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I rose from my slumber and walked right over to the impromptu display of GET SWEATY’s debut CD that they built and armed with a suggestive desk-light that shown on the new CD... I got out a five dollar bill and they handed me a CD in exchange. They said that I was the first person to buy one...they said that they would have given one to me for review.... I told them that this way, with me buying it, I have absolutely NO obligation to review it. “Touch`e” they said... I sat there, ate a burrito, surrendered a flashlight on demand and on the drive home that night I saw Cincinnati Police pull a handgun out on the occupants of a car that they had pulled-over and surrounded. “Fuck it” I thought, I’m going to go live in Spain.
-Shawn Abnoxious
General Let Down

Get Sweaty rockin' at The Comet

(69.1) N E W S :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Click here for Texas Matt's Special Lengthy Pearlene Report From the President's Home State

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“Ever get the feeling you been cheated? Well, that’s the feeling you are feeling right now.” THE BLACK ANGELS in-store (disappearance @ SHAKE IT RECORDS 11/16/06

Part Zero
I read the paper early in the morning, as I usually do... Cincinnati Enquirer, LIFE section. I saw the info about THE BLACK KEYS appearing at THE MADISON THEATER along with THE BLACK ANGELS... for a mere $23!!!  So as work ended, I called Shake It and asked them what they wanted me to do... Cause I was going to spend about $30 that evening regardless. The new CLINIC CD was out, and I knew they had it, and I knew it was an import, and that, plus their new single for a song from their new one, “Harvest” would end up putting me back about $30... I really wouldn't have minded seeing the show at The Madison, actually, but NOT for $23!  I mean, FUCK! I only paid $26 to see THE SEX PISTOLS in 1994!  A show in Kentucky for $23? I gave Shake It a choice. I go home. Nap and see the show later at The Madison OR come down to the in-store. See it for free, and spend the money at their store. one or the other. Their choice. Originally, they said both, but that wasn't an option. It was one, or the other.


Part One
I always stammer a bit when ordering at a drive-thru window, and it doesn't matter which drive thru. It takes everything I got to not laugh. Even when I am by myself. This time I was at White Castle. The neighborhood White Castle for me, located ‘down under the hill’ from me. “Yeah, I will take three chicken sandwiches with cheese... A 10 piece Mozzarella cheese sticks and that's it. Thank you.”
 “You want a drink with that?”

“It's not needed, thank you.”

  “That’ll be $9.67" . Pull up to the window.
So I pulled up to the window. Two cars ahead of me, but its all good. As with my own personal tradition, I was on the way to see an in-store appearance of THE BLACK ANGELS at Shake it Records (located next to Darou Salam in Northside) so that meant I couldn't listen to them on the way down. I was hitting a playlist on CENTRAL COMMAND (that's what I call my iPod) from a previous week; Embarrassment, Black Flag, Banshees, Eyes, Eno and more titans than you can wave a miniature grease square at. Finally I reach the window. I hand them a $10 bill.
     They take my money and hand me back my change and close the serving window.
Eno’s hitting on Cent-Com (that's the short name for my iPod). “China My China.” I turn it up a bit and try the unthinkable: To interpret an Eno song.
     They return to the window and ask me to pull forward to THE CRAVE ZONE so they can...wait on the cars behind me.
“No thanks, I’ll wait right here.”
     They close the window. Only to return about a minute later... without my food. Some sorts of...manager person...
Eno is giving me an earful.
   

 “Sir, would you mind pulling up to THE CRAVE ZONE...”

“Nah, that's OK. I’ll wait right here.”
    

“Do you want your money back?”
“No. I want my food.”
     “KEYS!!!” she yelled toward the innards of the store. A hand appeared with a key-ring of...about 6,000 different  keys. She used one of them to open the cash drawer of the register...and handed me back the $9.67 that my order cost.
I counted the money she gave me. Got out my cellphone and decided to report their ass to corporate. As I was jotting down the number in my cell phone she interrupted me.
   

 “Sir, I have to ask you to move on or were going to call the police!”

Wow! The Police! Fairfield Police! The same guys who pulled someone over for going too  SLOW on Route 4, which was just about a mile from that very White Castle. I turned my head, smiled at her and moved on, wondering if I had sat there after all, which would have come first? My food or the Police.

Part Two
I got to Shake It Records a bit past 2:30 PM. I was still hungry... After all, I had worked a full workday, straight through lunch as the shop usually does, and hadn't had anything since ‘first break’ at 9AM. First break should actually be renamed ONLY BREAK cause that's the only one me or my coworkers take until quitting time. The Black Angels hadn't appeared yet despite a plain solid-white panel van being parked outside the store... It had B-A-N-D written all over it, despite its solid color... Shake It personnel had gotten their store ready... Got a cooler full of refreshments out... Moved back the store displays to the point that when I went to retrieve my desired CLINIC, I could barely fit in the aisle that was made so The Black Angels would have room.

