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Best Of 2011 According To BHP

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Well it would appear that 2011 is coming to an end.  With that said, it’s time for a “Best Of…” Broken Headphones 2011 edition.

There were a ton of amazing releases throughout the year as well as live shows that I was able to attend.  Below is just a various list of bands that caught my attention, be it a recording or live show, over the past 12 months.

I should add that some of my favorite releases were from local Akron/Cleveland acts.  I am not just dropping their names because we are pals or anything, they all worked hard and put out some excellent releases.  If you have not heard of any of them, you really should check them out.

I may have missed a band here or there, but the following were the ones that stood out over the rest.

Albums of the Year:

Seahaven – Winter Forever

*Hands down this is one of my favorite albums to drop this year.  They just have this indie punk rock sound that is ever so likable – trust me on this.  The first time I listened to it, I was hooked.  I see big things happening with this band in the near future.

Nothington – Borrowed Time

*This is another album I favored over the rest this year.  Catchy lyrics layered over wholesome punk rock is what this album is all about.  To make matters even better, they kick ass live.  They are coming back to Cleveland next month and I can not wait to see them again.  Listening to this band brings me band to the punk rock 90s I grew up on.

All Dinosaurs – Paranoid Indigenous

*So maybe the music was released in 2010, but the LP dropped this past Spring so I consider it a 2011 release.  This Cleveland act is beyond fun to listen to plus they put on one of the best live shows ever.  They are funny, quote 80s movies and are in it for the fun.  It helps they are also all super cool dudes.  If you are a Cleveland native, you should already know how amazing this band is.

Dave Hause – Resolutions

*I was a little late checking this album out as it was released in early 2011, but am glad I did not pass it up.  Hause (The Loved Ones) is an amazing musician and proves it in this killer solo release.  With help from his friends, he put together one hell of a release.  Do me a favor, if you like music, listen to this.

Living With Lions – Holy Shit

*Words can not really describe how impressed I was when I heard these guys.  All I know is I will have this album playing regularly for a long long time.

Deer Tick – Divine Providence

*The boys in Deer Tick changed it up a bit and put forth a bitching rock album that I really dug.

Dawes – Nothing Is Wrong

*Oh Dawes…you’ve done it again.  What a solid release.  You guys are on your way to being huge.  Keep it up.

Those Darlins – Screws Get Loose

*The girls and Lynwood dropped a impressive follow-up to their debut this year and I adore it.  Still kicking around the country-punk attitude, the foursome toyed with a more indie / garage rock sound and did a fine job doing so.

Old Man Markley – Guts n’ Teeth

*This self-proclaimed “New Grass” band was one of the more fun releases I had have the pleasure of checking out this year.  I can not wait to see what happens next with these guys and gals.

Banner Pilot – Heart Beats Pacific

*Impressive release by a great punk rock band.  They need to play Cleveland soon.

White Wives – Happeners

*This was the surprise release of the year for me.  Featuring members of Anti-Flag, this album is far from a pop-punk rock album.  On the lines of indie rock, White Wives needs to be heard.

A.A. Bondy – Believers

*This guy really outdid himself.  You really have to check it out for yourself to realize why I appreciate it so much.  It’s a really beautiful release to listen to.

Bon Iver – Bon Iver

*Not normally something I would listen to, but holy shit – it rules.

The Black Keys – El Camino

*Yeah yeah yeah… The former Akron, OH boys once again put out a release I admit I love.  I do not love the fact that the next time they hit Cleveland, they will be playing an arena.  It is safe to say they made it big time.  Let’s hope they don’t screw it up.

Signals Midwest – Latitudes & Longitudes

*And yet another local act.  These guys are a big deal though…to me at least.  The dropped a really good record.  For serious.

EPs of the year:

Luther – Siblings & Sevens

*Folk / Punk / Rock awesomeness.  I was caught off guard by this band.  They rule.  Sadly they had to cancel their Cleveland show after the band was involved in an accident in Chicago.  Luckily no one was seriously injured.  I can not wait for their full-length to drop.

