Bob Log III

He’s the bastard stepson of a Tucson, Arizona trailer park and the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta. Bob Log III is Fat Possum Records’ veracious slide guitarist/one-man-band that will kick your adrenal gland into overdrive. He matches his de-tuned, f-hole guitars with the endless stomping of his rhythm section   left and right foot respectively on bass drum and kick cymbal. Bob Log is a one-man-band of international acclaim who’s raw hill country guitar and drums are only magnified my his ominous appearance. The sepia-tinted visor on his gray motorcycle helmet obscures his identity, and a microphone cord runs to a mouthpiece on the bottom of a mid-70’s black rotary phone receiver. It protrudes from the front, functioning as his vox.

Maximum Ink caught up with Bob during a tour stop in Rochester, New York for an interview.

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Guido’s Racecar

Somewhat on-again off-again band, Guido’s Racecar has been on-again since 2007. Made up of Roni Allwaise on vocals, Mike Hoffman on guitar, Johnny Washday on bass and fellow Max Ink writer, Lane Klozier on drums, this relatively low-key “kinda glam & kinda punk [band]” as Allwaise calls it, had its start back in 1998. I had the opportunity to speak with Roni Allwaise.

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Alkaline Trio

Riding the release of their latest album, “Agony & Irony,” ALKALINE TRIO has hit the road. The band started in late ‘96 with an upbeat, melodic sound with dark, realistic lyrics that slowly but strongly developed a dedicated following. Though big on the punk scene, the band strives to cross barriers and bring in fans from all walks of life.

Derek Grant (drums) said the new album is “getting back to the basics” as they put more concentration on content rather than layering and perfecting instrumentations. Through several previous albums, the writing fashion had become monotonous, so they took a stripped down, more natural approach to the production of “Agony & Irony.” The essence of their songs has remained the same and as the fan base continues to grow, the songs remain relatable and tend to touch a nerve that most bands avoid. Grant says, “we’ve never taken the easy route in any shape or form, we aren’t a band that is born out of convenience,” and this, he explains, is why their following remains strong.

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Children 18:3

Children 18:3 are a dream come true for nearly any general fan of music. The music is easy to swallow but exciting and stands up listen after listen. They are, however, a critic’s nightmare.

This Minnesotan three piece shamelessly (and rightfully so) defines themselves with elements of pop, punk, rock and aesthetics that can be so polarizing it’s kind of a wonder they have the massive fan base they do.

If a Children 18:3 newbie doesn’t run when they hear “Christian Rock” they might when they see the band’s long haired, greasy, mascara’ed front man. Or, if they don’t turn the other cheek when comparisons to Alkaline Trio turn up they might turn the page when they hear this trio is a band of siblings.

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Batusis

Two seminal members of two of the most influential New York City punk bands, THE NEW YORK DOLLS and DEAD BOYS, join forces in BATUSIS (Yes, named after Adam West’s ridiculous dance in the 1960’s Batman TV series), a straight up rock and roll band with an upbeat and catchy sound. With their image, sound, and attitudes, guitarists Cheetah Chrome (also a founding member of ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS) and Sylvain Sylvain were at the forefront of the underground rock and roll movement that would eventually lead to being able to buy CBGB shirts at the mall. But back then it was the most dangerous music around.

Their first concert was at this year’s South by Southwest festival in Austin and they were backed up with the rhythm section from Joan Jett’s BLACKHEARTS. Cheetah explains how they started, “Syl’s manager and my label guy got to talking” he says, “and they suggested that since we’d known each other for a long time that we should do something together. We said ‘Hell yeah’! It sounded like fun because we’ve always wanted to play together. Basically it started off as just the EP and it went so well, we went off to do some touring and now next week we’re going to do a full album.”

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BLAMM-O!

Madison hard rock act, BLAMM-O! is celebrating their tenth anniversary this year with their release of their first full-length CD, THE ROAD. Featuring cover art of the lead singer, Joel Hooks’, real wrecked car, THE ROAD represents the band starting to re-emerge after a period of semi-hibernation. “The past three years BlLAMM-O! has been laying kind of low”, Hooks says. “We had not released any new music since our self-titled EP in 2006, so we decided to get off our asses and put out something which represents where we’re at right now musically.”