Standing next to the cooler of refreshments with some peers, someone asked me and my comrades how many people were in our band. The space for The Black Angels, AKA “the Band” was , in fact, small. But that's not the point here. This guy, whoever he was, thought ME, and those who were next to me, were in the band... In some ways, he ended up being right, well, about me (in a way), but I told him I wasn't in the band that was slated to appear. I took reverence in the fact that even though someone might have mistaken me for being in a band, any band, proves that not only do I act like a rock and/or roller, but now, I may be even DRESSING like one. This means that, in fact, I was at the forefront of rock fashion all these years and FINALLY rock and roll has caught up to me. I will be the first to admit. I do NOT nor ever will consider myself a Rocker (cause I took the test at the end of the Quadrophenia DVD and turned out, I'm a MOD) but now, NOW I look like one. I MUST admit here though, it may be my new beard...

So refreshment AFTER refreshment was consumed. More and MORE people showed up and finally, it appeared like The Black Angels were NOT showing. I mentioned something, in passing, to Shake It personnel that I should kill some time by reading from my poetry chapbooks and when it got silent, and my eyes met theirs, they were asking me to do so. So I did. I read from my first two chapbooks, SINKING SHIPS ARE BEAUTIFUL and GO FOR IT... So in a fact, in SOME weird way, I became THE BLACK ANGELS, because they never did show.

I could see the disappointment on everyone's faces as I began my reading, and I let them know that I felt disappointed too. I talked about the show that evening costing $23. I talked about how I was The Black Angels and thanked everyone for sticking around. I talked about the only time I went to Austin.  Their roads seemed really organized and how The Black Angels proly had no concept of bad traffic and underestimated their driving time to Shake It and ended up missing the whole time... I talked about the feelings of being cheated, about how life is a hard fucker like the evening in question, and how I would be let down if I went somewhere to see a band and got someone like me instead, but up until 35 minutes later, I was just killing time. When I got tired of reading and The Black Angels were not there yet... And they were declared LOST to something or other... Those few who were still left slowly began to filter out... I stuck around for a hour and a half afterwards, and the band never showed.

A good friend, who had snuck out of his work to see The Black Angels- the same guy who recommended them to me... Bought me a Black Angels 7” single with a unreleased song as a sign of appreciation. I accepted the gift with open hands.  It's a good listen too. The B-side, ‘Nine Years” hits hard. One of the band's better songs.

Part Three
As many of you know I tend to keep my various projects separate to some degree or another. This time, for this “piece” things got kind of blurred. Lines were crossed that were usually taboo for me before... and it all seemed to work out OK. The day after the disappearance (or un-appearance if you want to get technical) of The Black Angels, Shake It Records sent out a bulletin saying I “saved the day” when really I done what any guy with a couple poetry chapbooks done...

Since watching the movie SUPER SIZE ME and learning what great meal-deals McDonalds have, I would make it a tradition for me to get a double-cheeseburger (or two) when I was going to read somewhere. Well, since this Shake It thing was an impromptu event, I didn't have my double cheeseburger(s) and man, was I hungry... So I stopped at Domino's Pizza to get one of those Brooklyn Style pizzas that I been hearing so much about. I placed a carryout order that ended up taking 45 minutes to get. This was the Fast Food corporations getting back at me... I knew that... and I laughed... and now I keep looking over my shoulders anytime I pass a Fairfield cop just in case me and my license plate WAS reported the afternoon before.

Usually in the past, any one of these ‘problems” would really set my day on a bad course... The ticket prices. The White Castle thing... The pizza wait... The band not showing up... I could have recourse for each of these events, like boycotting White Castle and Domino's. Not listening to the Black Angels. NEVER listening to The Black Keys... but I’m not. I’m laughing and hoping everyone gets what they want for Christmas.

and note how the White Castle manger yelled out for keys...