Harvey Pekar – Thirty Ghosts

*Dear Harvey Pekar (the band), thank you for existing.

Worship This! – Demo

*I normally do not mention bands that I am really good friends with the members, but I adore this band.  That’s all I have to say about that.

Two Hand Fools – Believeland

*These guys better get signed in 2012 or else I am going to fight someone.  Another Cleveland act with plenty of talent.

Cherry Cola Champions – EP

*I remember the first time I saw these guys live.  I was not into them during their first song, and once their second song started, I was blown away.  Looking forward to seeing what this duo has up their sleeves next year.

The Awesome:

-Going to SXSW and seeing bands such as The Dead Milkmen, Flatliners, Dead To Me, Eyehategod, and tons others at various venues in Austin, TX earlier this Spring.  It was one hell of an experience to see so many bands cramped into such an amazing city.  Sadly when you have that many bands, you tend to miss out on some great sets by amazing bands.  Regardless, it was just awesome.  Plus…I saw Dale Watson play at Ginny’s.  That right there made my trip.

-Hanging out with Ninja Gun for a few days.  These guys are some of the best dudes I know.  They wanted to play shows on the East coast and I was able to lure them to Kent to play a show in September.  We all enjoyed hanging out so much that they kicked it for a couple more days where I took them up to Melt for some cheesy deliciousness.

-Getting Dave Hause to play a house show in Akron.  After seeing that Dave Hause was not playing a show in the Cleveland area just 2 weeks ago, I threw him the idea of a house show and he and tour mate Cory Branan were totally down with the idea.  The result was a show to remember with Hause and Branan trading off songs all night long.

-Hanging out with friends, new and old, at the Inner Sanctum Pier show on the E. 9th pier.  More people could have showed up, but regardless, I had a killer time that sunny day and got to watch Pat The Producer turn into a human tomato.

-Hanging out with Rise Against and doing some charity work them at the Malachi House in Cleveland.  The guys were super cool to hang with and really did not have that “rock star” attitude built from success.  Props to 92.3 for making that happen.

-Making the trip back to Austin, TX early November and attending Fun Fun Fun Fest.  I got to see some of my favorite bands all in one weekend including Murder City Devils, Hot Snakes, Hum, Slayer, Eyehategod, The Damned, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, and Russian Circles.  This was one of my favorite festivals of all time.  It was a festival I had wanted to attend for a a few years now and I decided to go for it.  I am so glad I did.

-It’s A Kling Thing House & Girley House.  Both houses put on some amazing shows in 2011 with local acts as well as touring bands.  Seeing Jeff Rowe over the summer as well as Mixtapes just a month or so ago in a basement is as good as live shows get for this guy.

-Daytrotter’s Barnstormer Tour.  What a great evening of music that was.  The show was in a freaking barn.  Yes, I do not remember much as the beers were going down like water, but I know I had a blast with some pretty special people.

The Suck:

-Ben Weasel’s SXSW blowout.  Sadly I was on the other side of town watching Cleveland’s very own Ringworm in a ghetto ass bar.  Don’t ask me why I skipped out on seeing Screeching Weasel live, I was under the influence of many ice cold Lone Star beers.  Honestly, I am kind of glad I missed Weasel acting like a little girl on stage.

-Danzig’s Fun Fun Fun hissy fit.  One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Fun Fun Fun Fest was because the Danzig Legacy was playing it.  I was stoked to finally see Danzig sing some Misfits songs with Doyle on stage.  Instead I witnessed a diva take the stage late and get their set cut as they played past curfew.  I only heard two Misfits songs and left with a bad taste in my mouth.  People can think what they want about Danzig and that night.  I was in the crowd watching heater being pulled on stage as well as the side of the stage tarped up so that little Glen would not get cold.  It was over an hour until the stage met his needs and the dude was fully aware of the curfew.  I will say that the two Mistfits songs had me feeling like a kid all over again.  Shame I could not witness the entire set that he had planned.  Lucky for me Ted Leo did a TV Casualty set the next day and made up for the Danzig drama.

