Waking at 2:30AM on Sat morning I wandered down to Centeroo to catch Girl Talk and Paul Oakenfold . Upon arrival I was taken back by the spectacle that was Girl Talk. The stage was filled with festival goers dancing, jumping, and going all around fucking nuts while giant air guns filled with streamers, toilet paper, and confetti were periodically sprayed over them and giant balloons as big as a sedan floated around the crowd on the ground. From “front to back” as Girl Talk mastermind Gregg Gillis would say was moving and enthralled with what they were witnessing, by far one of my top three of my top five performances (others in top five so far would be Animal Collective, Of Montreal, Beastie Boys).

After the end of Girl Talk I walked over to catch Paul Oakenfold who was the only artist left performing. I entered the gyrating and pulsing crowd where I was surrounded by every rave cliche you could imagine. Oakenfold however was anything but typical. He had the crowd in his hands never saying a word but melding songs seamlessly and interacting with the crowd with gestures simply telling the fans what to do and when. After dancing and watching for an incomprehensible amount of time I turned around to look out at the crowd and realized that it was daylight. Upon sighting the coming day my feet, back, legs, and toes began to cramp, spasm, and fail under my chubby little belly. I knew I had done it all, and knew if i didn’t leave now I would end up asleep a third the way to my camp site in the classic Bonnaroo shit/vomit/mud mix that IS FUCKING EVERYWHERE!

Luckily I made it to the front of my tent.

I think it was my tent.

One of my shitty bands was enlisted to play an unpaid show at a house party on Friday night. After being bummed out all day knowing well and good that this shit was going to probably be some high schooler’s 16 year old birthday, I pulled up to the place pretty late and walked in like a sad little bitch.

I managed to jam my way through the door into the living room as a wave of heat, sweat and the ferocity of 100 dancing minions crammed into a bedroom sized space to see who have easily become my favorite party band, The Outline. Now, as I’ve said before, I’m in no way, shape or form ‘hip’. I just don’t get new music the kids are into these days, but I’m pretty sure that these dudes would fall into that category.

Thick rimmed glasses and American Apparel aside, I realize how hard it is trying to control the vibe of a party and they did so with the confidence of veterans. The fast songs took over the first 3 layers of kids closest to the band, creating a white kid dance party that I haven’t bared witness to since junior high. The slow shit emitted a grimy texture from the speakers, covering us in a course goo of audio blood.

It’s become very rare to see a band successfully use a synthesizer these days; it’s either a failed attempt at being ironic or a lame over-used line with horrible sound that instantly makes my stomach buckle like a sorority girl taking Jager Bombs. What’s the root of the problem seems to be a very large misuse of techniques, being that a true pianist would most likely rather be playing well thought out pieces that trotting around in bars playing for drinks. Both the guitarist/synth-dude and bassist/ synth-dude of The Outline know both how to play and how to use their weapons like proper instruments.  By the way, none of the statements in the article apply to the track “Broadway and Hurst”.  I see what they’re going for, but I’ve very undecided if it’s genius or a quarky, failed attempt at being awesome.  I’ll get back to yall later on it.

It’s a damn good thing to hear rock n roll coming back. At this time where we’re drowning in diluted, fashion conscious and overly lush indie bands that are polluting our fucking minds from every direction imaginable, it’s a real treat to finally hear someone playing a god damn 70’s Marshall half-stack with a distorted bass line under it. Put down the V neck shirt for two minutes and think about what empty, emotion lacking bullshit you’re putting on your iPod… then delete all files, illegally torrent the first 6 Black Sabbath records, The Who’s Live at Leeds, all of Torche’s disks, maybe some Mark Farina for use only when under the influence of pills you find on your buddy’s floor, and of course, The Outline.