“Shock and Awe hits Newport” KNIFE THE SYMPHONY, THE SPURZZ and CLIFF SPISAK @ THE SOUTHGATE HOUSE 11/18/06

I got confused as to where to go... my conversation with THE SPURZZ about how they are fucking up their “other thing” known as Chocolate horse was really getting to me. I wrote the review (in this update) THEN went on about my day, and I just couldn't let it go... I walked in the door of the SGH and went right up to them and spilled my fucking guts all over their polyester pants... So when I went to hunt down my gang that I had arrived with... I naturally went to the ballroom. Cause I figure they, meaning Knife The Symphony were in there... I was asked to pay $30. It seemed that the in-person-live music industry wanted my $30 REAL bad, and were willing to stoop to levels of deception to get it... But alas, the ever POLITE, TEMPERATE and ever so TOLERANT (did I mention how PATIENT too?) SGH door guy pointed out that Knife the Symphony was UPSTAIRS... The Parlor... I paid  my FUH (that’s “FIVE” in Cordelle Georgia street-slang) and had time to get a couple sugary sodas down me before KNIFE THE SYMPHONY blew me... Away... Man, this is what MUSIC is all about!  This band was fucking amazing. They did everything PERFECT. There wasn't one thing during their live set I would have changed. Existentialism to minimalism. That was a repeating sentence represented by a sliding dial about their performance. For whatever reasons, I had continuous imagery of the cartoon TOM & JERRY in the back of my mind... It seems to me that the three piece KNIFE THE SYMPHONY is sort of like Tom & Jerry meaning that the band chase each other with sonic-art on stage during their whole performance. Your head is jerked back and forth from one, to the other, it could be some sorts of fucking sport... or maybe it's a war. A barrage of missiles from one to the other... Jerry hits Tom with a fireplace poker and it bends to Tom's profile... Tom paints a bolt to look like a piece of cheese. Jerry eats it, then Tom drags him out of his hole with a magnet. Witnessing the offensive and defensive capabilities of each members' sound and the byproduct is what they call SONG... A never ending stalemate of shock and awe. A fun experiment would be to put on a DVD of Tom and Jerry and then this CD ala DARKSIDE OF OZ.

By time Knife the Symphony ended. I waited for the goose bumps to subside and caught the tail end of THE SPURZZ in the SGH lounge. After they played, they aired the debut of their movie CITY BEAT IS FULL OF DEMONS which I didn't stay for in its entirety, but found a few laughs that came my way. It was actually more interesting to watch Andrew (Panhandle Slim) watch the movie cause I suppose he really doesn't like looking at himself “on the big screen.” For those of you wondering, he was hiding behind the piano.

I made it back upstairs to witness a reading by Cliff Spisak, this even was actually a release show for his excellent collection of poems and stories titled “Any More Shit and I’ll Have to Fuck the Moon.” Humorous and touching at the same time, Cliff found a comfort behind the mic and really deserved more attention than the crowd had given him. I found reverence in the fact that he said he would have to watch what he said and read because his mom was there... then lapsed into a bit about a whore in Africa that was to just die for. I liked how musical performances mixed with readings on this night. Shit like that needs to happen more and I'm not just saying that because I am getting into the reading thing myself.... Way back, during the 6th anniversary show of The Neus Subjex I had planned on having Doug Saretsky read in-between bands, but he had previous engagements, and it didn't work out... Maybe its worth another show sometime.... up for it Cliff?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::STORY BEHIND THE SONG:
Behind every song is a story.... So, in hopes of further exploring a band's songs for meaning and purpose, exposing a funny story, hidden truth or maybe just some "fun-fact" associated with the song itself... THE NEUS SUBJEX feature, STORY BEHIND THE SONG, is designed to give you a closer relationship with band's song(s). Beyond JUST a title, beyond JUST the music and lyrics themselves... STORY BEHIND THE SONG is a liner-note type, song to song, breakdown intended to act as an accompaniment to a band's release. In this installment the NSX lets Hats off and Knife the Symphony get a word in edge-wise!


HATS OFF "Accumulation" CD
2006 Self-Released (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Answers By: Clay (Vocals, Guitar)

Bonus Questions/ Feature coordinator: Shawn Abnoxious

BONUS QUESTION #1: TELL NSX READERS ABOUT THE CD NAME, "ACCUMULATION"
We were gonna call the album "FU from KY" but decided to actually use one of the songs as the title this time. "FU from KY" will now be the name of our next release and you're gonna love it!

BONUS QUESTION #2: WHAT IS A 'HATS OFF' ANYWAY?
It's an abbreviation of "GETCHYERASSOFFMYFACE".

BONUS QUESTION #3: IS HATS OFF IN LOVE WITH RIVER TRASH? 
Hey, there's some good stuff that washes up out of that river...  Oh, did you mean the rednecks??  Fuck yeah! In fact, our new merchandise consists of HO mud flaps and dip spit canister belt buckles... We're even working on a deal with Wrangler to put out our very own "HO Wrangler" jeans. Chicks will dig 'em!!!