-Seeing NOFX over Those Darlins.  I regret that decision a lot.  Two of my favorite bands played the same night and I had to choose one over the other.  The good news was that I got to see and meet Old Man Markley.  Sorry Darlins, I will not miss you next time you all hit up Cleveland.  Please forgive me.

-Atari Teenage Riot’s Cleveland show getting cancelled.  I was stoked to see these guys and was prepared to lose my hearing that night.  Hours before the show, their promoter cancelled the show.  Needless to say, I was pissed.

-92.3 and 107.3 changing formats.  Cleveland is a lost cause with radio now that both those stations were yanked.

Wrapping it up…

2011 ended with a bang for this music lover.  Thanks to all my friends from all over who made this year extra special for me.  You all know who you are.  From letting me crashing on couches to allowing bands to play in their basements you helped make this year what it was.  Also to everyone who attended shows with me and shared the same passion I have for music, thanks.

Happy holidays everyone and thanks for taking a part out of your day to visit this site.

Ok 2012, let’s see what you have in store.


Folk, Indie, Music, Music Video, Rock, The Awesome, Watch This

New Ninja Gun Music Video!!!

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My day just improved after seeing this new music video for “Hot Rain” by Ninja Gun…

Seriously, I do not think I have smiled that much in a long while while watching a music video on the interwebs. The song comes off their Sabot Productions release titled Roman Nose that dropped earlier this year.  If you have not checked it out yet, you really should.

Acoustic, Country, Emo, Folk, Indie, Music, Pop, Punk, Review, Rock

Rapid Reviews: Brett Detar, JuiceheaD, Transit, Coffee Project, The Flatliners and I Am The Avalanche

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Let’s face it, this site is a one man show for the most part and as of late I have been living quite the busy life.  I am continually presented with amazing music for review consideration and sadly there is not enough time in the day for me to not only get through work and school, but to also write nice things about all these awesome bands.

So today I decided to throw out a few quick reviews on a couple of bands that have been sitting in my “cool” stack.  I wish I had more time to go into complete detail as I hate writing little reviews on bands, but I am thinking this might be a good idea to just spread the word out.  If you like what I said about the band, check them out, support them, share their music and help them continue to do what they love to do.

This week proves to be a busy one for me with tomorrow’s Strike Anywhere / Dead To Me / Menzingers / Holy Mess / Signals Midwest show as well as Wednesday’s NOFX / Anti-Flag / Old Man Markley show.  I thought perhaps I should be proactive and hammer out a few reviews while I had a moment.

Enjoy and as always, thanks for wasting some of your day on my site.

Brett Detar – Bird In The Tangle

With having the history of being a former guitarist/bassist of metalcore act Zao and also the lead singer of The Juliana Theory, it came as a great surprise to me when I was told that Brett Detar recorded a country / folk album.  The solo attempt by Detar, titled Bird In The Tangle,is actually a damn good listen too (it was released almost a year ago).  Hearing this album, you would never think that Detar, who grew up in PA, could have so much outlaw in his blood.  The moment the album started with “Empty House On A Famous Hill”, I was completely overtaken by his singing and music writing abilities.  “The Devil’s Gotta Earn” was my favorite cut off this album and “Cocaine Whiskey and Heroine” was a close second.  Following the likes of Nick 13 and Tumbledown, this genre jump from a guy who used to provide fast paced ear-pounding music has captured a style of outlaw country that is welcomed in my world.  Detar reminds me a lot of Justin Townes Earle but with more of a folk feel as well as had some Murder By Death tendencies.  Want to check it out?  Head over to Brett Detar’s website and download it for free!