With a straightforward high-energy hard rock sound, their influences range from Van Halen to Meat Puppets to Joy Division. And you can hear an epic sweep in the vocals, raunchy distorted guitars, and the crashing rhythms. But just because they have a little U2-meets-Three Doors Down vibe going on doesn’t mean they can’t be a little more irreverent than Bono. As Hooks explains the origin of their name, “The name BLAMM-O! actually comes from REN AND STIMPY specifically from one of their mock commercials (remember ‘Log by Blamm-o!’). We tried dozens of names, even playing our first show and radio debut under a different one. BLAMM-O! seems to describe us best, a massive release of sound and energy!”

THE ROAD is the band’s first full-length and for people who aren’t familiar with their sound, Hooks has a suggestion. “Normally, I might answer with one of our full-on, in-your-face rockers,” he says, “but I think ‘Facing Fate’ would be a good first BLAMM-O! experience. I think the song has great dynamics. It demonstrates some of the range and diversity we have as a band and our unique style of rock and pop.” But his favorite song on the record is the title track. “I love ‘Free-Fall Cover-Up’ because of the kick-ass guitar riffs and solo. The guitars have almost a ‘middle eastern’ sound to them which is ironic once you understand the content of the song. However, because of the recent loss of someone dear to me, I’ve been leaning towards the title track ‘The Road’ lately. It speaks of the struggle, hardships, and tragedy of the path we all must travel, yet the strength we must maintain to get to our individual destinations. “

And Hooks hopes that BLAMM-O!’s re-emergence in the Madison music scene will last for awhile. He says confidently, “We just keep chugging along like the ‘little engine that thinks it can’, striving to write interesting music.  No one freaks out and has a hissy-fit if someone says, ‘Hey that lick or melody sucks, try something else.’ We all understand it’s the constructive criticism which forces us to write better songs. Plus we all like to spend time together outside of BLAMM-O! when we can. We’ve been in each others’ weddings, seen families grow, and have had good times the past five years… With the new album we’d like to get out and play more shows in Madison and beyond, perhaps doing some more work with charities. We’ll focus on writing new material and recording some singles. We already have one new song completed with several more in the works… I feel our personal relationships help stimulate creativity and our best songs are yet to come.”

BLAMM-O! is going to be celebrating their CD Release Party at The High Noon Saloon on Friday August 12th and it’s the next event on The Rökker Vodka Tour. As Hooks explains, “There will obviously be some awesome vodka to throw back!  The release party should be an interesting multi-media event. We’re having Madison artist, Everett Kitts, paint while we play. He’s going to tie the painting in with a T-shirt design he did for us. After the show, we’ll auction off the painting and give a portion of our sales from the evening as a donation to Porchlight, Inc. a local charity helping the homeless… Expect a tight, energetic, and entertaining show. One hell of an audio-visual, tasty Happy Hour to start the weekend. What else would you want to do?” And then he adds with his tongue firmly in his cheek, “If you’ve never experienced a BLAMM-O! show, come check us out.  You’ll be glad you did.  We’re way better than reality TV!”

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Brainerd

Dan Dieterich, founder of Brainerd, is a man who is not afraid of getting in touch with the darker side of life. If you are aware of Madison, Wisconsin’s musical history, chances are you’ve heard of this band. Recently signed by (Zodiac Killer Records), their third album approaches. Called simply, “The Goat Album,” Dieterich says that Brainerd plays “deathpunk” and has “congealed into a unique sound.” He describes their first album, “There’s No Eye in Pussy” as “an amalgamation of sound that ranges from traditional punk to rockabilly. We came together more on our second album ‘Animal Mother’. That was more grindy. Fans who come out to hear our latest music can be assured that they will receive a hearty dose of high-powered, high-energy rock n roll party music.”

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