SONGS: DONT TELL ME WHAT I DON'T KNOW A song for lazy, know it all assholes! SOMETHING BETTER My brother Chad worked for a corporation for 13 years and one day they just fired him. After that he said fuck a job, fuck a mortgage and fuck responsibility. He packed up, sold most of his shit and took off to go skydiving. He's still skydiving today as an instructor and is a lot happier.

KENNY KNOWS
A song about fitting in. I'm a big fan of Kenny Rogers old stuff, and I saw his biography on CMT. He said something that I really liked, and it inspired me to write this song. It was something like "At the end of the day, I don't care about anything as long as I have someone to love, something to do and something to look forward to".

MR. FUCKFACE
A song about your weasel boss in upper management. Jeff and I were working on a side project that didn't come about. This was the only song we wrote for the project so we kept it and then later changed it a bit once Matt got in the band.

WAIT TO SEE
Sucker song I wrote years ago - Don't know how it made it on the album.

SEARCHING FOR IDENTITY
A song about finding yourself...  duh! I was playing around with the intro, and the whole song just fell into place

COMING UP
A fictitious song about revenge - The idea came from a dream I had, and we wrote it around a riff that Matt was working on.

THIS BOTTLE
Another beer rock fist pump song...  We've got a lot of them, cuz that's what we do!

ACCUMULATION
We live in ridiculous country where people think money is the benchmark of how fuckin' cool you are. Some examples; You got guys buying $20,000 rims for $800 cars... Douche balls buying Hummers and outrageously expensive SUV's, but never take them off-road because they don't want to get them dirty... What the fuck?? See they buy this shit not only cuz they think it makes them look cool, but they also think it shows how successful they are. Buying shit that you don't need is stupid and success is not measured by how much shit you can accumulate... One day it will all just be a pile of trash.

ONE SPECIAL NIGHT A co-worker of Jeff's gave him a funny poem that he wrote called "brown donut dunking".  We added music, changed the lyrics a bit, and then changed the name. HOLDING ON Gay ballad - Originally was a joke, but we liked the way it sounded/recorded. EIGHT DAYS A WEEK Beatles cover that I was playing probably 10 years ago. I jammed it with a few other guys/bands, but it never sounded good before HO. It kind of defines the style that we like to play most.

~fin

KNIFE THE SYMPHONY "Self-Titled" CD 2006 Phratry Records (Cincinnati, Ohio) Answers By: Jeff Albers (Guitar, Vocals) Bonus Questions/ Feature coordinator: DAVE FISHWICK

BONUS QUESTION #1: KTS (KNIFE THE SYPHONY) HAS BEEN AROUND FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW, WAS THERE SOME TYPE OF URGENCY FOR RELEASING AN EP INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR A FULL LENGTH?
At first thought we were looking for a quick solution to start playing out. The three of us hadn't played out since our previous bands, and we were getting anxious. The idea to record a quality demo and start booking shows was priority.  When we were in the studio we started spending more time tweaking parts, sound, and adding things here and there. Three months later we finally finished. It just kinda happened.

BONUS QUESTION #2: WILL KTS BE PLANNING A TOUR TO SUPPORT THE RELEASE, AND WHAT CITIES DO YOU WISH TO PLAY?
I think this release(our first) is more of just an extension of trying to promote ourselves to get our name out there. We plan on playing out of town, small weekend stints, possibly a week out sometime in the spring. But this way we can leave something behind that lets people know we're serious about what we're doing, and we'll be back. Kinda like a little reminder note. As far as part 2 to your question, we'll play anywhere someone gives us a chance. We would like to visit the big cities, NYC, chicago, dc, etc... but the smaller towns are just as fun and more personable and have less traffic.

SONGS: COMMON ELEMENTS      "Stretch out your arms, close your eyes and hear that sound" The idea behind this song came from the thought that people are always looking for an answer to something in their life. When in fact, 90% of the time it's right in front of them. Fear seems to be the one factor that stops people from finding that answer. The answers are around us always. SOLEMN SOUND      "Listen to your solon ego, they'll never let it go" By definition "solon" is a wise lawmaker. With the whole world looking at us (americans) with some sort of haste is a reflection of the actions of our leaders. What the world sees and a lot of americans see though, is an ego that is unmanageable. People don't forget that kinda notion and though we all hope that this crisis works out, it's how we are represented by our leaders is what is damaging almost beyond repair. A solemn solon is what we need not a solon ego.

THE VICTIM WHO BELIEVES
     "What saves you will only cut you again"
The lyrics in this song deal with the idea of disappointment on many levels. It's more of an anthem for the underdogs of this world. People will always do things to be accepted. It's all the same in the end though. That famous quote, "no one gets out of here alive." That pretty much sums it all up. But we all keep searching for more, usually ending up with the results over and over again.