JuiceheaD – How To Sail A Sinking Ship

Chicago punk rockers JuiceheaD has been off the charts for a bit but have recently dropped How To Sail A Sinking Ship. This is their second full-length release since their 2007 debut The Devil Made Me Do It. Sure, 7 years is a long time in between albums, but in their defense, there are 20 songs on this new release, a rarity in today’s punk rock recordings.  Not familiar with their sound, I gave it a listen hoping for the best.  The album started out a little slower than anticipated, but things picked up during “Lorraine” and brought back an old school punk rock vibe that I enjoyed.  “Deadly Nightshade” was an entertaining track that had some nice 80’s punk rock vibes contained within.  Hoping that the rest of the album would spark my interest, sadly it did not.  It’s not a terrible listen by any means, it just lacked that extra “oomph” my ears were hoping for and was more rock n roll throughout with a good drum beat that sounded a tad under-produced.  I won’t lie, I was not stoked to see that their album was released on Misfits Records (it should be called MISFIT Records as it’s solely owned by Jerry Only) as most of their releases do not entertain me at all.  Melodic punk rock would be how I would describe How To Sail A Sinking Ship.  It is nothing beyond that to me and I really was hoping for something a little more from these guys.

Transit – Listen & Forgive

Boston’s Transit could be classified as just another pop-punk act, but there is just something about them that makes them stand out over other similar acts.  They have a tougher sound on a few of their songs that proves to me that they have the ability to attack if threatened, but overall have a soft side to them that stands out.  Regardless of how they are viewed by others, I dig this band and I really enjoyed their recent Rise Records release Listen & Forgive. Think Taking Back Sunday meets Saves The Day meets a calmed down New Found Glory.  “You Can’t Miss It” opened the track with a memorable track.  I could have done without Patrick Stump offering vocals on “All Your Heart”.  Seriously, that song did nothing for me.  “Cutting Corners” was, on the other hand, a track I dug a lot with “make every song your anthem and every night your last”, a lyric that pretty mush defined me growing up.  “Long Lost Friends” was a more aggressive track that stood out over the rest.  This band may be unknown to most music fanatics out there, but I have the feeling that will not be for long.  I hope just it has nothing to do with that song Stump was on…

Coffee Project – Concrete Boots EP

Love them or hate them, Coffee Project is a catchy and unique act that many have been talking about recently.  What you need to know about this is this: They are a duo consisting of trombonist Buddy Schaub and Rehasher’s Jake Crown, they are fun, they are catchy and they specialize in brassed out punk pop acoustic rock.  Recently the band dropped an EP titled Concrete Boots that includes their version of “Little Boxes” , the Malvina Reynolds written song turned Weeds intro that has been recorded over and over by all sorts of bands, as well as 4 brand new songs.  The opening track “”Shenandoah” was more of a bluegrass boot-stomping jam that seeming proved the duo has been taking this project seriously.  The accompanying female vocals on the title track was enjoyable although I have no idea who it was.  “Exit Stage Left” was more of an indie rock track that was not half bad while “Laid Up” led back to their standard sound – singing with acoustic guitar and a trombone.  Regardless on how far this band plans on moving in the music scene, they are fun and enjoyable to listen to.  This EP hopefully is just a sample of what they have up their sleeves for their next full length release.

The Flatliners – Count Your Bruises EP

The Flatliners are a Fat Wreck Chords band that I have adored since their early days.  Hailing from Ontario, Canada, they have this great punk rock sound that I appreciate and always seem to release the catchiest punk rock albums.  Seeing how much I dig this band so much, I am shocked to have missed the memo that they released an EP back in August.  Titled Count Your Bruises, the three song EP (also available as a 7″) straight up rules from start to finish.  The title track glided past me quickly as I immediatly found myself trying to memorize the lyrics so I could sing along.  “Sticky Bastards” really sounded like a gritty Gaslight Anthem  song but was in no was a ripoff.  The final track, “This Guy Reads From A Card”, was just as amazing as the first track and by the song’s end I just wanted more.  I suppose I will have to wait though and I will be sure to follow this band and their future releases.  The EP may have been just three songs, but they were all kick ass tracks.  Now all I can hope for is a new full-length from this great band and pray that the next time they roll through my neck of the woods I can see them live.  I caught them briefly at SXSW earlier this year, but it just was not enough.  Wishful thinking right?

