FRESH BAKED
in NYC
The Sweet Ones
We Work Harder
2009 | Crafty Records
B+
 Whipping through 7 songs in less than 15 minutes, The Sweet Ones present their music, via their new EP, We Work Harder, as a hard rock brew steeped mostly in punk and 60s garage rock, but with hints of art-rock and psychedelia. As the band shouts on the opening track, “Joining The Club,” “Now the hippies are punks, and the punks are hippies/ Doesn’t matter no more, doesn’t matter no more.”
Dropping explicit references to influences like The Modern Lovers (“Hippy Johnny”) and Minutemen (“Got Watt?”), The Sweet Ones come off like a band that knows how to jam econo; their wealth of good spirit, and their fun-loving attitude is enough to sustain the disc’s short runtime. They also sound exceptionally tight for a garage band, which makes the prospect of future recordings quite appetizing. They are a band worth keeping tabs on. The lyrics aren’t particularly deep, but they’re sharp enough to be memorable, as well as being set to catchy melodies that easily inspire sing-alongs.
Stream “Building a Spaceship” off The Sweet Ones’ 2008 EP Stay Lowbelow.
by Justin Remer
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City Scoops: NYC Lifestyle Magazine
(Click for large Brook Pridemore Interview)
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Junk Rock from The Sweet Ones
http://www.examiner.com by Shannon Mulready
The Sweet Ones are “Junk Rock”. Their clever mix of classic, punk and garage rock hits the listener like a mix of bourbon and espresso (think Jonathan Richman, Neil Young with Crazy Horse and The Minutemen). Their unique and refreshing approach to songwriting and performing sets them apart from the cliché and uninspired music that is coming out of Williamsburg these days. Under the direction of vocalist and guitarist Doug Cote, and backed by the driving and relentless bass and drums of Mike Straus and Matt Brundrett, their unabashed, in your face sound comes blasting through the speakers and will knock you back to 1978. Just off their first US Tour of 18 cities in 18 days and newly signed to indie/punk label Crafty Records, the Sweet Ones are a dynamic force of sound and energy out to prove that Junk Rock is here to stay.
Take a listen to their debut LP entitled Stay Low (released in 2008 and available on cdbaby.com and ITunes) and you’ll hear the magic of Junk Rock on tracks like Building a Spaceship and C.E.O. To preview The Sweet Ones brand new EP entitled We Work Harder check out the bands myspace page.
The Sweet Ones next Brooklyn show is at Trash Bar in Williamsburg on July 16th at 8 pm. You can also see The Sweet Ones spreading their Junk Rock message during Happy Hour in Manhattan by checking out their video for C.E.O on youtube.
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Razorcake
CHRIS CLAVIN:
The Roads Don’t Lead Home. The Roads Lead Everywhere: LP
New long player from the guy who brought/brings you Plan-It X, Ghost Mice, and, obviously, Operation: Chris Clavin. I think if you’ve heard the name more than once or twice by now, you know what to expect (fairly lo-fi folk punk), and if you’ll like it or not. Like a lot of his projects I’ve listened to, there’s a concept, this time being that all the songs are about what happened in different cities on a recent tour, which, by the first song, made me think that’s like something J Church would do. I can’t honestly say I’m worried about wearing this out anytime soon, but I still enjoyed it, and think it’s a novel idea, nicely executed. Shit, anytime I get home, all I do is blab about new girls I have crushes on. –Joe Evans III (Crafty)
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Razorcake
VARIOUS ARTISTS:
Thanks for the Floor: CD
A tribute to the punk rock community’s support for touring bands and punks! And this comes at a perfect time for me because I’ve recently been mulling over how, as much as I love the Ramones, the Clash, et al., I really need to give credit to the early ‘80s hardcore scene for really creating the DIY punk networks and structures that we now take for granted. Think about how different it would be if we were still looking for Sire Records to sign our bands! And if every band had a manager, even if that manager was Tommy Ramone! This CD features songs by Captain Chaos, the Steinways, Max Levine Ensemble, and more! And, ironically enough, a Ramones medley by Two ThErgs (two of the Ergs in acoustic form!), including “I Want You Around,” “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend,” and “I Wanna Be Well!” I’m not into everything on here, but there’s plenty of good stuff! If this were a cereal, it’d be one of those single-serving box sets, including, amongst others, Froot Loops (ThErgs)! –Maddy (Crafty)
