Calvin Jalandoni "Early Morning" music Video

Calvin's first official music video is out for his song "Early Morning." I think it turned out really really great. After getting to see him play this song every night for three weeks last summer, it's really cool to see this in a completely new way. I'm really proud of my dude!

Response - Demo 2014

All I know about this band is that Madison is in it. I didn't find out though until he sent me an email talking about the tour they went on over the summer. Four songs of Youth of Today influenced hardcore. The demo's less than 5 1/2 minutes long. It flys by. Honestly, most hardcore is usually lost on me unless the vocals stand out. In this case the vocals do, and they're catchy. The first song "In My Way" is the best on the demo, but that little breakdown in "Dropout" is great. "I want to keep my mind clear and free / THERE' NO CHOICE," is a super catchy straight edge track - it's great. Response is fierce. They're punk. They're good. And they don't do drugs. I really dropped the ball though with this release. It came out on tape on Fineprint and Video Disease

Fury - Live on KXLU 2015

Fury's second 7" is a live one from a set they played on March 20th on KXLU 88.9 FM Los Angeles. The 7" has five songs; two of which were on their demo that came out last year on Moshers Delight, and the other three songs are from their Kingdom Come 7", which came out on BBB Records. So technically nothing's new here, but the recordings themselves. Through these recordings though you get that raw live energy that they bring to every show. This is a glimpse of a young band with a ton of confidence and promise of things to come. Anyone who supports college radio is fine by me. Give this a spin. They're selling fast.

You can pick it up from BBB Records HERE.

or from Video Disease Records HERE.

Forced Order - Vanished Crusade

Forced Order's Vanished Crusade is their full length debut on Revelation Records. Unlike their 7", which gave the band room to breathe with half of the songs being instrumental tracks, their full length is unrelenting, punishing metallic-hardcore. The songs are short, powerful bursts of energy. The tempos change when they need to keeping the album fresh, and the solos slay. The vocals are brutal, and the drums hit hard. The songs blaze through like a full frontal assault, and it's not until "Ischys" (track 9 of 14), that they give the listener time to think. From there, Forced Order pummels through three more tracks before letting off a little by ending with two instrumental songs, which wraps up the record really well. This is highly recommended for anyone looking for something heavier to get them through the fall. 

You can pick up copies of the lp HERE.

Fakers - Personality Voices 7"

Fakers is the new band made up of Andy and Joey Siara from The Henry Clay People, and the first song off of their new 7", "$600", picks up where they seemed to have left off. They're back to singing about making ends meet with a $600 place to rest their heads, where they can pay their rent, but they can't afford any more accidents. Honestly, this could easily have been a hcp song. With the amount of line-up changes that band had, I'm not sure why they didn't just keep the same band name. But then the B-side "Gold Room," kicks in - a song about day drinking at your local bar where tequila's cheaper than water, and I'm like yeah, this is a different band. It reminds me of built to spill's guitar-heavy mid-tempo indie-rock. I think there's a couple more songs on a download card, but I haven't heard them yet. I'm sure they're great live. You can pick up the 7" HERE. 

The Lovely Bad Things - Space Waste / Always Lazy 7"

The Lovely Bad Things release their first new material since their debut lp The Late Great Whatever, which came out about two and a half years ago at this point. Lauren's vocals immediately kick off the A side "Space Waste" where she sings in the chorus "waste my time / waste my life." It's an undeniable pop radio hit. I think their time on the road with Best Coast has influenced them, and it shows because Space Waste is The Lovely Bad Things at their most accessible. This is the kind of song that ends up in commercials selling smart phones or new cars or fucking soda pop - i don't know. But you get the idea. The B side "Always Lazy" is the darker more experimental punk version of The Lovely Bad Things that's been brooding since before they were even a band. But this too shows them at their catchiest and most accessible, and that's not a bad things at all. "Don't You Even Care?," sings Cameron on the B-side. Well I sure do, and you should too. This is self released with a limited pressing of 300 on toxic green vinyl. Pick it up from the band HERE. 

A Sound Salvation: Rock N' Roll as a Religion (Book Review)

Ian Fowles, who has played in both Death By Stereo and The Aquabats, published his master's thesis through Sonic Mystic Publishing. It came out in 2010, but I picked up a copy of this at Programme Skate and Sound in Fullerton about two years ago, and got around to reading it while here in Colombia. Through A Sound Salvation: Rock N' Roll As A Religion, Ian argues that Rock N' Roll fulfills all the basic tenets of organized religion. He explains that as defined in the Encyclopedia of Religion (edited by Mircea Eliade), Rock N' Roll observes the eight sections of religion which include: Traditionalism, Myth & Symbol, Concepts of Salvation, Scared Places & Objects, Sacred Actions, Sacred Writings, The Sacred Community, and The Sacred Experience. Ian's thesis is well supported, well researched, and enjoyable. This is recommended for all rock nerds alike. Plus It's super informative. Who knew that Priscilla Presley was converted to Scientology by John Travolta? You can pick up a copy at amazon HERE.