I Am The Avalanche – Avalanche United

After 6 long years, Brooklyn’s I Am The Avalanche has dropped their all new album titled Avalanche United. There is no point asking what took so long for Vinnie Caruana and crew to release new material.  All you need to do is listen to Avalanche United once and it is perfectly clear that no explanation is needed as the band has dropped a superb follow-up.  With a mostly positive attitude throughout, the band references NYC and has lyrics that almost coach their friends to embrace the life they life especially heard in opening track “Holy Fuck”.  With that said, there are a couple dark spells throughout like “Amsterdam” that seemingly carries a couple of references to personal separation.  “Brooklyn Dodgers” was an anthem of awesomeness.  I loved this track start to finish.  It was a fist pumping sing along that was just refreshing to listen to.  The beer chugging invite “This One’s On Me” probably sounds a little better mixed with friends – and beers.  Bayside’s Anthony Raneri may have jumped in with some vocals on “The Grave Digger’s Argument”, the the song still just was missing something.  Perhaps I am just more into the tougher singing throughout the album.  Closing track”Gratitude” threw me for a curve at the beginning as it sounded like a 90s alt-rock song but soon picked up and continued on with a good jam that ended this album in a good way.  If you are looking for a catchy album to listen to that leans a bit on the heavy side, check these guys out.

Cleveland, Indie, Live Shows, Music, Punk, Review, Rock

Concert Review: Cobra Skulls / Nothington / Signals Midwest – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH – 10/05/2011

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I need to be honest with you on a couple of things.  First, I have not been that kind to my teeth for years and neglected to take them to the dentist for a long while.  Second, I have never been to a punk show at the Beachland Tavern.  Both are true statements, and both were taken care of yesterday.

After I had the pleasure of getting the shit drilled out of my teeth for a couple of hours after the paying gig, I headed out to the glorious Beachland Tavern to take in my first ever punk rock show in the Waterloo District featuring Cobra Skulls, Nothington, and Signals Midwest.  For the record, there have been plenty of punk rock shows at the Beachland ever since the venue opened its doors in 2000, I just never made it to one.

Why?

I have no freaking idea and I kind of hate myself for it.  Enough of me beating myself up over missing countless good and wholesome punk rock performances by one of my favorite Cleveland venues.  Let’s talk about last night.

Local punk/indie/rockers Signals Midwest opened the night with their fine and technical style.  1/2 of this band are homies of mine, and I am pretty sure I will charm the other 1/2 soon.  Rocking out to songs like “In Tensions” off their latest release Latitudes & Longitudes, the band had no problem warming up the crowd and other bands, for that matter, all who of which gathered around the stage to hear these guys out.  This has to be said: This band has the ability to be the next best thing to come out of Cleveland, OH.  If you have not heard these guys yet, do yourself a favor and check out their Bandcamp page.

San Francisco’s Nothington followed shortly after and hand down blew me away with their performance.  Having just gotten into these guys a couple of weeks ago, I was beyond impressed with their sound.  It reminded me of all of the good things about 90s punk rock that surrounded me growing up.  Already familiar with their recent release, Borrowed Time, I was treated to some of their older material and really liked what I heard.

Primary vocalist Jay Northington actually took a moment from their set to give praise to the local openers Signals Midwest saying that they were “the raddest local band” he’d heard in a long time.  He was dead serious too.  Later Northington commented on his last trip to Cleveland with his former band, Tsunami Bomb, when they played the old Grog shop years ago…or so he thought.  Apparently he had been to Cleveland since but was too messed up to remember.

The band cranked out a ton of foreign tracks through their set but I did manage to pick out a few I knew like “Stop Screaming” and “Far To Go” with Chris Matulich taking over vocal duties.  At the end of their awesome set, Northington and their drummer hung out on stage where he played a very old song of his that he said “validated” what he’s been doing on the road all these years.  The entire crowd basically stopped what they were doing to listen to the song.  I was unable to catch the name of it, but it was pretty damn awesome.  Their set seemed short-lived, but luck for me they are playing a Fun Fun Fun Fest after show and I will be there.

