DOWNLOAD: Watership Down - Dellicatessin

During this past South By Southwest, I got to reminisce about West Virginia bands with Robert McCutcheon (American Minor). It was Watership Down that Rob mentioned as his favorite band from the state. I remember hearing about this Charleston band, but it wasn't until Rob tracked down this album that I ever heard them. Before playing this album, I had no idea what Watership Down even sounded like. Being from Charleston in the mid-'90s, I presumed they played blend of pop punk and metal like most other bands from the area at that time. Instead what I heard was ramshackle pop rock in the vein of Pavement, Built To Spill or early Flaming Lips. "They were the first true 'indie rock band' I saw in Charleston," said Aaron Crothers (The Emergency), a self-described source close to the band. "It's just sloppy wonderfulness." This album, recorded at Cave Records in the mid-'90s, is truly wonderful and makes me want to hear more from the trio lead by Jeremy Brightbill. I believe it is the last recording by the band, who added female vocals from Jeremy's sister Jaimie on the record which adds a sweet poppy element to the otherwise angsty but melodic style driven messy instrumentation and Jeremy's laconic vocals. This record is really great, so if you're a fan of the aforementioned bands or anything from the '90s lo-fi indie movement, then this comes highly recommended.

Artist: Watership Down
Album: Dellicatessin
Year: mid-'90s
For fans of: Pavement, Built To Spill, Flaming Lips

DOWNLOAD: Watership Down - Dellicatessin

WATCH: Brother's Keeper live in Charleston, 2001

Here is a pair of videos of Erie hardcore band Brother's Keeper playing at the VFW in Charleston in 2001. I sure I was at this show, but I don't remember it very well. I do, though, see a lot of friends including Dana White, who put on the show and deservedly receives words of appreciation from BK singer Mike Ski. I wasn't the biggest fan of the music of Brother's Keeper, but the guys in the band were always incredibly friendly and appreciative. Any band that enjoyed coming to play in West Virginia had my respect, and the members of Brother's Keeper always returned with their future projects. That is what I think about when I watch these videos.

WATCH: Sierra Ferrell - Wet Your Whistle live in Charleston, 2010

A few months ago, I stumbled across this video of Charleston-based singer-songwriter Sierra Ferrell performing at the Empty Glass. I had never heard (of) her, but was impressed by her voice and this song enough to want to share it on here. I believe this talented young lady plays with a band called 600 Lbs. of Sin, who are okay. If I was her friend, I would recommend she stick to the solo gig (and probably try a career in a place like Nashville or Austin) as she belongs with the likes of Laura Marling or Elle King.

DOWNLOAD: Shindig - Hell, She Looked 18

Here is Shindig's follow-up to their debut Trendy Music For Trendy Kids. On the unfortunately but humorously titled Hell, She Looked 18, the songwriting is a bit more aggressive at times, but picks up where Trendy left off. There are a couple great songs on here including "Better Off," "I Wanna Go Home" and the homages to The Andy Griffith Show "I Don't Wanna Fall In Love With Ellie Walker" and "It Wasn't Helen Crump." But at 17-tracks of Blink 182 or Fat Wreck-esque pop punk, there is some room for editing, especially toward the end of the album. With that said, the experienced Charleston four-piece wrote hook-filled songs with cleverly memorable lyrics, and they always put on a fun show. The band's appeal was not limited to teenage girls, but anyone within earshot who couldn't resist wo-oh-oh-ing along.

Artist: Shindig
Album: Hell, She Looked 18
Year: 1997
For fans of: Blink 182, Green Day, NOFX

DOWNLOAD: Shindig - Hell, She Looked 18

DOWNLOAD: Walt Flanagan's Dog - Discography 1998-2000

Walt Flanagan's Dog was a ska-punk band. So it is unnecessary to call them rambunctious, quirky or boisterous, but these teenagers from South Charleston were just that. Despite a decent horn section, Walt Flanagan's Dog fit more into the aggressive guitar-driven side of ska-influenced punk with bands like the Bosstones, Less Than Jake and Suicide Machines - with innocently sarcastic songs about girls, two-tones and steak. The band was fronted by the rowdy Justin Leonard, who was equal parts Dropkick Murphys and the Beastie Boys. In fact, Leonard later became known as hip-hop producer L-No for Meuwl and Rabble Rousers.

Though, I only got to see Walt Flanagan's Dog a handful of times upon a reunion of sorts in 2000, they were a band that always seemed to have fun. I will not lie - these recordings aren't the best productions. But while singing voices often crack, horns miss notes, or audio levels fade in an out, WFD were a group of ambitious, creative teenagers attempting to play a style of music not many others in the state did. And well over ten years later, Justin Leonard continues to be one of my favorite people I have ever met thanks to the music scene in West Virginia.