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Razorcake
ENDLESS MIKE AND THE BEAGLE CLUB:
We Are Still at War: CD
I can totally get behind the indie rock vibe when they plug in their instruments. Hell, some of the songs are plenty catchy when they do. The minute they put the amps away and tread down that acoustic road to hippieland, though, I’m outta the room faster than it takes the stench of patchouli to profane the air. –Jimmy Alvarado (www.craftyrecords.net)
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The Deli Magazine - www.thedelimagazine.com
One of these days I'm going to hop on a freight train and take a scenic tour of the East coast, and when I do I’m going to take some Brook Pridemore with me. It's no surprise that Pridemore, a man who writes good traveling music, also enjoys traveling (Pridemore played 201 shows in 2007, and plans on trumping this tally in 2008). I imagine that on this voyage I'll see from my train many things, few of them fantastic, few of them extraordinary, many of them grisly and gritty, dirty and worn, all of them endearing in their sincerity, much like Brook Pridemore's music: stark, honest, free of concern. Pridemore is not a fancy chef concerned with pretty and sweet dishes for the conditioned tongues of the masses -- he's home-schooled and hungry, using every ingredient in his house to make an honest-to-goodness feast. He's not relying on artificial flavoring, and he's not overly concerned with adding just the right spice -- the result is a hot plate of straight-up rib-sticking tastiness.
Brook Pridemore, right, plays the January 30 Jezebel Music Songwriter Showcase. The music starts at 9pm at Laila Lounge, and there is no cover. -Dan D'Ippolito
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Razorcake issue 43
ENDLESS MIKE AND THE BEAGLE CLUB: The Husky Tenor: CD
Interesting, apparently this band is comprised of ten plus dudes, and yet they aren’t a ska band. In fact, this is a whole bunch of folky/country jams that range from light and sensitive, to pretty rockin’, without just coming off as another Against Me! or Plan-It-X style rip off (as many other bands like this often do). This combined with the interesting packaging (which while I’m not positive, I suspect is the work of the label, who often pulls cool shit like this), I enjoy the bejesus out of this. –Joe Evans III (Crafty)
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Endless Mike and the Beagle Club, Drew & the Medicinal Pen - Brooklyn Tea Party, 11/25/07
show review.
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Brooke Pridemore / Endless Mike + The Beagle Club @ The Brooklyn Tea Party Review
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Endless Mike and the Beagle Club - The Husky Tenor
reviewed by Heather Galbraith emotionalpunk.com
Endless Mike and the Beagle Club is a ragtag group of friends appreciating music and as a listener I am happily along for the ride. You could easily file the band in the nerd rock category but with folk, bluegrass, classic rock and punk influences a broader audience is available to Endless Mike and the rest. The prime player, lead singer Mike Miller, has mastered the art of introspective storytelling. Creative storytelling is a talent. It separates skilled songwriters from mediocre ones and it is often difficult to unearth. So upon stumbling on this band I felt compelled to write a review even though the album was released at the end of 2006.
“The Husky Tenor”, the group’s second full-length album, is an upbeat collection of hoedown jams. The band produces entertaining sing-a-long campfire songs and within a few moments I always find my toe tappin' and a smile on my face. Content wise the songs are sometimes reflective, sometimes funny, sometimes regretful but always sincere. It’s the honestly in Miller’s voice as he shrieks the lessons he’s learned that really attracts the ear. There is a rawness to “The Husky Tenor”, which can in some instances leave tracks sounding a little rough around the edges however, primarily adds to the album’s enjoyment and straightforwardness.