SUMMER'S DECAY      "You've got no right to leave me dry, you've got no right to take my sight" Summer is that time of the year when indulgence is at its all time high. Alcohol, drugs, spending money, late nights, late mornings. This is kinda my "I'm gonna put my foot down and put a stop to this nonsense" song.

AN ASTRONOMER'S PLEA
     "Every time I'm in this place, I just wanna die"
There are times when you just stare at the sky looking for some sort of answer. Sometimes things get a hold of you and they're difficult to shake. Sometimes you find yourself in a routine. Sometimes you just want to disappear. Sometimes you have to admit to yourself you're  in a f'd up situation. Sometimes you have to get up and walk out. And almost all the time after you walk out you look up at the sky.
~fin

If you would like your release covered in the STORY BEHIND THE SONG feature, a great way to start is by sending your release to us for review... Not every release will be covered, but all will be considered. That’s what “enthusiasm” is all about.... the “grab.” Bands in the past that were considered for this feature, but failed to deliver for whatever reason consist of THE WANKERS, SPURZZ, SHARKPANTS, VIVA LA FOXX, and WHITEY. The Neus Subjex STILL believes in them...

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PERNICIOUS KNIFS

On the eve of their debut CD release, here are some pix of the all-new Blackburn-less PERNICIOUS KNIFS taken from an alleyway “I Think I see Batman on that fire-escape” appearance at SEMANTICS ART GALLERY this past summer.
www.myspace.com/perniciousknifs

The High Strung Smoking the Lexicon Parliaments

It 'twas the day after the Texas Matt's back in town party...so I check the newspaper to make sure that it's still on... The High Strung on their tricking public libraries to pay them to play summer tour.  It was ultra hot...so I downed a few half quarts of Steel Reserve that were still floating belly up in the cooler and two-wheeled it down to the local literary depository.  The High Strung were setting up their mobile rock and rock show, PA and all, on the sweltering lawn for what was becoming a sparse, but highly diverse crowd.  Occasionally, the band would retreat to their multicolored van to do rock and rock things (heh, heh!).  The smokes of choice were the blue Parliament Kings.  Later they rocked the sunshine right out those willing to brave the heat with their killer combination of Beatlesque pop hooks coupled with a nice, yeah I've taken those before, psychedelic twinge.  Those that skipped this definitely missed a fine day's worth of outdoor entertainment.  They even gave shout outs to those Comet burritos!!  Go check'em out...here.  And thankfully, they're not embarrassed to wear the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders' warm up pants!!  (AB1)

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BUFFALO KILLERS “Self-titled”      CD First off, they let some kind of a jackass write the liner notes for this disk, but don’t let that bit of foolishness dissuade you from snapping this up. The Buffalo Killers unapologetically mine the territory in musical history that exploded between 1967 and 1973 when teenagers got stoned in their bedrooms and listened to entire albums instead of downloading poor excuses for singles from iTunes. If you’ve ever raided your parents’ record collection or pillaged through the local used LP bins, you’d know that the B-Killers have a sound that merges some of the greats of that era like MOUNTAIN, BLUE CHEER, THE JAMES GANG, and CRAZY HORSE with some of the newer, or now, psychedelic pop bands like BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE, THE BLACK ANGELS, and THE WARLOCKS.  The Buffalo Killers are both the future and the past at the same time.  A future classic like “Children Of War” could have just as easily been on Jefferson Airplane’s Volunteers LP or tug at your heartstrings if played at one of today’s anti-Bush rallies. Other tracks like “SS Nowhere” push some of the same psyche buttons that THE BEATLES’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” pressed back in the early days of post LSD legality.  So, if you get the chance, let all, and I mean ‘all’, your hair grow out, gobble down a couple of hits of sunshine and pick this disk up!  Try the big thick vinyl version!  And if you see these BK broilers in your neck of the woods, as they tour quite extensively, don’t be scared by their Hell’s Angels outlaw biker good looks, and give these nice folks a good chat!  Andy Breightun Alive Records, PO Box 7112, Burbank, CA 91510, www.alivenergy.com

