Twenty years together in a band is pretty damn impressive.  Twenty years together for a punk band is a fucking miracle.

For two decades now, the guys in Simi Valley-based punk band Strung Out have been churning out record after record of politically-tinged melodic punk rock, spiked with a bit of hardcore.  Strung Out is also one of the few punk bands that happen to find itself in the record collection of black-shirt clad metal kids as well.   Having just released Agents of the Underground, their seventh album, the band is about to gas up the bus and heard out on tour.
 
Frontman Jason Cruz was kind enough to talk to Blurt this week about keeping the band together, Hank William Sr. and Scandinavian hookers. 

Congratulations on 20 years. Ever have any idea when you were starting the band that you'd be around this long?
Fat Mike once told me it takes about 10 years to "make it" at whatever you set out to do... Hmmm have I made it yet? If I have where the fuck am I and somebody please save me!

Why do you think you guys have been able to make it for so long when so many other punk bands break up after just a few years?
Because they're pussies and they never really wanted rock up their ass in the first place, that's why. If you are doing this, you really have to get a shitty little job to sustain yourself for a bit. Sell your girlfriend and the dog and get to it!

Got to admit, I'm impressed that the band has done so well with little airplay and no absolutely no help from MTV and the like. Why do you think your music resonates so well with people?
I believe it's because we look so damn goofy and un-cool. I mean who will believe a word the gorgeous kid with Motley Crue hairdo says anyway?

 Is there a theme to the songs on Agents of the Underground, your new record?
The theme would have to be of loss and the certainty of re-birth. Loss is a fact of life we seem to be so afraid of and to confront that fact is not always an easy thing to do. The things you do not let go will be ripped away type thing.

Do you still get approached by younger bands who mention that they grew up with your music? Is that ever weird?
Yes (and) it's weird and I may not have a fat sack sittin' in a fat car parked in my fat pad but I gots respect and to me that'll sink ships any day brotha.

So over the past 20 years, did the band ever come close to splitting up?
Twelve times! Each time had to do with a Scandinavian hooker we all loved at one time or another. She played us and left us for the boys in Avenged Sevenfold ...Good luck boys!

Any regrets with the band?
I don't really regret a single thing with this band; it all happened for one reason or another and led me here. I am healthy, I am strong, and I love the new record. Shit like that don't last so I'm going with it.

In two decade, obviously, you've hit some major milestones. As a band, is there anything else you want to be able to accomplish?   
Big fat royalty checks when I'm seventy?


 

The last couple of years, I've been off meat, generally. If it's bloody, it's out. I know, kind of weenie. Believe me, I have tried. But unless it's stringy, in a pattie, in casing or bacon, no go.

But our friends have been raving about this local meaterie, Fleisher's. It's the next town over, about a 30 minute drive. High-end stuff, all organic. So we finally go on Saturday and at first, I'm a little wary. The vibe is well... all-meat, all-the-time. A hand-painted sign above a cabinet full of spices commands "Rub Your Meat." Five points for bawdy humor. Although, I steer far away from the ribeye and steak section, which, I know, if that's your thing, these babies are like the gleaming rubies of Meatville. But when in Rome....

About 10 of us were waiting around for 15-20 minutes while the clerk took what seemed like forever helping the guy in front of us (he'd never heard of kielbasa!). More and more people were piling in. Call me impatient [...]

A Triple-A radio programming veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentation of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

The Ettes Present Their Touring-Band Food Tips: How would you feel about bathing in some baked beans? You'd feel really good about it, that's how you'd feel...

By Coco Hames

Part of the justification for living in a van -- with three other people and one-to-two dogs, constantly driving around the country, not doing laundry or sleeping -- is 1) we get to play rock shows, and 2) we get to eat exciting, awesome regional treats! 

The best Chinese food in the country is in New York, though Poni and Jem assure me the New York Chinese diaspora has created a good pocket of Chinese food in south Florida.  New York DOES have the best pizza (and bagels, they say it's the water), and do not even try to engage me comparing Chicago deep dish with New York pizza: there is no comparison.  Like what you like but don't compare apples to oranges; they ain't the same fruit.  Same goes for California-style fancy pants thin crust gourmet pizza with figs and prosciutto; give me a break.  That is delicious but it's not the same species as a wonderful, perfect, regular old slice of New York cheese pizza.  You may only compare pizza slices within New York City and Brooklyn.  Thanks. 