Hailing from Johnstown, Pennsylvania (I’m from PA and have no idea where that is) Endless Mike and the Beagle Club may be difficult to catch live but I would recommend seeing them if you happen to be in the right place at the right time- you will not be disappointed. I had the great fortune to see the band live and I swear on a small stage in Baltimore, Maryland the group was 8 or 9 strong and crowded the space with a positive spirit. You could feel the closeness of the group’s members and I got the sense that the crew would have had just as much fun without the audience in attendance. I would not be surprised if you hear more from this band with their vigorous live performances, entertaining lyrics and impressive storytelling ability. I suggest you become a member of the Beagle Club pronto.
Deja vu who? An Angle, The New Amsterdams, Weezer
Clubhouse Preferences – “Mr. Millers Opus”, “Lock and Keystone”, “This Machine Kills Pacifists”, “Route 1981”
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Stanger Magazine UK (March '07)
Thank the lord for America. For red necks, cowboys, endless highways, mini malls, black coffee – and the blues. From the 1930s Mississippi Delta players to John Lee Hooker, Tom Waits to The White Stripes, only Americans truly know how to sing the blues. Back Alley Jesus is the sound of a drunk, hopeless individual who has nothing to live for but the strings on his guitar and the whisky in his cup. A one man band playing punk rock blues that reaches into your gut and messes up your insides. The sort of sound that makes you want to sit in a dark room smoking cigarettes. Rebellion – the good old-fashioned way.
-Niki Khoroushi
Independents Only (May '07)
He’s more blues than Hasel Adkins, more melodic than Scott H. Biram but each of their instruments have been schooled in that good old, grungy garage sound. On “Back Alley Jesus” this simplicity is anything but simple. It’s a well-trained, structured sound, seeped in the blues, maybe some whiskey and the dirty side of southern rock n’ roll. Guitar Bomb is a one-man foot-stomping, storytelling machine from the barroom brawl of “Angels and Devils” to the very indie rock sound of cover song “Canes”, this debut goes far deeper than just one guitar and deserves more than a few heavy listens!
-Monk
Smother.net (Dec '06)
One-man bands can be really amazing and sometimes they can suck all the available air out of a room, coughing it out in a dizzying cloud of stink. Guitar Bomb is fortunately a damn fine one-man band. Rifling through the massive documentation of blues-punk, Guitar Bomb utilizes a drum machine and an electric hollow body guitar. His sneering vocals speak of crafty clever lyrical wit. Raunchy guitar noise gleans well over the melodic down-home blues riffs. You may remember his band The Don’t Stop—if not you should damn it.
- J-Sin
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American Sangwriter Magazine - Evan Schlanksy
ANTICOMP FOLKILATION: Here Comes the Neighborhood
In February, Crafty Records released the Anticomp Folkilation, a 2-CD set with cuts from Jason Trachtenberg, Kimya Dawson, Jeffrey Lewis, Antifolk founder Lach and over 30 other songwriters. Now those who are interested in checking out the scene no longer have to come to the East Village to do so. “Antifolk is the music that comes from the scene at Sidewalk Cafe in New York City,” explains Crafty Records label head Dan Treiber. “Though some people would expand the definition to include songwriters worldwide who are influenced by that scene. It’s like [Crafty Records artist] Brook Pridemore calls himself, a little bit punk, a little bit folk. Songs that are outside the mainstream, I guess. If you listen to the comp, you'll hear how broad the musical style actually is. It’s loud, it’s soft, it’s funny and serious.” The chorus to Eric Wolfson’s scene-skewering “Sleeping is a Suckers Game” offers another spin: “we are young, we are inspired/we got guitar-shaped heart desires/we got a long line of lovers who have never left us the same.” For more information on the wide world of Antifolk, check out Antifolk.net and Craftyrecords.net
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Click here for Unlovables Reviews (there are a lot of them)
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Movement Magazine (Feb '07)
Fairly enjoyable rockabilly is the order of the day for Guitar Bomb. Varying between slow twang and punky frenzy, this 8-song EP doesn’t overstay its welcome. The delightfully raspy vocals are a nice touch as well. Extra kudos for the packaging, which includes a match and a firecracker in the case and a film-style disclaimer on the CD itself. For fans of the Gun Club, the Cramps, et all.