Artist: Walt Flanagan's Dog
Album: Discography 1998-2000
Year: 1998-2000
For fans of: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Less Than Jake, Suicide Machines

DOWNLOAD: Walt Flanagan's Dog - Discography 1998-2000

WATCH: Death & Co. live at the Blossom in Charleston, 1989

This isn't just a video of a fantastic performance by Keith Dunleavy and Jon Nathan's post-Unwanted Christmas Presents band Death & Co. playing at the Blossom in Charleston. It also shows some shaky but great footage of downtown Charleston in 1989 and some scene kids hanging out. The info says it is on Virginia Street, but the Blossom Deli was/is on Quarrier, and in the beginning of the video the kids are hanging out on Hale Street next door to where the excellent Stray Dog Antiques is now. I find it unfortunately ironic that in the video that Keith (in the black turtleneck) comments to the filmmaker who replies, "Just getting you beatniks while you're still alive." Less than a year later Keith died in a car accident. Also, based on the way they dress, I could be convinced that this was filmed recently on the east side of Austin. (Charleston's music scene didn't always have bad style.)

Of course, the highlight of this video is Death & Co.'s performance. I really wish I could track down recordings of this band - if recordings exist. I hope someone sees this and can give me some more information. Below is Death & Co. covering Echo and the Bunnymen's "Do It Clean" and Keith reading poetry at the same show.

LISTEN: The Mad Daddys - Nancy

It is safe to say that Keith Dunleavy is an unknown name to most, even within the West Virignia music scene. In fact, I didn't know of him or his music ventures until a couple years ago when my friend Eric read about Keith's band Unwanted Christmas Presents on the Terminal Boredom forum, where members came to blows discussing the controversial band's greatness. I bought the Unwanted Christmas Present record, originally released in the late '80s, from the band's guitar player/drummer Jon Nathan. It was wonderful to discover that there was a band from Charleston that made such gritty and visceral punk rock, and was decades ahead of its time.

I have come across some fantastic videos and recordings of some of Dunleavy's projects, and I am very excited to share them. This live audio recording is of Dunleavy's band The Mad Daddys playing at his residence in Charleston on New Year's Even 1985-6. It is more approachable than Unwanted Christmas Presents, less punk than another of his bands Death & Co., and sort of reminds me of Velvet Underground or Pere Ubu. This video also features some old images of Charleston, which is fun to see.

DOWNLOAD: P'u Rens - Hocus Polka

Blog contributor Brian Pauley (of Shindig and Dirt Bear) recently sent me this demo by P'u Rens, which he called one of the funnest and most underrated bands from the Charleston area. P'u Rens were an experimental punk-pop band that featured an accordion played by Joseph Moore. The band also included Paul Francke whose project Alsace Lorraine got decent press a few years back, as well as Dustin White (Dead Ant Farm). Recorded at the Cave at some point in the mid-'90s, "Hocus Polka" brings to mind the intellectual amateurishness of punk acts like The Dead Milkmen, and the playful pop sensibility of They Might Be Giants and Ween. The music is often boisterous and ironic, but always intelligent and well-executed. And despite the use of the accordion, xylophone and other non-traditional punk instruments, "Hocus Polka" is very listenable for all 22 short tracks (only two of which are over 3 minutes).

Artist: P'u Rens

Album: Hocus Polka
Year: Mid-'90s
For fans of: The Dead Milkmen, Ween, They Might Be Giants

DOWNLOAD: P'u Rens - Hocus Polka

WATCH: Down To None live in Charleston, 1999

Here is Down To None playing the American Legion in Charleston in 1999. At this point, the band had ditched its second singer and was rejoined by original bassist Jared Stephens. Also, the music had started moving more into the direction of melodic hardcore. Unfortunately, the video is a bit Blair Witch Project-esque and is just snippets of a few different songs. Though, I think I recognize myself (with a thick neck) along with friends Ryan McCullough (later of Down Goes Frazier) and Justin Leonard (Day One Media) among a mob signing along with Dana toward the end. After the closing of the Common Grounds, the American Legion became a great DIY venue for all-ages shows. I believe this was one of the first Dana put together there.