Since I’m sick of looking it up every time a band asks me, here is a fairly complete list of Chico’s press and radio contacts as of 4/15/09.

www.Chicolist.com
Chico Independent & Underground Music Scene

Jason Cassidy, Arts Editor
Chico News & Review, 353 E. 2nd St., Chico, CA 95928
Phone: (530) 894-2300 ext. 2242; Fax: (530) 894-0143
E-mail: jasonc@newsreview.com
Web: www.newsreview.com/chico

Christy Pryde, Calendar Editor
Chico News & Review, 353 E. 2nd St., Chico, CA 95928
Phone: (530) 894-2300 ext. 2243; Fax: (530) 894-0143
E-mail:christyp@newsreview.com, chicocalendar@newsreview.com
www.newsreview.com/chico

Jake Sprecher, Managing Editor
Synthesis Weekly, 210 W 6th Street
Chico, CA 995928
530-899-7708
jakes@synthesis.net
www.synthesis.net
blog.synthesis.net

Serena Jennings, Calendar Editor
Synthesis Weekly, 210 W 6th Street
Chico, CA 995928
530-899-7708
calendar@synthesis.net
www.synthesis.net
blog.synthesis.net

The Orion (Chico State Student Newspaper)
Editorial: (530) 898-4033
Business: (530) 898-4237
Fax: (530) 898-4799
Mailing address:
The Orion
Department of Journalism
CSU, Chico
Chico CA 95929-0600
Managing Editor
Nicole Williams managingeditor@theorion.com
Entertainment Editor
Eric Wendt entertainmenteditor@theorion.com
Features Editor
Sonja Kydd featureseditor@theorion.com

107.5 The Point
Jeremy V
1459 Humboldt Rd, Suite D
Chico, California 95928
Business Office 530-899-3600
Request Line 530-342-5775 & 342-5778
Jeremy@107thepoint.com

106.7 Z-Rock KRQR
856 Manzanita Court, Chico, CA 95926
Office Phone: 530-342-2200
Office Fax: 530-342-2260
Request Line: 530-342-SLAM
Randall - PD randall@zrockfm.com
Matthew Reisz -WebMaster mreisz@resultsradiomail.com
Bueller bueller@zrockfm.com
meatwad meatwad@zrockfm.com

KCSC Student Radio
kcscradio.com/
CSU, Chico Chico, CA 95929-0950
Spencer Beavers – Programming Director - pd@kcscradio.com
Robin Bacior – Music Director - md@kcscradio.com
Juan Gomez Jr. – Local Music Director - local@kcscradio.com

KZFR Community Radio
www.kzfr.org
341 Broadway Street, Suite 411, Chico, CA 95928
Office: (530) 895-0706
Fax: (530) 895-0775
Studio: (530) 895-0131
OnAir Line: 530/895-0167
janb@kzfr.org - Jan Bielfelt Oceans of Rock & Roll
bill@kzfr.org - Bill Deblonk Playing Dead and Creole Stomp (jam / groove)
radioinfernofm@gmail.com - Marshall Elliott – Radio Inferno (Metal/Underground/DarkWave)
jeffreyh@kzfr.org - Jeff House – Random Pick (odds & sods, underground rock)
barbara@barbaramanning.net - Barbara Manning – Radio Detour (indie & odds & sods)
djspenny@kzfr.org - DJ Spenny - Wax On and Kid Universe
aarony@kzfr.org - Tazou Yamaguchi (aka DJ X) - Chico Butter (local music)

Check it! Brand spankin’ new video from tbd’s Other Lives - the band from Stillwater, OK. They’re the first signee to the ATO Records imprint that launched a year ago with the physical release of Radiohead’s “In Rainbows.”

Check out the video of Other Lives on Luxury Wafers performing “How Could This Be” below, enjoy

Embed:

Other Lives - How Could This Be - Luxury Wafers Sessions from Luxury Wafers on Vimeo.

Other Lives’ self-titled, full-length debut will be released on April 7 th by tbd records, the ATO Records imprint that launched a year ago with the physical release of Radiohead’s “In Rainbows.” It will be available at digital retailers beginning March 17th and the lead single “Black Tables” goes to radio this month. The album (and the EP that preceded it) was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Joey Waronker (the Eels, Lisa Germano) and engineer Darrell Thorp (Radiohead, Outkast, Beck). Released in October 2008, the EP - also self-titled - was featured for three consecutive weeks on iTunes’ “Rising Stars of Indie Rock.”