CHEAP TRICK "Rockford"     CD
As someone who's really into music, it's surprising that I've gone several years without owning any headphones. A recent trip to Goodwill surrendered nothing in the way of compact discs, but sitting on the shelf next to several Commodore 64-era joysticks was a sealed-in-the-box pair of Philips that I'd seen for $12.99 elsewhere.  Never one to pass up a great deal, I handed the lady $3.14 and immediately sought the connection of my stereo. Tearing into the box like a lion on a steak, waifs of cigarette smoke filled the air quicker than 50-year-old women puffing in a dive bar. How come the Target factory worker was allowed to suck on cancer sticks while packing materials? Let's blame it on Milli Vanilli and the rain. Throughout the 70s, Cheap Trick released strings of excellent albums that were met with the satisfaction of an after-dinner pipe.  However, the 80s and 90s' works were largely piss 'n' nicotine affairs for the band.  For every cool track like "She's Tight" or "If You Want My Love" (Joe Dirt's favorite!), there were at least ten strains of "Don't Be Cruel" and "The Flame" pollutants.  In 1997, Trick broke free from the addiction of substandard songs with their second eponymous disc. The Nicoderm patch contained at least five cuts worthy of placement in a greatest-hits pack.  Nine years later, the boys from Illinois are still breathing freshly. "Welcome To The World" is a clear-lunged, spirited rewrite of In Color's "Hello There" opening invitation. Titular rings from the past are blown on "Come On Come On Come On" (Zander at his  most maniacal) and "Oh Claire" (J. Winston Lennon-like tear-jerker comparable to CT97's "Shelter"). "This Time You Got It" pulls like Macca sharing a drag with the RASPBERRIES and BIG STAR.  "If It Takes A Lifetime" and "Dreaming The Night Away" find the ELO Kiddies stealing cigars from Jeff Lynne's humidor. Menthol-flavored funk a la Jagger/Richards and the Toxic Twins is served via "One More Day." No longer hazardous to your health, Cheap Trick are once again doing numbers you'd like to do with them. -Gunther 8544

FUXTER SCHITTLY "Slop Bucket Repentance"     CD
Dreams of an everyday housewife, visits to the dentist, McDonald's hamburgers, burning ears, doctors' lies, psychosis, outlaw country, and nipples are fed to the swine.  Lewis & Clark?  For sure.  But where's Sacagawea? -Gunther 8544

SPURZZ “Full Length”     CD What a good band. Good musicians, sounds great. Excellent reference and use of Bald Eagles therein. Intelligent and hilarious lyrics, but I'm not fucking laughing. This band is the ‘alter-ego’ band of CHOCOLATE HORSE... and all of that is fine, but from my control room, The Spurzz are a SIDE-PROJECT and when is it RIGHT when a side-project band takes precedence over the MAIN thing, especially when the main thing is CHOCOLATE HORSE, definitely one of my favorite local bands. I put them high on a pedestal.  A pedestal where bands can USUALLY do no wrong. But now I'm let down. Cause on this thing you got twelve songs and all the packaging and all... and I feel its taking away from the REAL thing, Chocolate Horse who only offer up four songs on their myspace.com page. I do declare, The Spurzz are great, but you know what else is fucking amazing? Chocolate Horse. Let's see some fucking justice. Go Home Team! -Shawn Abnoxious MySpace.com/Spurzzareawesome

 

KNIFE THE SYMPHONY  “Self titled”     CD EP When one goes looking for something new in the world of music sometimes it's in your own back yard. Knife the Symphony has only been around for a short while, but has managed to cement themselves to the Cincinnati music scene, with members from AUTUMN RISING, AMPLINE, FEASTS  OF MERIT and THERAPHOSA, this new project has taken off faster than any of the rest and shows a more promising future for all the members.   This 5 track CD, coming in just under a half hour, has some of the most intense creativity that leaves me crying for a full length release.... I'm sure it won't be long for that to happen, but the best things come to those who wait. This CD has almost left me speechless, but has opened my ears to a whole new world. Definitely the best band to come out of Cincinnati this year.  -Dave Fishwick www.knifethesymphony.com     www.myspace.com/knifethesymphony

SICK 56 / HIGGINS  "New Day New Enemy" split 7" EP
Political punk from the UK pressed on a piss-yellow platter. Three leaks, two bands. -Gunther 8544
JSNTGM Records P.O. Box 1026 Blackpool FY3 OFA

BATTLESHIP  “Hearts Addendum”     CD This band has been one the most interesting I have come across this past year. Twisting and bending sonic bridges never sounded so good till this band came my way. This second effort seems a little darker and more creative. But this release has got to be the best work to date. I call this (COMPLEX/SIMPLICITY) CD a perfect release from your everyday watered down post punk era bands. This is something new/ refreshing/ full of energy and totally addictive. -Dave Fishwick ononswitch.com