We get cheese steaks in Philly, and most people will tell you (if you ask them whether Pat's or Gino's is the best) whichever has the shortest line at the time you go is your best bet.  That's good advice.  Philly cheese steaks are hard to mess up, long as they gots the gooey cheese and onions ("whiz with") and you also should use the granular hot sauce and chuck on some chilies!  Also I hear Tony Luke's is good.  But Italian beef in Chicago is a whole new world.  Get it dipped (in au jus) and with peppers (spicy or sweet, it's up to you) and you cannot go wrong. 

Seafood is always best nearest its home, and we've had memorably killer seafood in Rhode Island, California, Louisiana, South Carolina, Maine and Florida.  I'm partial to Floridian seafood, especially the kind you can get at J.B.'s Fish Camp in New Smyrna.  You sit outside (it doesn't matter how hot it is, you're on the intercoastal) and drink cheap beer and eat oysters they harvest on the side of the dock and watch dolphins cavort in the water. 

Nashville has meat-and-threes, which means a meat (roast beef?) and three sides (mac and cheese, collard greens, black eyed peas, green beans, mashed potatoes, etc.) but I usually get a meat-and-one because my eyes are way bigger than my stomach.  And you get you some sweet tea.  At Arnold's. 

In St. Louis they have a special creepy pizza, which we call the ketchup gravy pizza, but evidently they mean to make it like that and we're supposed to like it, and we kind of always do.  Johnny likes ribs (who doesn't?) but the rest of the Ettes are divided on their favorite barbeque style.  Poni and I prefer North Carolina barbeque, in which you will find a vinegar-based bbq sauce (other common ingredients often include ketchup, onion powder, garlic, and sometimes grape soda!) but Jem likes Memphis-style, specifically Payne's (suggested to us by Greg Cartwright) where you will find coleslaw on the sandwich and no decipherable sauce, which purists insist puts emphasis where it belongs: on the meat. 

Green chiles (they're not hot) in Arizona and New Mexico find their way into everything, and even though clever Trader Joe's sells them canned now, you can't beat them fresh.  All the chiles down around them parts, mmmm.  The Mexican diaspora in this country over the last ten years or so is indeed extensive, and so, so welcome.  Mexican food is so good.  You would assume Boise has potatoes, but how would you feel about local potato vodka and a potato burrito?  You'd feel really good about it, that's how you'd feel.  In your mouth. Texas is #1 for breakfast tacos and its own style of barbeque, but Austin just wins all around for best city in general, food included. 

We used to be very serious about the best Mexican food being in LA (not, as you might think, in El Paso, a city that is a stone's throw from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico) though San Francisco's taquerias (not the same thing as a Mexican restaurant) are pretty much the bomb.  Seattle has a real gift for rock-and-roll diner food (Hattie Hat's), as does Atlanta (the Earl).  Every city needs a rock-and-roll diner. 

A rock-and-roll diner is a place that typically features a highly tattooed kitchen and wait staff, and should be run by an ex-touring musician or skater.  The decor is casual and kitschy, there should be skulls and motorcycle stuff everywhere, there should be good local beer on draft, and the food should be structured as American comfort food (burgers, tater tots, meatloaf, fried chicken, etc.) but done in an inspired new (and usually more healthful) way.  More of these!  Everywhere! 

I'm obviously not mentioning everywhere we've ever gone or want to go (and eat), I'm just excited that we're headed to Wisconsin and Poni and I are looking for cheese, and Jem says he heard of a good local beer, yessssss!

***

Blurt "co-co-editor" Coco Hames fronts The Ettes - Hames on guitar, Jem Cohen on bass and Poni Silver on drums - whose album Look At Life Again Soon and EP, Danger Is, were released by Take Root. Their new Greg Cartwright-produced album Do You Want Power arrived in stores Sept. 29, and you bet we've got a big feature on the band in our new print issue. Check out the band's MySpace page for music and tour dates.

Steve Cropper, Pop Staples, Albert King are Jammed Together.

By Carl Hanni

Here's another good one from the never-ending list of worthy records that never really got their due.