- Adam Naworal
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Losing Today (April '07)
Si fa chiamare semplicemente Guitarbomb. Il nome (e le foto che nel sito lo ritraggono con una maglietta degli Anthrax) potrebbero risultare fuorvianti.
In realtà, prima di dare alle stampe questo esordio, se n'è andato su giù per il nord america a bordo di un minivan, armato solo di una chitarra dozzinale e di una drum machine.
Una one man band dedita a un rock aspro e per forza di cose essenziale, un'attitudine da vecchio bluesman mescolata con una certa corrosività punk.
Il risultato sono le otto tracce di "Back Alley Jesus", sospese tra acidità à la Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, la lezione dei classici (Johnny Cash, Tom Waits), qualche scarna 'impressione desertica'
con lontani rimandi ai lavori di Josh Homme, vaghi sentori psichedelici
e un disincanto un pò disagiato che, assieme a un 'certo non so che', (forse l'attitudine un pò istrionica da 'one man band') per certi versi ricorda Beck.
Certo, forse non tutto quadra, in qualche caso i brani appaiono fin troppo scarni e minimali, ma alla fine l'andamento un pò claudicante, la postura vagamente 'storta', e il sapore rendono "Back Alley Jesus" un disco piacevolmente straniante.
--MARCELLO BERLICH
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Timeout NY
Like any Monday-night Antihootenanny at Sidewalk Café, Anticomp Folkilation is a lengthy, spotty thing that vacillates between uncommon brilliance and questionable musicianship. Spanning two discs and 31 tracks, the collection is shoddy and incongruous. But that kind of impropriety has drawn open-minded artists to the antifolk movement since its inception in the ’80s. On this compilation, a social-commentary collage like Dan Fishback’s “Faggotsaywhat?” can follow the wobbly lament of the Bowmans’ “The Slumber,” and neither sounds out of place.
Undefinable and progressive as it wants to be, the antifolk scene still points to traditional folk and punk. The Wowz song “You’re Lovely” has sweet, Byrdsian harmonies, while Major Matt Mason USA’s “Tripping Yourself” combines lo-fi electric distortion with nasal vocals. Most of the tracks are based on acoustic rhythm guitar, tinny pianos and rickety drum kits; even the established antifolkers (Kimya Dawson, Jason Trachtenburg) resist singing in tune, which is just fine—as long as they have something interesting to say. Lyrics are paramount to this crop of troubadours, so listeners who have the patience to wait out the musical idiosyncrasies will be rewarded with unique views on life. — Cristina Black
The Wowz and Major Matt Mason USA play the Anticomp Folkilation release party Sun 11, part of the Fortified Winter Antifolk Festival at Sidewalk Café Fri 9–Feb 18.
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Hybrid Magazine (April '07)
Tito - Fuzzy guitar and drums rock that drones on in a bluesy, blissful style. Cool, dad.
Jermaine - Filthy, low-down backwoods blues. Tom Waits, Dr. John. Perfect chaser for Gill Landry.
Marlin - Dangerous. The jewel case has a firecracker in it. No idea how he got away with shipping it.
Michael - Their name and packaging are far more explosive than their sound could be.
Jesse - The louder the fucking better.
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Independents Only (May '07)
He’s more blues than Hasel Adkins, more melodic than Scott H. Biram but each of their instruments have been schooled in that good old, grungy garage sound. On “Back Alley Jesus” this simplicity is anything but simple. It’s a well-trained, structured sound, seeped in the blues, maybe some whiskey and the dirty side of southern rock n’ roll. Guitar Bomb is a one-man foot-stomping, storytelling machine from the barroom brawl of “Angels and Devils” to the very indie rock sound of cover song “Canes”, this debut goes far deeper than just one guitar and deserves more than a few heavy listens!
