockin holiday flea market to see before the end of December.

Five Boston Bands to See in October

Friends tell friends about good music. Five Boston bands to see before the end of the month.

Friends tell friends about good music, and hey, you seem cool. Out of the DOZENS of shows happening this month, we’ve pulled five must-see Boston bands you need to catch in person before the end of October. So immerse yourself in cultural activities, sleep when you're dead and go to a local show.

Zip-Tie Handcuffs Melts Your Face with “Psychotic Dance”

Sorry we’re late to the media love-fest for this video, we’re blaming it on the hypnotic trance of constantly hitting the repeat button.

I’d like to mention this may cause psychedelic seizures (side note, killer band name). As you may now know, Zip-Tie Handcuffs released a music video for single “Psychotic Dance” off the soon to be released album Sundream. It’s 2:38 minutes of dizzy distorted fuzz rock, ending with a ripping dance party.

One can only hope such a trippy sensation could be reenacted during their live show tomorrow, September 11th at O’Brien’s Pub, Allston with The New Highway Hymnal, Esh the Monolith and Boogie Boy Metal Mouth (21+/$7).

Allston Gets a Bit More Awesome During Awesome Day Fest

15 Bands, 3 Stages, One Awesome Day in Allston (Poster design by Z*L's Ian Adams)

Jesse Sherman of Boston band, Tired Old Bones, and Cameron Keiber of boutique label Midriff Records, along with O’Brien’s Pub, Regina Pizzeria, Store 54 and Narragansett Beer present Awesome Day Fest in Allston Rock City on May 24th. Originally orchestrated by Sherman, Awesome Day has historically been an all-day affair at the charming O’Brien’s Pub, complete with copious amounts of BBQ on the back patio and a stage full of the best rock Boston has to offer.

This year, however, Awesome Day Fest transforms into a tri-venue experience with the addition of TWO MORE STAGES. Three times the music, three times the beer, just remember to cross with the crosswalk.

#BandcampRoulette

This fuzz rock import is featured on The 100 Club Series from DIY label, Odd Box Records. Let Fever Dream's lo-fi sound sooth away your holiday hangover. Subscribe to The 100 Club Series for £42 ($69) and receive installments of their limited edition 7" (1 of 100 per pressing) in the mail. Hurry, there are only a few subscriptions left.

Play Bandcamp Roulette.

Clicky Clicky Music Presents a Local Benefit Show

Clicky Clicky Music Benefit Show at TT's November 3rd (flyer designed by Matt Klimas)

Community Servings, based in Jamaica Plain, is a not-for-profit food and nutrition program providing services throughout Massachusetts to individuals and families living with critical and chronic illnesses. Community Servings delivers 395,000 free, home-style meals to about 1,300 people per year, who are too sick to cook for themselves or their families. Come out to a show and support this awesome cause.

Guillermo Sexo - Dark Spring

Guillermo Sexo's fifth full-length, Dark Spring. Available 9/24/13.

As a follow up to the 2013 January EP, Bring Down Your Arms, Boston indie band, Guillermo Sexo, is set to issue their fifth full length, Dark Spring (Midriff Records), mid-September which features three previously released tracks as well as eight highly anticipated new songs.

This moody, psych rock record successfully ushers in the pending dormant season with wistful sounds and hypnotic rhythms, and is a holistic album for any music enthusiast taking a liking to dream pop bands from Lush to Beach House.

Animals Sell - 5 Records with Animal Cover Art You Should be Listening to Right Now

As stated in the original Bandcamp Roulette post, and most recently, on Instagram, I'm a sucker for cover art. In particular, animal themed images. However, like finding a guy with a great sense of humor and a job with benefits, these magical items are harder to find when you're actually looking for them. But from the depths of Bandcamp, I bring you five 2012-2013 EPs/full lengths donned with fuzzies, for your listening pleasure.

Put that shit on a record. Fucking majestic.

#BandcampRoulette

#BandcampRoulette – The Holy Smokes' S/T track, “Holy Smokes” (Dayton, OH). 1:36 of bluesy fuzz rock from the midwest.

Play Bandcamp Roulette.

#BandcampRoulette‬

#BandcampRoulette – Chandeliers, “Swim Gym” (Allston, MA). Fun fact this EP was released on my birthday.

Play Bandcamp Roulette.

Rock Out With Your Cocktail Out Vol. XIV

Shabu-Zen hot pot in Allston has a beer and wine license only. But they get away with making a mean sake mojito. This got me thinking of additional sake substituting, and then I found the Cherry Sake Cocktail on fancy-edibles.com. Life is about loopholes. And good music. The August Rock Out With Your Cocktail Out playlist features a little bit of surfs up, a little bit of your girlfriend and a little bit of Boston, with local bands Bodega Girls, Guillermo Sexo, The Okay Win and Rebuilder.

Life is about loopholes and good music

Rock Out With Your Cocktail Out Vol. IX

I had a very, 'Why didn't I think of that?' moment while at Thelonious Monkfish in Central Square, Cambridge last weekend. Pomegranate juice and moscato wine. I'm sure it has a name that I can't recall at the moment, so we're just going to go with The Pommo Cocktail. It's 8am, that's as creative as I'm going to get. Rock out with your Pommo cocktail out to the March Playlist.

Rock Out With Your Cocktail Out Vol. VII

Excuse me, my eyes are up here. I will give you a dollar if you say no one stared at your slimmer green cocktail while you sat at the bar, sipping a Pearl Harbor. I like to order this drink because 8 out 10 bartenders don't know what I'm talking about. Try the Midori melon concoction while you're listening to my January playlist.

Image credit

Boom Said Thunder - Sexy In Person

Front woman, Abby Bickel, of Boom Said Thunder
- Boston Image Credit

An orgy of luxurious vocals, solid base and methodical drumming created a delicious set of lustful adrenaline last night at McGann's Irish Pub in Boston. A cross between Karen O, Grace Slick, and a wet dream, Abby Bickel is a seductively spunky front woman with a set of lungs that would not match such a small frame in any line up. I liked her style, I'm pretty sure we own the same shoes. Performed exclusively in the dark, the audience witnessed a pre climactic buffering of intensity by the self-proclaimed fuzz rock band. A faster, harder, deeper presentation; on the cusp of culmination, the room was drawn into a 'give it all we’ve got' mentality of this truly talented trio. With sultry strutting, sweating drums and the occasional giggle, Boston band, Boom Said Thunder, is a sexy bedroom animal with a microphone. An appropriate band hug, which became infectious with the crowd, completed the forceful set.

As one fan said, "That shit was tight."

"Boom!" EP is available for download on bandcamp. Debut full length, "EXIST", is set to release March 1st, 2013.

Catch Abby, John and Will of Boom Said Thunder, January 11th at Lit Lounge (NYC) and January 23rd at TT The Bears (Cambridge).