24HOURFLU     CD More of what I talked about before... Atmospheric pieces that could be the soundtrack of the bird flu killing 2/3 of the population and making unemployment a thing of the past... Deep, meaningful songs you get absorbed into and before you know it, a thirteen minute song has came and went... Imagine FUGAZI spaced-out and being more like PINK FLOYD with more scr-emo tendencies. Go and put on THE WIZARD OF OZ... When the third lion roars, turn on the CD and watch how that shit synchs up!  It's amazing... and kinda weird... and kinda scary. But I'm OK, don't worry. -Shawn Abnoxious SONA Records  (sona@sona-records.com)

SONIC YOUTH  “Rather Ripped”     CD My maiden ride on the silver rocket began in 1988 or thereabouts. I was given a copy of Daydream Nation as an unwanted item from a friend's tape subscription to Columbia House. Don't know what he disliked, because the images of gritty life on the streets of NYC, noisy guitars, and seductive vocals (courtesy of Kim Gordon) fueled the jets for repeated listening. Thanks to the imaginative play list of 92.1 WOFM, more of the Youth's musical dutchie was passed. Whether it was DJ Al Mitchell spinnin' "Kool Thing" on the way to graduation ceremonies, Sara Trexler casting a "Shadow Of A Doubt" or a "Death Valley 69" lunch with Lydia, every wail of feedback and droning note hit hard. Strangely, I stopped paying attention to SY shortly after hearing "Bull In The Heather." As a result, my deaf ears missed the buzz of supposed classics like WASHING MACHINE, MURRAY STREET, and SONIC NURSE.Not long ago, a rectifying aid came in the form of "Incinerate" on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Piercing like a lost cut from EVOL or SISTER, the song's pop charms meshed well with the per-usual intense strumming.  The same can be said for the majority of Rather Ripped. "Reena" is an emotional wreck of a woman who's not easily tossed-off. "Turquoise Boy" and "The Neutral" lullaby with attitude. "Sleepin' Around" indicts bed-hoppers in a VU-cum-RAMONES manner. "Rats" gnaws like Jim Morrison reciting gutter poetry. The conjunctional "Or" contains three questions put to every touring band. UK bonus tracks "Helen Lundeberg" (Max Ernst protégé?) and "Eyeliner" flash MISSION OF BURMA-like signals. A striking pose, indeed. -Gunther 8544

GET SWEATY  “Self-titled”     CD Here at the NSX we’re not too fond of name changes so from here on out, Get Sweaty will be referred to as Get Sweaty Formerly Dead Flowers or GSFDF for short, where GSFDF could stand for something equally irrational like Guy Suddenly Fucks Dead Female.  Now that that’s cleared up, GSFDF fuckin’ rock! The opening track, Sick Boy, leads in with a sick bass line followed by some hyper kinetic Stoogoid post and pre punk pummeling.  From there on it’s 11 more tracks of tense and on the edge cuts complete with pseudo psychedelic, Radar Love style breakdowns and buildups, and a purifying slamming of tension versus the release.  Toss out some of the in-joke song titles like Banned From the Tavern, and you notice that voice of Sara Why? is belting out some pretty insightful lyrics. For example, I just about die every time that I hear “Why is a drunk so truthful, is it simply because they don’t give a damn?” in the moody cruncher, Good News. GSFDF play it all big, bass driven and super raw giving the listener a sunken garage in the basement view of rock and roll.  GSFDF remind me of so many good bands…THE SAINTS, THE AVENGERS, THE BELL RAYS, URIAH HEEP, Jack White era THE GO, X (Australia)…get the picture?  Get sweaty because they’ll never sound like this again.  PS:  Supposedly, their guitarist, Tim, also recently changed his name to Sh-yawn.  Go figuring in the ways of the 8 valleys of the Sin City! -Andy B1one www.GetSweaty.org      www.myspace.com/getsweaty

CASEY DESMOND  “Self-titled”     CD
I could really go on for hours trying to find the right words for this review, but I will just be honest and we will get through this quickly. I never thought of a CD like this coming to the (THENEUS SUBJEX.com) but we are always surprised at how many different styles of music actually reach us. This is one of those times when I really scratch my head trying to find the right words. Casey Desmond is a singer/song writer that has put together a amazing CD that has me thinking of every female artist that has ever graced my ears all rolled into one. I hear JEWEL-NATALIE MERCHANT-PAT BENETAR-and a lot more that just aren't coming to me at this point. The music is soulful/folk/rock/
and just a little too much pop for my taste, but this girl is good needless to say with a amazing voice to boot. I will actually predict that you will see her on MTV or VH1 someday in the near future, but if you would like to see her sooner check out her website or maybe at MPMF sometime.-Dave Fishwick
http://caseydesmond.com/