-Monk
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Jersey Beat
GUITAR BOMB (CraftyRecords.net , www.guitarbomb.com)
Yikes! When I opened the CD for Guitar Bomb there w as a firecracker (fake, think!)
and a wooden match in the spine of the box! Dang! This guy (Mike
Devigne is a one-man band) takes the name of his act literally! Too bad
he didn't include a miniature guitar. Anyway, the music on Mike's
self-titled album is solid. It has that lo-fi vibe both musically and
instrumentally. That's not to say it not a powerful album (it is).
This isn't some kind of knock-kneed blues/punk poseur album. It has all
the trademarks, righteous riffs, and gritty vocals you'd expect from
someone who's deep into their trade. Mike ( who looks like he's in his
20's) sounds like he's devoured the history of his genre, and cooked
up a formidable songbook, easily balancing the rage of punk with the
passion of the blues, both in equal measures of intelligence and
arrogance. This disc is a heap of fun to listen to! Stand back kids,
I’m gonna light the fuse! - Phil Rainone
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Benkrieger.com
The Reflecting Skin by Brook Pridemore
To say that I've spun Brook Pridemore's new release, The Reflecting Skin, about 10 times doesn't quite tell the whole story; I've listened to Track #6 about three times that. From the opening snare salute to the final barbershop chorus, "I'll Be Here All Night" is the standout anthem in a collection of punk folk gems.
Pridemore runs his acoustic guitar through the Ramones' meat grinder on this record, combining Westerberg's sincerity and penchant for clever one-liners with occasional sprawls of Springsteen and the punk energy of Uncle Tupelo's first classic. In fact, someone should send this CD to Tweedy as a biting reminder that he used to rock.
The most touching aspect of The Reflecting Skin is the community feel. Be it the lyrics, liner notes or supporting cast of players, a large of number of artists from the current folk scene are present: Alex Lowry, the Bowmans, David LK Murphy, Dan Costello, Toby Goodshank, Ivan Sandomire. If those names sound familiar to you, it's because they've all left their mark on both sides of the East River (Lowry was Jezebel's January 2006 Featured Artist). Simply put, if my grandkids ever ask me what it was like touring across the country and playing in NYC circa 2005-2006, this is the record I will play them.
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Amplifier Magazine
Guitar Bomb Back Alley Jesus
A one-man band consisting of Mikey Devigne, a 30-something Brooklynite who lists as his idols the likes of Highway 61, the Stooges and “the nutty guy that plays guitar at the 14th Street F train stop,” Guitar Bomb is a fascinating study in dichotomies. This is instantly apparent on Devigne’s debut CD. A collection of eight raw, gritty punk-blues tunes that sound as if they were recorded in someone’s bedroom, Back Alley Jesus certainly recalls at times the output of Iggy Pop and his buddies (particularly on the rowdy opening track, “Angels and Devils”), but is actually a bit closer in nature to some of Bob Dylan’s most recent output, particularly Time Out of Mind, the Oscar-winning “Things Have Changed” single and last year’s Modern Times. This is in part due to Devigne’s grizzled voice—a hearty concoction of raggedy hillbilly charm and down-and-out desperation that is at once familiar and, strangely, cozy—as well as the music itself. Devigne may incorporate electric guitar and drum loops into his sound—and recall iconic punk bands like the Clash with his wink-nudge song titles (one track is called “Rudie Can Fail”)—but his tunes are pure rockabilly blues, mixing heartache, righteous indignation and a fondness for backwoods Americana into a wholly listenable result. In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this record is one of 2006’s most criminally overlooked albums. Devigne might not be Dylan, but, with his lived-in voice and knack for imbuing his brand of punk with the spirit of the Delta Mississippi players of the '30's, he certainly gets credit for being nearly as inventive.
~ Ken Knox
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New York Waste (Winter'06)
Check out the latest release from GUITAR BOMB “Back Alley Jesus” - Down and dirty Brooklyn guitarist with an ear to the street – this one man show will blow you away without ever getting out of his seat. Guitar pickin’ good, whiskey soaked gorgeous vocals, a real back alley cat at heart. Our copy came with a bomb in the spine -for real. Sweet!
