Monday, August 27, 2012

The Stowaways Issue #12 out now


The Stowaways Issue #12 Out now
Included is an interview with ten thousand leagues,
show reviews, record reviews, zine reviews, a film review, and a letters section

send $1, trade, or stamps, to
5082 wendover road
yorba linda, ca 92886

*all back issues are sold out
there might be some copies of issues 7 and 8 available
through black pelican. send cole an email at
contact(at)blackpelican(dot)info  if you're interested.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

MRR reviews the stowaways issue #9

Maximum Rocknroll #352 - Sep -  2012
reviewed the stowaways issue #9. i don't have any more copies, but this is definitely one of the best interviews i've done. and if you can borrow it from a friend, or find it somewhere i would hunt it down.

THE STOWAWAYS #? / $1
8.5 X 11 - copied - 12 pgs
Guy who loves hard rockin', uses ALL CAPS for GREAT EMPHASIS and seems a little unsure in his tone. (I want you to find thyself, man. And maybe it's in the show reviews. The show review format allows you to really shine, saying what you really feel and shit.) He interviews Justin Conway of the band Tiny Lungs, for six full-sized pages, about growing up, music, about being gay as fuck in high school, about later when he was just pretending and says 'no homo' when saying he was inlove with his friend Brian. And Connor Oberst. Who knows, right? Glad Mr. Zine puts his foot down about not reviewing CDRs. Kinda makes the record review section truly succinct. Like this: "they are just non-stop rockin', they're kind of a metal band, and then not, they're kind of a straightforward rock'n'roll band, and then not...just be prepared to have your face melted." Maybe the best thing about it is that it arrived with a significant amount of the corner ripped off, so I have to supplement parts of the writing with whatever I want. (JB).
5082 Wendover Road / Yorba Linda, CA 92886

Sunday, August 5, 2012

oc weekly reviews 'this one's for terminal boredom'


oc weekly reviewed the new roman candles tape:


Somewhere up in Yorba Linda, a cassette scene based around releases and associated blogs and shows continues along, not quite under the radar but perhaps just off in its own universe.  (Don't look for an online version of this -- there are fifty copies and that's it.)  Christopher Gordon, main man of Roman Candles, continues his own particular path with his latest offering, seven short songs recorded on his own over the past summer -- though a line like 

"You can see the fireworks/from the happiest place on earth" takes on an unexpected resonance after this past week's anger and outrage in Anaheim.

This One's For Terminal Boredom never hides the heart on its sleeve, but that's been the goal of Gordon's music from the start, already looking back on everything with nostalgia and nervous reflection even if it's just no longer being an undergrad. That Roman Candles here follow in the footsteps of early Mountain Goats and Bright Eyes -- quick guitar playing, wounded feelings, direct-to-boombox aesthetics -- is clear enough. With the liner notes indicating that the songs were recorded during a depressive stretch, one could almost whisper the word 'emo' -- at least in a late '90s sense. When he's at his most strained and strident, Gordon's voice is a love it or hate it deal much like his forebears were, with the all a capella "Pancake Mountain" providing the initial taste test for any listener.

"Spring Afternoon," with its barely there arrangement, finds him finding just enough of a calm balance between his wayward impulses. At one point, he calmly sings "I want to star in an airplane movie/That only gets played in the sky." It's the kind of image that shows there's a little something there that is still in the process of coming into its own.

....
send $3 to
roman candles
5082 wendover road
yorba linda, ca 92886

if you'd like one.