(VARIOUS) "Punk For Life: Volumes Too Thru II"    CD
Two strong cuts from MINOR DISTURBANCE.  Already talked about 'em, so go read the earlier review.  As for the rest, punky Chips Ahoy from the likes of CATHOLIC ALTERED BOYS, BILLY RIOT AND THE FUCKWITS, SUBMARINE SCREENDOOR, and FUCKIN' FUCKS. -Gunther 8544
RUN AND HIDE RECORDS, P.O. Box 35094, Philadelphia, PA 19128

F-UNITS “Reject on Impact”     CD
I'm gaining a deeper respect everyday for bands like this that still do things themselves instead of looking for that perfect Indie Label to put out their music. I still like what the Independent Labels are doing, but when you have passion about your music and get it out there anyway you can lead me to a higher level of respect for the DIY guys. This is a debut CD from this band that seems like the beginning of more to come. F-UNITS play modern Pop Punk that at times is a little too POPPY for my taste but have done a excellent job with every aspect of getting their name out there. It's radio friendly/great production shows throughout this CD and lets me know that these guys mean zines. Take the time to check this band out..... you just might like them. Dave Fishwick
www.f-units.com

BEAT MOTEL #4   ZINE
Andrew climbs tall trees, swims in toilets, and removes car batteries with the aid of a clothes dryer.  Johnny's a "till monkey" who counts change, cleans up puke, and ogles women. Michelle has a love/hate relationship with men, but relies on tips from gay ones for her bad hair days. 101 rules of hardcore, how to give pills to a cat, and actual announcements from London Tube train drivers are among the tidbits in this half-sized rag. -Gunther 8544
www.beatmotel.co.uk

“GREEN STREET HOOLIGANS”     DVD
Taking the fall for an unscrupulous roommate from a distinguished family, Matt Buckner (Elijah Wood) gets booted from Harvard on charges of dealing drugs. In exchange for the expulsion, the spared yuppie-to-be offers him $10,000 in hush money and a job promise. Seeking family ties, Matt travels to England to reside with his sister Shannon (Claire Forlani), her husband Steve (Marc Warren), and their new baby.  Barely unpacked, the Yank is introduced to Pete Dunham (Charlie Hunnam) -- Steve's younger brother and the leader of a rabid football (AKA soccer, to clueless 'Mericans) fan organization known as the Green Street Elite.  Not wanting to spoil the couple's planned evening of romance, Matt agrees to his brother-in-law's suggestion of attending a home match (West Ham Hammers) with Pete.  The seasoned partisan sours on the idea, for the only people worse than Yanks to GSE insiders are "coppers" and "journers". Reluctantly, Pete relents after sparring with Matt and giving him some verbal pointers.  While knocking back pints in the pub, a story circulates about Matt's involvement in The Karate Kid.  The fib elicits jolly laughter amongst the drunken GSE majority, but Bovver (Leo Gregory) -- Pete's right-hand man -- looks upon the newbie with tremendous contempt.  Post-match activities find Matt's first taste of tangling with a rival group, as he imagines the punches landing squarely on his ex-roommate's face. Final round in the books, Pete explains the GSE's M.O. with a dignified air and how the firm "ain't about Bloods and Crips bullshit."  Now quartered together, Matt is stunned to learn of his new pal's day gig as a history and P.E. teacher.  The "easily-bruised American" puts his own education to good use during a sneak attack on followers of Manchester.  "Borrowing" a delivery truck, Matt convinces the assemblage that a Cameron Diaz picture is scheduled for filming in the area. With permission to pass, the GSE catch their foes in a clever trap and beat them to a bloody pulp.  News of the melee travels faster than Lady Di's passing, and Matt is uniformly welcomed into the fold of London's most-respected firm. As West Ham draws its arch nemesis Millwall in an upcoming tourney, several GSE long-standers spot the rookie sensation at the London Times.  Via the discovery of a tell-all diary on his laptop and Shannon's slip-up to Steve regarding her brother's major in college (journalism, of course), the possibility of Matt as an "undercover journer" gains more legs.  Intending to protect his brother-in-law from bodily harm, Steve -- the former GSE head -- himself becomes a victim when Millwall's firm crashes Pete and the boys' favorite watering hole.  Ten years ago, Tommy Hatcher (Geoff Bell) -- Millwall's top dog -- lost his 12-year-old son amid a skirmish with the adversaries.  Despite Steve not being directly responsible for the child's death, Tommy avenges the tragedy by deeply cutting him in the neck and intoning, "If you die, we're even."  It's Pete's duty to mobilize the GSE troops for the "War At The Wharf" versus Millwall.  Will Matt be vindicated in time to join their ranks? -Gunther 8544

(.1) L A S T :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Sometimes love hits so fast, its all a blur.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::BUT never LEAST
“Diamond ring clusters of ages...”