27 March 2012

LISTEN: Spike Jones - I Wanna Go Back To West Virginia



Heading back home to West Virginia tomorrow, so no better time for this 1942 big band number from Spike Jones and His City Slickers.

"I wanna go back to West Virginia. I wanna go back to the one I love," - indeed.

23 March 2012

DOWNLOAD: Stand Accused - Demonstration CD 2004


This record has nothing do with West Virginia or the region, other than I am from West Virginia and I used to go see the singer's other band (Reach the Sky) in Pittsburgh. I am posting this simply because it is one of my favorite ever hardcore demos and it seems impossible to find on the Internet. Stand Accused was from Boston and this demo is the only thing they ever recorded. (I don't know if they ever played any shows.) It is Ian from Reach the Sky and members of Suicide File and Mental, but the band sounds nothing like any of those bands. It is intense, pissed off, political hardcore in the vein of Poison Idea, Agnostic Front or Terror. So good.

Artist: Stand Accused
Album: Demonstration CD 2004
Year: 2004
For fans of: Agnostic Front, Poison Idea, Terror
DOWNLOAD: Stand Accused - Demonstration CD 2004

22 March 2012

WATCH: The Blanket Institute live in 2001



Yesterday I posted the demo from Huntington noise-rock band The Blanket Institute. I mentioned their live performances, which were always tense and abrasive. So here is a video of them playing in what seems to be a gymnasium - maybe at the old Ceredo-Kenova High School - in 2001.


21 March 2012

DOWNLOAD: The Blanket Institute - fearsomeasinmouthwithscapel

Taking note from The Locust, The Blanket Institute played acerbic noise-rock with a heavy hint of irony and sarcasm. Hailing from Huntington, TBI was dual vocalists exchanging roars and screeches overtop of drumming and guitar playing that was equally frantic. Despite never quite being a serious band, TBI did record this low-quality demo in 2001 that quite well represent their bleak but provocative performance. Though this isn't the best or most approachable music I've posted on this blog, TBI was a fun and entertaining group of guys, and it's a rare piece of the Huntington music scene in the early '00s.

Artist: The Blanket Institute
Album: fearsomeasinmouthwithscapel
Year: 2001
For fans of: The Locust, Swing Kids, Melt Banana
DOWNLOAD: The Blanket Institute - fearsomeasinmouthwithscapel*
(Sorry for the lack of track titles.)

19 March 2012

WATCH: Sam Black Church live in Boston, 1994



This past weekend, I saw All Pigs Must Die (ex-The Hope Conspiracy, Converge). At the show I mentioned Sam Black Church, and APMD's singer Kevin overheard me. He excitedly spoke of the days of SBC being the biggest band in Boston, and how good they were live. See what he's talking about in this video of SBC playing a hemp festival in Boston. (Skip to 2:15 for the SBC footage.)

14 March 2012

WATCH: 'I Have a Lot of Faith' from Hollow


I Have Alot of Faith from Elaine McMillion on Vimeo.

The above video is a clip from Elaine McMillion's film project Hollow. It is a project you should 1) pay attention to 2) help support.
Hollow is a hybrid community participatory project and interactive documentary where content is created "for the community, by the community." The project combines personal documentary video portraits, user-generated content, photography, soundscapes, interactive data and grassroots mapping on an HTML5 website designed to discuss the many stereotypes associated with the area, population loss and potential for the future. Members of the community will take part in the filmmaking process by creating 20 of the 50 short documentaries in efforts to build engagement and social trust and empower the community to work together for a better future.
Elaine McMillion is a West Virginia native and WVU grad based in Boston when not working on this film. Follow her on Twitter.

09 March 2012

LISTEN: Lemont - Summer Salt



Check out this demo track from Lemont, a fairly new indie rock band out of Pittsburgh featuring Charleston native Joshua Gragg of American Minor and Apart From the Projector.

08 March 2012

WATCH: Pilgrim Song [Trailer]



It's South By Southwest time here in Austin. Lots of music, film and panels going on in town. Just found out (I don't pay much attention) that Pilgrim Song, the new feature from Charleston resident Martha Stephens is screening.
Raised in Appalachian Kentucky, Martha Stephens longed to create films celebrating and investigating her land and people. A graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts, School of Filmmaking, Martha's first feature film, "Passenger Pigeons" premiered at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival and won the "We Believe In You" Award.
I really want to see this film, which features music from Andrew Iafrate and Jonathan Wood.

06 March 2012

DOWNLOAD: Mind Garage - Mind Garage


Mind Garage may be best known as the first recognized Christian rock band. Probably best know for their "Electric Liturgy," a Christian rock worship service, this Morgantown band put out some great psychedelic tunes in the '60s and '70s. Mind Garage, dubbed "theo-rock" by Village Voice, released two LPs on RCA including this debut self-titled album. Slight comparisons to the Grateful Dead, 13th Floor Elevators, the Byrds or the Stones can be made, but Mind Garage is a true original, and had an influence on music for decades to come.
Artist: Mind Garage
Album: Mind Garage
Year: 1969
For fans of: The Rolling Stones, The Byrds, Grateful Dead