Jammed Together is a Stax Records all-star throw-down loaded with with heavy hitters; a loose, relaxed mutual appreciation society of giants enjoying each other's chops. This practically lost burner from 1969 fronts three of Stax's hottest pickers (Steve Cropper, Albert King and Pop Staples) with an air-tight backing band and a shifting line-up of A-list in-house producers. Various combinations of Al Bell, Issac Hayes, Al Jackson, David Porter, Booker T Jones, Terry Manning, Homer Banks and others all take turns group producing, a guaranteed head-turner for discerning crate diggers and analog devotees looking for a warm, vinyl fix.

Three vocal numbers - one each from the three principals - are trumped by seven instrumentals, where the real sparks fly. Albert King, for one, seldom sounded better. His unbelievably agile, sweet but stinging leads propel "Big Bird," "Trashy Dog" "Opus De Soul," "Homer's Theme" and "Knock On Wood" into soul-blues nirvana. Steve Cropper is, of course, as steady as they come, tastefully blasting away on the same tracks and putting a real fire under King's mighty feet. But Pop Staples and his patented tremolo and vibrato-laden guitar may be the unexpected ringer and perfect foil for these other two giants; his laid-back, shimmering style has just the spongy flex that these tracks need to achieve maximum lift-off.

None of this would be nearly as essential if their rhythm section wasn't as ready to rock and soul as they were, but the unnamed players split the difference between rocking soul and rocking blues, and Jammed Together comes down on the soul side of the equation. They may be unnamed but they sure sound familiar; anyone want to bet that's Al Jackson Jr. and Duck Dunn, brother MG's, on at least some if not all of the tracks?

There's real joy and a sense of playfulness in these warm, dynamic grooves, produced by a fraternity of players and producers with a rich shared history and absolutely nothing to prove. Jammed Together beats the super-star-jam curse hands down and really doesn't care if you know about it or not. And there-in lies much of the appeal: Jammed Together is simultaneously humble and thrown together, and supremely well crafted and full of bravado. Kind of like Stax Records itself.

You can leave comments below or e-mail them to me directly at modmedia@theriver.com. 

Carl Hanni is a music writer, music publicist, disc jockey and vinyl archivist living in Tucson, AZ. He  hosts the vinyl-only Scratchy Record Show every Tuesday night at the Red Room in downtown Tucson, and spins records wherever and whenever he can. He believes that in a better (all analog) world all records would be released on vinyl, but takes good music from wherever he finds it--even on CD. His feature piece on legendary bass player/record producer Harvey Brooks was recently published in Goldmine.

Following in the Outlandos tradition of Letters from the Road, our guest post this week comes from Skip Matheny of my new fave band Roman Candle:

Dear Fanny,

I saw your band/show last night. Thanks for putting me on the list and asking for advice, critiques, etc.... I'm not sure what to tell you exactly. You all were great. In fact, I imagine you will be very popular, and maybe better --- very quickly. I don't have a critique in the world about your show or aesthetic. You all seem to have nailed that down pretty well. However I might say the same thing to you I usually tell any writer, including myself, which is: think in terms of "songs" and listen to a fair amount music made before the year you were born.

Off the bat, that might seem like a nostalgic thing to suggest. It's not. It's about finding and learning about good art. Your band's songs are great but if you want to make records for the next 10 or 15 years, artistically speaking, you will likely find more substance in songs than in guitar tones. I think there's a lot to be learned by realizing you are a writer in a long tradition that stretches back before your own time, even (way) back before recorded sound --- and the "thread" or the common thing through all of that tradition is the form of the song. It's an interesting and mysterious thing, and it repays the attention you give it.

If you go listen to any of the records that came out last Tuesday and then listen to, for example, Joni Mitchell,"The Gallery" or David Bowie, "Life on Mars," or Stevie Wonder, "Do I Love Her?" you'll probably hear some similarities (verses, choruses, 3 minutes long). In contrast to the new records which, for the most part, are a bit vacuous [...]

A Triple-A radio programming veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentation of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

Damn! BYO Records turns 25

Pete Wentz wasn't even wearing eyeliner when brothers Shawn and Mark Stern decided to start BYO (Better Youth Organization) Records 25 years ago. The label, which put out releases by Youth Brigade - the Brothers Stern's own punk band - went on to put out seminal punk releases from bands like Leatherface and 7 Seconds.