DOWNLOAD: Down To None - 180°

Before Dana White captained Holden Caulfield for nearly a decade, even before he joined Malicious Intent as a second vocalist for a short time, he fronted Down To None. Made up of members from the Charleston and Huntington areas, Down To None formed in 1997. Within the next year, the band had already made a couple personnel changes including adding a second vocalist. In 1998, Down To None recorded this 12-song tape that showcases the band's diverse style. While it is simplest to place DTN into the hardcore genre, listening to this album now, I am more reminded of bands such as Helmet, Clutch or Rollins Band. I love Dana's vocals in Down To None - they are gutsy unlike his more throaty style in Holden Caulfield, and his memorable lyrics are angry and straight forward. Unfortunately, second vocalist Kevin weakens the band's ferocity with a less sincere presence on tracks such as "Mask" and "Closer Than Blood" (on which his voice actually cracks like Peter Brady). It is guitarist Duane's detuned crunchy riffs that remind me most of Helmet, and help make this somewhat dated album still enjoyable as I listen to it today. Dana was a great influence on my interest in hardcore music and my involvement in the West Virginia music scene for many years. Listening to this album reminds me of that and makes me proud to have known him for so many years, so I am proud to share it.

Artist: Down To None
Album: 180°
Year: 1998
For fans of: Helmet, Clutch, Rollins Band

DOWNLOAD: Down To None - 180°

WATCH: A night at the Common Grounds coffeehouse in Charleston, 1997

I came across these videos a while back while doing a search on YouTube. The videos, shot in 1997, are almost 30 minutes worth of footage from a Band Slam at the Common Grounds coffeehouse in Charleston. The all-ages venue on Summers Street was a fantastic space to see shows before it closed in the late '90s for a multitude of reasons. After multiple two-hour road trips from Bridgeport to Charleston, it was at the Common Grounds that I formed a lot of friendships with fellow showgoers from the Kanawha Valley and discovered a lot of new music. It was there that I saw local bands like Malicious Intent, Westbygod, Shindig and many more, as well touring acts such as Fugazi and Codeseven. Though I wasn't at the show from the videos, I did recognize a lot of people I know from footage of the crowd and performances from Dead Ant Farm and other local groups (most of them pretty bad). Seeing the mid-'90s fashion sense of Charlestonians is an embarrassing reminder of my youth, but the videos succeed in making me sentimental for a scene that was a lot of fun. I wish I could think owner Bob Webb for giving us such a place. I'll never forget that fucking carpet.

DOWNLOAD: Shindig - Trendy Music For Trendy Kids

Around 1995, Richie Ray was in Dead Ant Farm, Brian Pauley in Dirt Bear, Ray Davis in Seven and Ronnie Stricklen in The Happy Foundation. Then most of those bands broke up, and the four gentlemen joined together with Brian Spangler of Seven to form The Pumpernickels. After Spangler left the band due to military commitments, the band changed its name to Shindig, wrote new songs, kept some Pumpernickels songs and recorded a demo with Scott Robinson. This is that first recording that introduced Shindig's energetically wry brand of pop punk that came out in the midst of a good time for the genre when labels like Fat Wreck, Epitaph and Lookout were at their peak. With a lot of "woah oh oh" sing-a-longs, Shindig could be thrown in with bands like The Queers or Mr. T Experience but less Ramones influence. Instead, Shindig's style is more poppy, less punk. The music is aggressive but played with a positive attitude. The lyrics - which are about girls, friends or just having fun - are sarcastic but not bitter, which is often the case in pop punk. It's more along the lines of a more mature Blink 182 or less annoying New Found Glory.

Not long after putting out this tape, Shindig played a show at the Drop Shop in Huntington to "win" the opportunity to play X-Fest. The winner was determined by votes at the door, and because no one knew Shindig, they lost by a landslide. In spite of that, the radio promoter was so impressed by the band's performance, Shindig was selected to play the festival, after which the band's regional popularity took off. Deservedly. Though their biggest audience was teenage girls, which became a bit of a running joke with the band, Shindig wrote good, catchy and memorable poppy punk.

Artist: Shindig
Album: Trendy Music for Trendy Kids
Year: 1995
For fans of: Blink 182, New Found Glory, The Queers

DOWNLOAD: Shindig - Trendy Music For Trendy Kids

DOWNLOAD: Transistor Indiana - songsforanactivelifestyle

After multiple requests, I'm finally posting this demo from yet another unfortunately short-lived Charleston-area indie rock/emo band. Transistor Indiana formed in the early 2000s around the same time as similarly-styled Apart From the Projector. In the same vein as No Knife, Burning Airlines or Trail of Dead, the Kanawha Valley quintet play a brand of rock that is aggressive, dramatic and some times sweet. A threesome of crispy guitars is fronted by Bud Carroll whose passionate vocals are backed by hollow screams. It is a sound that could have easily found the band on Jade Tree Records in the late '90s. Transistor Indiana recorded an album for North Carolina-based indie metal label Tribunal Records, but it was not released after the band broke up. What remains is this four-song teaser, while certainly representing the young musicians' ability to write quality songs, does not live up to the band's intense and provocative live performances. Carroll, along with bassist Bruno, went on to play in American Minor, but the demise of Transistor Indiana left many people in the region wanting more.