The headliners of the night, Cobra Skulls, took to the stage and were more of a comedy act than a punk rock band.  The band, that’s been around since 2005, cranked out old and new tracks and made every effort to throw in a joke or comment that resulted in tons of laughs though out.  I know I kept cracking up when Adam Beck congratulated the entire crowd multiple times and then congratulated his band for being so professional and playing two songs in a row.

“Hot Sand”, “Faith Is A Cobra” and “Solastalgia” were a few of the many tracks they played that kept the crowd going.  I want to say they covered Bad Religion’s “Give You Nothing”, but I honestly am not 100% sure – I know, I am a bad reviewer.  I do know that Devin Peralta killed it singing “¡Hasta Los Cobra Skulls Siempre!” to the crowd as well as one of my all time favorite Cobra songs, “Muniphobia”.  The band seemed to play an endless amount of songs and when they tried to finish up their set with Phil the merch guy on banjo (which was amazing), the fans still begged for Cobra Skulls to play more.

Lucky for the fans, most of the band was done, but Beck wasn’t and started playing 80s cover songs to which the entire crowd san along to.  Admitting he was a huge fan of Eddie Money, Beck broke into “867-5309 (Jenny)” followed by aHa’s “Take On Me” and Cutting Crew’s “Just Died In Your Arms”.  In all the year of going to live shows, I have never seen people most of 80s pop rock, but last night that happened.  Beck promised his performance was not affiliated with Cobra Skulls and he just kept playing covers.  In fact, I am not sure how much longer he went because I left during Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'”.  I wanted to stay, but had to venture on home.

For my first punk rock show at the Beachland Tavern, I must say it was the best one I have ever been to there.  Signals Midwest impressed, Nothington stole the show, and Cobra Skulls brought on the fun.  It was definitely a good night to be out and about with good friends and great music.

Cleveland, Indie, Music, New Release, Punk, Review, Rock

Album Review: Luther – Siblings & Sevens

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Philadelphia pop punkers Luther recently dropped an EP titled Siblings & Sevens on Black Numbers Records.  This is the bands first official release and I must say, it’s catchy as hell.  Having formed just about a year ago, the band has a great sound to them that compares to The Menzingers, Get Up Kids, and even a little Superchunk.  The EP may only be seven songs, but each song proved this band has the potential of being a big deal.

The acoustic “Siblings” opens up the EP with a gentle, quick start.  Reminding me a lot of something The Riot Before might throw into one of their albums, I loved the song, especially the lyrics, but it just seemed to just stop.  This melodic song alone impressed me even if I felt the guitar was set down too soon.  “This Is Light Fight Club” immediately took over and set the level for the rest of the EP.  I loved the breakdown during this track that really reminded me of the 90s rock I used to adore.  The lyrics on this track begged to be sung along with as well.

“The Suitor” was without a doubt my favorite track on this EP.  Starting off like an old Gaslight Anthem song, it jumped into a tough track.  Carrying a lot of Jawbox similarities, it even had a nice little bridge in the middle with “tell me you don’t want this, tell me you can’t remember” repeating after.  At just over 5 minutes and if I had it my way, would have gone on for 5 more.  I may have been impressed before, but after hearing this track, I was a confirmed fan.

“There’s Always Money” actually featured fellow Philadelphian Tom May of The Menzingers.  I could not help but imagine this song being played in a cramped, humid basement of some random house full of excitable kids.  The gritty, raw singing just fit in well and was far from an overproduced punk rock song.  “The Communion” on the other hand leaned towards more indie rock, almost a Jimmy Eat World feel.  Good song, but not one of my choice tracks by far.  “Aztec Tomb” finished up the EP  with a lasting punk imprint as well as some group vocals at the end leaving me wanting more.

I am really looking forward to seeing what these guys have to offer on their full length release.  I have the feeling that they will not be wasting any time making that happen.  Siblings & Sevens as far as I am concerned is just a sample of of their talent.  The band has been touring like crazy (see below for dates) and will actually playing Cleveland on November 14th with Tom May (The Menzingers) at Now That’s Class.  It’s safe to say I will be there that night.

Check out Luther’s Bandcamp page and check out Siblings & Sevens for yourself!