To quote the band, BYO was founded as "part political movement, part business venture that began as a way to organize punks to take positive action to help sustain their scene and their way of life."

To commemorate their 25th anniversary - not bad considering how many other labels have come and gone during that time - BYO is putting out a 31-song box set, featuring a who's who of American punk rock. Groups like Bad Religion, Dropkick Murphys, NOFX, Anti-Flag and the Bouncing Souls all took turns covering BYO bands. The set also comes with the documentary Let Them Know, which looks at the influence of the label through interviews with Ian MacKaye (Fugazi, Minor Threat, founder of Dischord Records), Fat Mike (NOFX, Me First & The Gimme Gimmes, founder of Fat Wreck Chords) and Steve Soto (Adolescents, Manic Hispanic), among others.

Shawn Stern, in the middle of a Youth Brigade tour, took some time recently to answer questions about the label, the band and punk rockin' as a 40-something.

Are you surprised that the label is still up and running 25 years later?
I'm surprised that we were able to put out one record, let alone nearly 120! When we started I never thought I'd be playing music in my 30's let alone my 40's and approaching 50. For us to last this long is kind of amazing to us and we feel extremely lucky.

So how do you think you've able to keep it going for so long when so many others have folded?
Pure luck! (laughs) Well, I think we just put out good music that we like and people seem to respond well. We never did this to make money; we never had any business plan or really any plan at all. We put out records ‘cause we had a band and we put out other bands' records ‘cause we liked the band, the music and what they had to say. I guess we're doing something right, otherwise we wouldn't have survived.

Do you think its easier running a business with your brothers or ultimately harder?
My brothers and I are all very close, so I think it's really easy to work together. I mean we've been doing it all our lives, so it's pretty natural. We can argue - and we do - but we don't take it personally, we just go eat lunch or go have a drink after.

Ever get into any Kinks style fist fights over the band or the label?
Nah, our punching each other out ended in our teens. Screaming arguments once in awhile that we usually end up laughing about is the extent of it.

Have you always had a defining principle or set of principles that BYO was founded on?
Well, like I said, we never had a plan we just did things as they came up. The principles have always been those that our parents and grandparents instilled in us as kids, think for yourself, life is about learning and giving back, helping people. From that we devised our own ideals about what punk rock is to us, that one should question everything and decide for yourself what makes sense. Don't be a sheep, don't follow anyone. I was heavily influenced in my senior year in high school by an existential lit class I took. I read Dostoyevsky, Kierkegaard, Sartre and Camus and the next semester I had an entire class on Herman Hesse. They all had a profound effect, but Albert Camus' "The Stranger" and the "Myth Of Sysiphus" were almost life changing for me. I think those ideals will always stick with me.

What was always the deciding factor in putting out a band's music?
We put out bands that we like as people, whose music we like and believe in and we feel we can help them. There's lots of bands that we like and would like to work with over the years but for one reason or another it just didn't work out.

Do you get a sense of enjoyment of watching major labels falter and grasp to stay relevant?
Hmm, I'm not really someone that takes pleasure in other people's failure. I don't really worry about other labels, it's not something I can control or be a part of. But I'm not gonna lose sleep over the fact that a multi-national corporation leaves the music business, because in my view they only look at music as nothing more than a way to make money and I think that is not good for anyone. So the more of them that leave music, the better it is for music and all of us.

Was it difficult deciding who would be on the album that comes with the box set? More important, was there a fight between bands to cover "California is Sinking"?
We just asked all the bands we like and they all said sure. Now getting them to actually get in the studio and record, well that's another story. Everyone is busy, when they are recording a new record they are concentrating on that and putting together a cover sometimes isn't at the top of their list of things to do. Picking songs was up to the band, there were a few that wanted to do a certain song but someone had already picked it, but there were no "fights." Worked out really well I think. Well, I guess everyone can listen to the record and decide for themselves, but it's a pretty amazing record.

A lot of folks cite you guys as influences in starting their own labels. Did you really have anyone to emulate or learn from when you were starting BYO records?
No, there were very few labels at the time doing punk rock on the level we did it when we started. Slash and Dangerhouse were about it in L.A. but we just sort of figured it out on our own. Ask questions, call around, talk to the guys at the pressing plant about how to do things ‘cause they had been in the record business for years and they knew the basics. A lot of it was just logic, go around to stores and ask them to take the record. That was our early distribution.