Artist: Transistor Indiana
Album: songsforanactivelifestyle
Year: Early 2000s
For fans of: No Knife, Trail of Dead, Burning Airlines

DOWNLOAD: Transistor Indiana - songsforanactivelifestyle

WATCH: Elvis Presley live in Charleston, 1976

On the anniversary of the King's death, what could be better than some lo-fi footage of Elvis performing in Charleston, West Virginia, in 1976.

DOWNLOAD: Dirt Bear - Bear It All

Now that the demos have been posted, here it is again (with my own updated artwork) - one of the best records produced by a West Virginia band - Bear It All. Here are some of Brian Pauley's notes on the recording process:

"Bear It All was recorded in 1996. It was recorded on an 8-track ADAT. Digital recordings on SVHS tapes. Sort of done the same way as the 4-tracks. Seven tracks of drums running through a mixing board and then bounced down to one track. However, only the drums were recorded first. Andy and Billy would play bass and guitar through a scratch track. Meaning they were playing along with me, I could hear them, but it wasn't being recorded. We'd bounce the drums down to 1 track and have 7 tracks to add everything else. I think this is when we started doubling up the guitar track to make it thicker. So basically you hear two guitar tracks playing the same thing. A trick Scott learned at the Recording Workshop and something he started making every band do. And since it was digital, if anyone screwed up the guitar, bass or vocals, the fixes could be punched in and you never notice."

Whatever the process, this record is heavy, crunchy, poppy, rowdy, but above all fun. And like some of the greatest indie-punk-rock bands of the mid-90s, the era of music is recognizable but the songs are still enjoyable 15 years later. I love this fucking record, and why I am posting it for the second time.

Artist: Dirt Bear
Album: Bear It All
Year: 1996
For fans of: The Jesus Lizard, Butthole Surfers, The Flaming Lips

DOWNLOAD: Dirt Bear - Bear It All

DOWNLOAD: Dirt Bear - Beart With Us

Bear With Us is the last of the Dirt Bear demos that preceded the release of the Bear It All full-length. Released in 1995, Brian Pauley said of the album, "Personally, Bear With Us is my favorite, next to Bear It All. Bear With Us has 'The Centrifugal Force' and 'Dynamo,' which were my favorite songs to play up to that point." It's all quality in my opinion. Thanks again, Brian.

Artist: Dirt Bear
Album: Bear With Us
Year: 1995
For fans of: Meat Puppets, The Flaming Lips, Flipper

DOWNLOAD: Dirt Bear - Beart With Us

DOWNLOAD: Dirt Bear - We Hate It

Here is We Hate It, the second of the Dirt Bear demo tapes. The fourteen tracks were also recorded in 1994 following We Love It. Like all of the Dirt Bear releases, and much of the music coming out of Charleston in the '90s, it was recorded by Scott Robinson and put out by the guys' own Cave Records. According to drummer Brian Pauley (pictured above on the album cover I made):

"All three of [the] demos were recorded on an analog 4-track recorder by Scott Robinson. Drums were mic'd up thru the mixing board and then fed into one track. The guitar amp was mic'd up and became a separate track, and then the bass was done the same way on a third track. Scott then bounced those three tracks down to one track, thus opening up three more tracks. So ultimately, we had seven tracks to work with. Once the music was bounced to one, that allowed each vocal to have a separate track and then an open track for any other extra thing we wanted to add. Be it guitar solo or whatever. And the thing with the 4-track recordings was that the music was done live. If one of us screwed up, we had to completely start the song over. The fact that it was analog and the fact that we were just learning how to operate the damn 4-track... it just sucked."

We Hate It, though not quite as excellent as We Love It, picks up where the first demo left off. It is sleazy and fiery - like Killdozer playing pop punk. (Listen to Killdozer if you don't.) Again, thanks to Brian Jarrett for the photograph for the cover. Sorry, Pauley.

Artist: Dirt Bear
Album: We Hate It
Year: 1994
For fans of: The Jesus Lizard, Butthole Surfers, Killdozer

DOWNLOAD: Dirt Bear - We Hate It

DOWNLOAD: Dirt Bear - We Love It

Dirt Bear remains one of my favorite ever bands from West Virginia. Despite the fact that I never got to see the raucous punk trio from Charleston play live, I wore out my cassette copy of their final album Bear It All, which I posted a while back.