Based in the college town of Stillwater, Oklahoma, the band - Jesse Tabish (lead vocals, piano, guitar, harmonium, organ, vibes, electric harpsichord), Josh Onstott (bass, melotron, backing vocals), Jonathon Mooney (piano, violin, organ, vibes, electric harpsichord), Jenny Hsu (cello, backing vocals) and Colby Owens (drums, lap steel) - has been playing music together for the past five years in various incarnations. They began as an avant-garde instrumental group, then added vocals and eventually evolved into Other Lives.

In a recent feature, Filter hailed the band’s music as “perfect for waking up on a crisp fall Sunday or executing a heartrending breakup in the middle of the night,” going on to note: “If Other Lives was more formulaic or eager to get rich, the five-piece would be in N.Y. or L.A., gloating about impending global success. But that’s not how things are done in Stillwater, Oklahoma…” The landscape informs their music, from the traditional folk elements to the expansive, unhurried nature of their songs. Yet Other Lives owes as much to modern-day classicists such as Jóhann Jóhannsson and Arvo Pärt and British progressive rock as it does to its folk forefathers, drawing from a rich palette that even encompasses traditional Spanish music (”Matador”).

Balancing epic grandeur with quiet restraint, the album evokes characters and civilizations hovering between life and death, majesty and melancholy, hope and despair. “End Of The Year” is a breathtaking tightrope walk between such extremes - a lilting interplay between piano and cello gives way to more somber tones, then comes full circle six minutes in with a transcendent guitar riff over elegant orchestration and drum corps-style percussion. “Paper Cities,” featured as a KCRW “Tune Of The Day,” is a powerful indictment of nationalism, reminding us that the boundaries drawn by war are temporal, “just lines on a map,” while the cautionary “Don’t Let Them” takes to task the powers that be - and those who put them in power, namely us.

Praised by LiveDaily for its “captivating, cinematic sounds,” Other Lives was one of the noteworthy new acts performing at last fall’s CMJ Music Marathon.

The track listing for Other Lives is as follows:

01. E Minor
02. Don’t Let Them
03. Black Tables
04. End Of The Year
05. Speed Tape
06. Paper Cities
07. Matador
08. It Was The Night
09. How Could This Be?
10. AM Theme
11. Epic

Usually we ignore most people that send random “OMG!  Hitz us up on dis new video of my sista’z n I danzing!” messages that get sent to our Youtube channel.  Typically we get a ton of these a day, and despite the fact there’s probably some good content in there, most of it is just shit.

For whatever reason, I ended, up opening a message saying something about a cover of one of my favorite songs, Joe Satriani’s Surfing With The Alien, which 9 time out of 10 is completely messed up by whom ever is performing it. Besides the fact the kid is going way heavy on the flanger fx, he sounds great and pulls it off well. Check it out below, and props to you, mister Jesse L.

Back in high school me and my shit-head friends used to drive the modest hour up San Francisco to check out shows on a regular basis. Not only did the experiences usually end with one of us throwing up on some poor old lady’s car, but it left us with a beautiful taste of S.F.’s local music scene. Sure, a great number of pretty big artists came through (i.e. Anthony Green physically throwing me off stage at Bottom of the Hill circa 2006), but the local openers are what left the best impressions on us.

Putting nostalgia behind me for a second, I’m happy to introduce to you Audrye Sessions. The band has been toiling away in the Bay Area for some time now, and apparently the word has caught on. Over the past year or so, they’ve been highlighted by media giants MTV and Rolling Stone, the latter of which just did some video sessions that you can check out HERE.

The music seems to speak for itsself: they keep it sweet without being too cheeky, they write infectious hooks and still can back it up with clever guitar parts, and most importantly, their bassist is a girl that can rip it up.

They just packed April and May with an extensive nation wide tour, as they’ll be offering up direct support for Manchester Orchestra, which kicks off April 21st in S.F. I love em’, you love this blog, so by association you should probably go check them out.

Tour dates after the jump…
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