Why did the band ultimately decide to call it quits?
Adam had left the band to go back to school in '84, we got Bob Gnarly in the band and changed the name to The Brigade and our sound got a little more "poppy" I guess you could say. The punk scene was dying, the hair bands were taking over the sunset strip and we were burnt so we just decided it wasn't fun anymore.

So was it an easy decision to get the band back together and tour?
Yeah, we were all playing music again in different bands. I had a band, That's It and my brothers had all started the band Royal Crown Revue and met up on tour in Germany. People had been asking about Youth Brigade on both our tours, so we talked about doing a "reunion" and I said if we wrote new songs and make a record then I would do it. We all agreed, it was pretty easy and we've been going strong ever since.

Did you find that you missed playing together?
I think we found that we had fun playing together. Mark (Stern) and Adam (Stern) and our other brother Jamie were all playing together for a few years in Royal Crown Revue and having fun. That's the bottom line, it has to be fun. Otherwise what's the point!?

Was it surreal participating in the documentary?

No, not surreal. We put it together but we tried to not involve ourselves too much in the planning. We wanted to let the film makers make the movie, not us. We told them people they should talk to and gave them a chronological line of what/how things happened, but we let them put it together. I think they did an amazing job.

Listening to the interviews, were you surprised at how influential the band was to so many?
I'm flattered. I don't know if I'm so much surprised ‘cause I think there was only a handful of bands in the punk scene that have lasted all these years and odds are they have lasted because people like the music and that's ‘gonna influence bands that are coming after.

Any chance you'll revive the BYO split series?
Oh it isn't dead, just been on hiatus. The box set was such a huge undertaking, the biggest project we've ever done, so it took up nearly three years of our time. We've had quite a few bands interested, just haven't managed to work it out. But we will hopefully soon.

You know the drill but indulge me for a little reminder here....

We know, for example, that fans prize souvenirs --- a tactile take-away that reminds you of the feeling you have when listening to music. It's kind of like what we're doing with The Daily Dose --- further enhancing the "sensory experience" with rock 'n roll wine and cheese picks so as to emphasize "more than music." Certainly, a recommendation isn't exactly "tactile," but it does bring us closer, drawing upon multiple aesthetic experiences and uniting them in one place. So, perhaps upon purchasing the wine or cheese of the day, upon tasting them, you'll conjure up the associated songs, thereby giving the taste an added, well, taste.

All of that, the long way of saying: multiple aesthetic experiences rule the day. And things that you associate with music are likely the same things other people (who like the same music as you) might be curious about. It's a Tribes-thing.

Hence, this month's semi-random compendium:

1. Dunder Tchotchkes

Perhaps one for everyone you know this Christmas? Plus they have action figures, star mugs (sans Jim and Dwight), Office Clue... it was really hard for me to not buy one of everything. And it's totally overpriced. I don't care.[...]

A Triple-A radio programming veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentation of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

No. 2: Quite excited

By Bryan Reed

I first saw Black Cobra (above) about two years ago. They were opening for Pelican in a double-bill at Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte. What I remember most about the show was thinking that Black Cobra was monumentally more captivating than Pelican - which put on a good set, just not as good - and feeling bummed about not having enough cash for records. So to say I was excited when the Cobra's third record (first for Southern Lord), Chronomega arrived in the mail is a mild understatement: I was quite excited.

Having settled into Chronomega, the new jams fail to disappoint. Opener "Negative Reversal" is a blunt-force stomp indicative of the rest of the album - sharp riffs, gruff grooves and a driving, sludgy feel somewhere between High on Fire and early Mastodon. This is no kind of reinvention, but the collection hits its mark without getting stale. I still prefer Bestial (Black Cobra's 2006 debut), but I wouldn't have even mentioned Chronomega if I weren't suggesting it's at least worth a listen.

Lately, though, I've found my attention drawn elsewhere, to three albums, each playing within the black metal spectrum, though not necessarily completely: Azaghal's Teraphim, Merrimack's Grey Rigorism and Mount Eerie's Wind's Poem.