I recently recent a great gift from Drummer Brian Pauley who sent me fairly clean, digital files of all the Dirt Bear demos. I can't explain how happy this makes me as I never owned these tapes, and now I can make them available on here over the next few days - starting with We Love It from 1994.

Those who are familiar with Dirt Bear will appreciate this as much as I do. Those who may not be, think instrumental abrasiveness of The Jesus Lizard with the pop sensibilities of The Flaming Lips meets the rebelliousness of Butthole Surfers. Throw in some comparisons to Dinosaur Jr., Meat Puppets or Sonic Youth for fun. It is just great '90s indie punk noise-rock. And I can't quit listening to it. Thanks again, Brian. And thanks to Nitro music scene archivist Brian Jarrett for the photo for the cover I made, as we don't have any art of the old demos.

Artist: Dirt Bear
Album: We Love It
Year: 1994
For fans of: The Jesus Lizard, The Flaming Lips, Butthole Surfers

DOWNLOAD: Dirt Bear - We Love It

DOWNLOAD: Camel Beast - United By Hatred / Camel Beast / Lost In Bumphuc, Egypt

The following is a contribution from Brian Pauley, who played drums with many Charleston-area bands in the '90s including Dirt Bear, The Povos and Shindig. Brian remains one of my favorite players from the West Virginia music scene, and I've always had a endless respect for him and his opinion. Here he shares with us his his thoughts on the Charleston band Camel Beast:

I started playing drums when I was in junior high. Bobby Hughes, who was the drummer for a local thrash metal band called Pale Hecate lived around the corner from me. Through Bobby, I became aware of all the local shows going on within the Kanawha Valley. I was introduced to other bands. It was clear that the thrash metal sound was dominating the scene. Besides Pale Hecate, there was Grey Malcomb, Diabolis, Arch Angel, and a ton of other bands trying to put their stamp on the local thrash scene. My band (Last Rites) included.

I'd say it was probably 1989... there was a show going on at the American Legion Building (the same venue we would all play years later). On the bill was Diabolis, Outface (who's singer went on to sing for Sepultura), F.U.C.T., and Camel Beast. As soon as as I heard Lee Lawler's voice, I was hooked. Camel Beast had a metal, punk, grunge (before it was cool), blues sound about them that just made them stand out. They were just different than any other band around. They just had this punk attitude about them that I instantly connected with. I was pretty narrow minded with my taste in music at that age, but Camel Beast just completely changed how I heard music. That sounds corny as hell, but it's true.

Shows were super scarce in those days. About a year or so later, I saw Camel Beast again. Again, they were amazing. I bought up the demos, but over time, lost them. If you listen... you can hear how this band had an influence on my bands (The Provos and Dirt Bear) during the early years.

It's a catch 22 with this band. Had they been around just a couple of years later, they would have been around during the Common Ground years and the Pit years, and everyone would have gotten to experience them. However, had they not been around when they were, the scene may not have gone in the direction it did. I'm serious when I say that this band pointed the scene in the direction that it went.

I can't do this band justice and maybe everyone else who listens to these songs might not feel the way that we all did back then... but this band is legendary to those of us who were a part of the scene during those super early years.

In my short conversation with Geof (I asked for permission to share these songs with everyone), I got the impression that these guys might not know how much of an impact they had on people that would later play a huge role in the Charleston music scene.

Thanks to Brian for sending in these rare Camel Beast demos.

Artist: Camel Beast

Album: United By Hatred / Camel Beast / Lost In Bumphuc, Egypt

Year: 1988 / 1989 / 1990

For Fans Of: Jane's Addiction, Fugazi, Queensryche

DOWNLOAD: Camel Beast - United By Hatred / Camel Beast / Lost In Bumphuc, Egypt

WATCH: FüD (food), CD release show, 2002

How did this video exist on YouTube for three months before I found it? How have only 16 people watched it before me? This is pure brilliance - a FüD (food) show in its entirety. This is their CD release show in 2002 at the Brickhouse in St. Albans - all 13 minutes of it before the show is seemingly shut down.

If you're not already familiar, FüD (food) were the Boone County duo of Mick McMick (keytar) and Orange Stuff (garbage can/drums) playing pure comically genius proto-punk. This short-lived band is still one of my favorite ever local live acts. Eccentric, sarcastic and rousing, it was always a joy to scream along to songs like "My Butts A' Bleedin!!! I'll Call Ya Back Later," "Popeye's Legs" and "Two Brothers Fucking." I truly miss their shows.