BIG HEAVY WORLD/802 BOOKING COLLECTIVE PRESENT: OUR LAST NIGHT // FOREVER THEY SAID // YOUNG DENVER // JOHNNY BOOTH // T.I.P. November 21st, 2008 at 242 Main, 7pm $12 advance (at BHW)//$15 day of show. All ages, substance-free.

Our Last Night

OUR LAST NIGHT - http://www.myspace.com/ourlastnight
Inspired by hardcore and metal, Our Last Night delivers an onslaught of taut thrashing riffs and intense hardcore breakdowns that meld perfectly with lush melodic landscapes and soaring, irresistibly catchy choruses. Sharp technical precision meets raw inspiration on songs like the addictive “Escape” which is currently streaming here

Our Last Night, which consists of Trevor Wentworth (growls), Matt Wentworth (guitar, melodic vocals), Alex “Woody” Woodrow (bass), Colin Perry (guitar) and Tim Molloy (drums), was formed in 2004 by childhood friends who were fed up with merely jamming and playing cover songs. With only a few live performances under their belt, Our Last Night entered the studio shortly afterward to record their first EP, ‘We’ve Been Holding Back’. Vigorous live performances helped the band earn respect and fans throughout the New England area and by 2005 they entered the studio to record their next EP, ‘Building Cities From Scratch’. In the summer of 2007, after being impressed by their self-made demos, owner and president of Epitaph Records, Brett Gurewitz, came calling and invited the band to join the label.

“From the very first note of the demo I was blown away by the sophistication of their writing and the technical playing which belies their young age,” said Gurewitz. “Add to that the control and range of Matt’s stellar singing voice and I was sold.”

FOREVER THEY SAID - http://www.myspace.com/forevertheysaid
Burlington VT’s premier metal/hardcore outfit. They represent the upcoming youth of the local scene with amazing breakdowns coupled with intense vocals and sing-a-long’s with actual singing. Featuring former members of FALL OF THE MACHINES and BLACK NIGHT VENGEANCE this band is a local powerhouse.

YOUNG DENVER - http://www.myspace.com/youngdenver
Young Denver, formed in May of 2008, consists of present and former members of WRECK, MANEUVERS, and BROKEN WHITE RECORD. Coming from different musical backgrounds, a quick spark of chemistry was formed in Young Denver from their start. Being comparable to Saves the Day and New Found Glory this is a rival line up and performance for them to be a part of.

Johnny Booth

JOHNNY BOOTH - http://www.myspace.com/johnnyboothmusic
Oneonta/Long Island, NY based Johnny Booth absolutely slay audiences with their mix of metal and jazz hardcore, this will be one of many shows as they have decided that their home base is more welcoming here in Burlington, VT than in their home town of Long Island, NY. Future split coming out with Burlington’s ghosting (http://www.myspace.com/ghostinghc) as well as a full nine day tour around the Northeast.

T.I.P. - http://www.myspace.com/xtipx

Anthony Pappalardo and Ryan Krushenick in The Radiator studio.

Ryan & Anthony.

Ryan Krushenick (Big Heavy World, Unrestrained) interviews Anthony Pappalardo, co-author of ‘RADIOSILENCE: A Selected Visual History of American Hardcore‘ (with Nathan Nedorostek) on The Radiator tonight, 9-10pm.

Ryan & Anthony.

Listen to the interview (MP3)

A Life Once Lost. Photo: Burck-Art Photography

Sunday, November 16 Big Heavy World’s 802 Booking Collective presents: A Life Once Lost, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, Arsonists Get All The Girls, Romans, The New Tony Bennett, Galen, Wreck.

At the Memorial Auditorium Annex. All-ages, substance-free. 5pm, $12.

A Life Once Lost

Interview by Mary Cate Connors

Justin Gonyea, of Burlington, has been playing guitar for 16 years. Currently, he is the guitarist for the VT-based metal band, Romans. In 2007, Romans demoed and recorded their first studio album, “All Those Wrists” in Gonyea’s home studio in Lincoln, VT. Gonyea took some time before his radio show on The Radiator to answer a few questions for me. Check out what he said:  

TUNK: Tell me a little bit about your band, Romans.

JG: It’s a heavier project that started about 2 years ago. We were all friends and we’d never been in a band together. A few of us were in heavy bands, a few in indie-rock bands. I was writing material, I got a new house in Lincoln, VT so that was inspiring me to spend more time to write music because it was way up in the mountains and whatnot. I started a demo and posted online to see if anyone was into it, a few of my friends were interested in doing it so we started getting together. As soon as we all came together, we wrote and recorded our first album “All Those Wrists” that we eventually got signed and is out with Black Market Activities. It just happened really fast. It only took two or three months of us being together and we did the whole album. I tracked it and mixed it all. It was a whirlwind. Even looking back on it, it’s kind of hard to believe that it happened so fast. It just worked.

TUNK: What about your musical preferences?

JG: I’m into everything, from old stuff like Neil Young and Pink Floyd and to now things like Joanna Newsom, Broken Social Scene and Mogwai—I love Mogwai– they kind of bridge the gap between heavy music and indie music. And I love heavy music still in the form of Isis, which is like the “thinking man’s metal.” And really heavy stuff, like Mastodon. But I love everything. Hopefully that comes into play with writing and has something to do with why our album came out so eclectic. The album is heavy and as a whole it’s metalcore. But when I listen to it I can hear elements of other things I like, like trip hop and ambient stuff.

TUNK: Do you write all the music yourself? Tell me about the music writing process?