Azaghal's latest, Teraphim, out Tuesday via Moribund Records, comes closest to the sound of the Norwegian first-wave, putting chaotic blast beats behind expansive guitar melodies. This corpsepainted quartet from Finland doesn't stretch the boundaries of what black metal is, but even as it colors inside the guidelines the band adds shades of nuance by way of thrash riffs and - on the record's most divergent cut, "Hänen Musta Liekkinsä" - by way of synthesized orchestral arrangements that are simultaneously cheesy, endearing and adeptly atmospheric. It's telling that the first three seconds of almost every track sounds the same - immediate blast beat that gets ripped open with an introductory roar from vocalist Varjoherra. It's also telling that when it doesn't, as is true of "Filosofi," we can expect a slight but important shift in approach as the song adopts a steady riff and a strong chorus that reminds somewhat of Boris in its melody and vocal pairings.

The Merrimack record, also released by Moribund, has been out for some time now, but has kept my attention because it doesn't seem to settle. Black Metal, for me anyway, is a dish best served with a healthy portion of unrest, lest the waves of guitar become sedative white noise. Like Texas' Absu, or Illinois' Nachtmystium, Merrimack (who, by the way, hail from France) relish elements from all stripes of heavy metal: death metal's bottomed-out groove, sludgy textures and thrash urgency to scratch the surface. I've seen the term black 'n' roll used when describing black metal bands that pack a Motörhead-style hook, and even though I think the term sounds stupid, it fits Merrimack. Check out "In The Halls of White Death," and notice how from the first notes it finds a solid midtempo groove and rides it insistently, even as the guitars float in like an ominous fog to wrap the song into a dark haze.

That haze is pretty much the only thing Mount Eerie's so-called black metal album shares with its European counterparts. This is less br00tal, more br00ding, like Phil Elverum, the perennial indie-dude, discovered a Xasthur record and informed his entire picture of what "black metal" is from that. But - and this is a crucial "but" - Elverum's seemingly shallow venture into the kvlt realm serves this project well, making an album that is good both as a lo-fi indie entry (hey, this is Blurt, not Terrorizer) and as a metal entry. Folks familiar with the plaintive, melancholy folk Elverum's been peddling for years might be startled at first by opener "Wind's Dark Poem," and its harsh-if-muffled roar. But Elverum's not donning corpsepaint or switching his quiet croon to a strangled yelp, he's appropriating textures from the insular, claustrophobic and somehow broad-stroked bedroom black metal of Xasthur and Leviathan, stretching their bleak sounds capes over his own mournful singing and poetic songwriting. "Stone's Ode," the final word in Wind's Poem, is not at all unlike much of Elverum's work, even as it sustains its chords like worn , grayed tulle behind him, and even when he recasts last year's profoundly intimate "Lost Wisdom" (here as "Lost Wisdom Pt. 2") as a droning, blackened dirge, it's Elverum's voice, the sad clarity of it, that grabs us even in the darker, harsher environs he's masterfully created for this effort. That, if you ask me, is quite exciting.

ALSO IN ROTATION: Lightning Bolt - Earthly Pleasures (Load); Horseback - MILH IHVH (Turgid Animal); Baroness - Blue Record (Relapse); Pyramids with Nadja - Pyramids with Nadja (Hydra Head); Chord - Flora (Neurot); Iron Age - The Sleeping Eye (Tee Pee); Landmine Marathon - Rusted Eyes Awake (Prosthetic, reissue); Title Fight - The Last Thing You Forget (Run For Cover)

***

Bryan Reed is from North Carolina and, despite his best efforts, he still hasn't grown out of the racket that irritated his friends and family in high school, and continues to irritate them in the present. Stalker-types should know that they can follow Bryan on Twitter @subparrockstar.

[Photo Credits: Black Cobra, bu Shannon Corr; Merrimack, Vertigo; Mount Eerie, Mount Eerie]

Yes, being great at whatever it is you do has merit (for it). But quality isn't nearly enough. You HAVE to huck it, kids. Every second of every day. Re: The Death of Marketing? Sorry Bob, respectfully disagree.

I don't care how friggin spectacular you are... if you don't have anyone to tell, it might as well not be true. It's a chicken and the egg deal. Almost. Because, you CAN have real, passionate, loyal fans at every stage of your career, from fledgling to Trent; if I like you, I'll help you. Period.

Think of it like this: the way you make me feel about your product handily trumps the actual product. In a heartbeat.

So... how do you do it? Um, it's called MARKETING.

Singer-songwriter Seth Glier recently quoted a fan who said it best:

"You know Seth, I know we don't see each other a lot but I consider you a friend.....Coldplay is JUST music to me."

And Seth is hands-down one of the most spectacular self-marketers I know.

It works like this, in this order [...]

A Triple-A radio programming veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentation of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

Menace To Society

by Otep Shamaya
 
I write to you today from the burning green of the deep, deep South. It is a hot and humid day that fosters a weighted atmosphere of sloth and fury. Perfect. I have been asked and eagerly agreed to speak at a church rally in support of a grassroots movement hoping to rid our society of the most morally egregious degenerates we have ever known. I think we all know who I refer to. And yes, I joined this crusade to combat this diseased vermin before things get out of hand. As we've seen all over the news, these degenerates have started to organize politically and demand equality.
 
But never fear, fellow citizens, this threat will not go unchallenged, I assure you.
 
Our nation was built on the good God-fearing Judaic-Christian heritage of Andrew Jackson, George Wallace, General Custer, Nixon, McCarthy, and J. Edgar Hoover. We are not, nor have we ever been, a nation of equals. We are a nation of chutes and ladders. Everyone knows this. But this group of hooligans intends on disrupting the status quo.
 
Well, this will never do.
 
The social terrorists I am referencing (and opposing) are the notoriously strange and flamboyant RED MENACE, better known on the street as "Gingers".
 
Indeed, we at the "National Organization for a Red-Head Free America" are outraged at the recent hubbub and associated ruckus these "Gingers" have created by demanding equal rights and many other absurd notions that plainly do not apply to them.
 
We have done our own studies and proven that blondes and brunettes are physically superior and have more brain mass than Gingers. In fact, we have proven that the "Ginger Gene" is a myth and an abomination in the eyes of God. Have you ever seen a picture of Jesus? What color is his hair? I think I've made my point here.
 
But despite all this scientific and religious data some of these reprobates openly celebrate their sinful lack of pigment, freckled skin, and burning bright hair as if they deserve to be equals among us! Shameful!
 
We firmly believe that being a red-head is a choice. Sure, some might be born that way but they could easily assimilate into society if they accepted their deformity and decided to live as the rest of us, and remedy it with a quick dye job.
 
These freaks of nature must not be allowed to live openly in our society. What about our children? We all know the evil inside the Ginger heart. They want to convert our kids. And what will we do once our children start painting their hair red and painting freckles all over their body? Oh, I shudder at the thought.
 
We must protect them from this Crimson Tide bubbling to the surface of our national awareness. It is more important now than ever! The Ginger Rights Movement is demanding that it be made LEGAL for them to marry EACH OTHER! Holy Christmas! Can you imagine what will happen next? You guessed it: A godless red nation of milky-white sin and orange flair debauchery. 
 
It is a historical fact that Ginger equality caused the fall of the Roman Empire. Is this what we want for our beloved America? To be brought down by Gingers?
 
If only our government would take a stand against these mongrels as they have against the other misguided miscreants our society has tamed and tolerated over the years.
 
Why can't they treat them like we do the Gays?
 
Our government has made it clear; you are not a full citizen if you are not a heterosexual. Gay Americans don't have the same rights as NORMAL Americans: they can't marry, they can't join the military, but they must pay the same taxes. Heck of a deal, if you ask me. They subsidize our narrow way of life ....just as God intended.
 
I know the Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal. And yes, we hold the truths to be self-evident. How could we not? But I stipulate here today that if the implication of the language the Forefathers used in the phrase "all men" also applies to women (we believe they meant HUmen) then I argue today that it implies the additional qualifications for equality: Caucasian, Republican, Wealthy, Christian, Heterosexual, non-Ginger.
 
So, you see, my friends, that yes, America is the land of the free and land of opportunity - but only within limits. I mean, let's be real here. As a species we need our hierarchies.
 
Gingers and Gays need not apply. 

Singer/frontwoman/activist/poet Otep Shamaya has led her band Otep through 4 albums of NIN/Sonic Youth inspired metal. Check out her own blog at http://www.imnotamonster.com/ and Otep online at http://www.myspace.com/otep