JG: I write all the music. And I usually write most of it with Kevin Savage, our drummer. I’ll have one or two riff ideas for a song and then Kevin and I will jam it out and the whole song will get formulated. Then we get together with Sean Martin and Tom Kelly, who live in New York City, and we’ll play them what we have and get feedback on it and it’ll evolve from there. So in the end, it’s 100% a cooperative, evolving, writing process but it pretty much all starts with a guitarist. I can’t imagine that any bands write any other way, no matter what they say.

TUNK: So is Romans evolving at all from the first album?

JG: Definitely. We’re moving away from Metalcore—as fast as possible. It’s turning out that we’re moving in the direction of atmospheric metal. We’re dealing more with layers, textures and not so much speed. On the album we were so focused on the unrelenting, blistering speed. Now we want to take more time, keep the heavy sound but keep the focus. And gain more of a contemporary rock song-writing process.

TUNK: What’s your connection with the local, VT music scene?

JG:  I’ve been a part of the underground hardcore music scene, the bar playing indie-rock music scene, I own and operate a recording studio in Fort Ethan Allen. I recorded albums for In Memory of Pluto, Maneuvers, Husbands AKA—and all those bands have played at Wasted City, the venue that I own.  I grew up working at 242 Main; I was the sound guy there for a few years. I’ve been playing in bands since 8^th grade, in Burlington. I try to stay pretty tapped into the scene.

TUNK: What’s your favorite venue to play in VT?

JG: It’s kind of fun to play a venue when you own it [Wasted City]. But easy answer though, 242 Main. I’ve been playing there since I was in 8^th grade. It fills up fast and has a new crew of young faces every time. It’s super intimate. I also love playing house shows. Anytime we can play in a basement in Burlington, I love that.

Romans will be playing a show on Sunday November 17, 2008 at the Annex with AA Life Once Lost, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, Arsonists Get All the Girls, Wreck, Galen and The New Tony Bennett. It’s $12 day of show and doors open at 5pm. Be there.

Join Big Heavy World at the JDK reception for RADIOSILENCE - hardcore photos from the last three decades. Live music with THE WARDS and BLOWTORCH following the reception (7:30PM), with open skating on the Sanctuary ramp. Visit 47sanctuary.com for info.

BLOWTORCH. Photo: Glenn Russell.

Here’s a first batch of photos from this year’s IndieCon:

Burbis at 242 Main.

Burbis, 242 Main.

Eksi Ekso at 242 Main

Cherry Cassette at 242 Main.

IndieCon booking panel at Club Metronome.

It was the scene of the Higher Ground “Hardcore and Metal Showcase X,” hosted by the Boys and Girls Club of Burlington and MakeItHappen.  The band on stage was a group from Portland, ME called Absence of the Sun, who traveled to play before VT local favorites Blinded by Rage and Forever they Said.  

Although the music and the scene were both foreign to me, the energy cycling from the hyped-up crowd to the performing musicians was contagious.  The fast melodies and indecipherable screaming that characterized the music of the night reflected a true “I’ll Do What I Damn Well Please” attitude.  Among Mohawks and blue hair, there were also a lot of X tattoos and shirts within the crowd.  The symbol represents the Straight Edge, substance free lifestyle, which is more deviant in today’s society than succumbing to the cliché rebellion of getting high and drinking.  Although I’m unsure of the performer’s affiliation with the Straight Edge movement, I will say that last Sunday night’s crowd was the most energetic, insane and responsive one that I have ever seen. It came naturally, driven by passion alone.

The all ages show seemed to be attended by mostly high school aged students whose energy filled the room even if physical presence did not. And although the bar was open, it was not getting much attention.  The merchandise tables were lined along the side wall and the frontman from Forever they Said pleaded between songs that, “We’re all poor–so check out the merchandise.” The bands performed in front black backdrop with red light illuminating the stage. 

VT’s own Blinded by Rage was next up on the stage, equipped with a full video crew that was recording the performance for a live DVD.  An audio track of Psalm 23:4 coupled with what sounded like some kind German speech started the first song called “Severance”.  The bass and drums punched a fast rhythm while the guitar added quick and impressive licks in-between vocal growls and power chords.  The band drew the crowd closer with commands like, “Did you come to see a show or not?” 

The crowd responded by filling in gaps and once again throwing their hands in the air.  The band played through a short set with a full sets worth of raw energy.  They prompted the crowd to make raucous circle pits and at one point had the crowd split down the middle only to have them come rush into each other at the striking of the next chord.  Blinded by Rage really lived up to their reputation of unrelenting energy. They left the crowd with just enough vigor to rock out to that night’s last performance.

Forever they Said took the stage afterwards and immediately thanked the other performers and the crowed for coming out on a Sunday night.  The young, five-person band started with a song called “Verona,” which began with just guitar and picked up the drums and vocals, continuing to get heavier as it grew.  With frequent stops, breakdowns and a quick repeated guitar riff, “Verona” was one of the best songs I heard all night.  The group went on the play “Undead at 11” and “From a Whisper” rocking the same unbridled energy with which they had started.  The crowd reflected the vibe back and danced in appreciation.  The band ended the night with a song called “Ascension,” which was dedicated to flannel shirts. The song included vocals from members of the other bands that came out for the showcase.  

Heal These Wounds, Surrounded By Teeth and Beautiful Gorgeous also played sets that night.

Look for new art from Jager Di Paola Kemp Design on posters, stickers, and t-shirts for Big Heavy World and The Radiator. Michael Jager and crew have contributed some of the most-fun graphic design we could imagine. Thank you Michael Jager (design direction); Eli Atticus Jager (type design); Chris Partelow (illustraton and design development); and Steve Horrocks (prints). So fine, so fun!