-Starr Tucker
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Delusions of Adequacy (1/10)
When I first read that Guitar Bomb is a one man band with a guitar and drum machine I have to admit Bob Log III immediately came to mind. Although both men play some form of the blues, Guitar Bomb and his hollow electric guitar have a much more laid back style than the manic, slide guitar of Bob Log. Guitar Bomb’s debut album Back Alley Jesus is a short eight song affair, but the disc gives credence to this guy’s talent. No stranger to scene though, this Brooklyn resident has spent time in The Don’t Stop and other bands before hitting the road on his own for over 100 dates within the past year.
Back Alley Jesus starts off strong with the dark “Angels and Devils” in which Guitar Bomb tells a murky tale of putting an angel and a devil in a room together to see how long it takes them to remember they don’t like each other. “Kathleen” has a nice chugging guitar line throughout that will keep your toes-a-tapping. “American Holiday” keeps a simple progression going alongside spare percussion in a style reminiscent of the man in black himself.
A few of the tracks on Back Alley Jesus are hard to pin down as having too much of a blues influence. “Canes” and “Piece O’ My Girl” both lean more toward subdued rock. While the style variation is nice, the latter song’s lyrics just don’t do it for me. Nevertheless, Guitar Bomb is back on track for “Rudy Can Fail” and “God Damn It,” two very likable songs.
I think the single thing that impresses me the most about Back Alley Jesus is how full each song sounds. You wouldn’t immediately know that Guitar Bomb is just one person. For his first solo release, Guitar Bomb has done quite well. I can only imagine more days on the road will only improve Guitar Bomb’s music and I look forward to his next album.
-Jennifer Patton
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Read Junk . com Dec(06)
One-man bands can be sketchy, but Guitar Bomb was a nice surprise. Guitar Bomb (I don't know his real name) plays a mix of delta blues and punk, and it works really well. His guitar's got a great hollow-body, muddily-distorted sound, and even though he uses a drum machine, it provides a surprisingly genuine washboard-n-skiffle sound.
I also like that Guitar Bomb avoids the sleaziness and creepiness of similar genre mashups, like dixiepunk and swamp rock. He goes for Tom Waits vocals, but Guitar Bomb's voice is younger and less whiskey-ravaged. The lyrics have a lived-through-everything, down-in-the-alley pathos, which probably reflects more Bukowski influence than reality. But it sounds good and who wouldn't want to live in an alley?
4 stars, minus 1 for ripping off Tom Waits, but a half is added for being just one guy and producing a full band sound.
RATING & SUMMARY:
Bottom Line: Tom Waits Mach II.
Notable Tracks: American Holiday, Rudy Can Fail
--Adam Coozer
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Left of the Dial (Dec 9th '06)
The press pack for this one-man mildly blues band admits he’s the type of guy who wallows in whiskey, Charles Bukowski, and the Stooges and is able to tip his cap to both Delta heroes and fist-raising punks of the 1980s, and to be sure, those elements aren’t too far off the mark, though don’t expect anything louder than hell. Actually, in contrast, there’s a minimalism reminding me of The Kills and early Crooked Fingers, meaning essentially, more mood than mess and less is more. In fact, he lets pared down songs find a way to carve out space without all that real drummer fiasco and fidgeting. Oddly enough, it recalls Tones on Tails due to a certain black fissure and subdued flux too. On “Angels and Devils,” he takes the so-called opposites and imagines them curling back into a coil, thus narrating a potential collision and conjugation. It’s not necessarily rollicking and boisterous, but it ain’t coffee bar nickel and diming either. It find that middle-ground between front porch hollerin, tang, and tussle and more restrained, down on the hip corner, cigarette on the couch vibe.
On the somewhat bemused and perhaps even bitter “Kathleen,” even the strong and hard weep themselves to sleep. “American Holiday” emits a slightly remolded noir western vibe — Charlie Daniel meets LA. Confidential in the sluggish oily night, a glint of menace somewhere blinking around the brick and glass. “The clock keeps ticking/the world keeps spinning/the people keep walking…” the narrator muses on “Bury Men,” waiting to feel some semblance of comfort and belonging, even purpose, in the luster and taste of lips and hips, a body arcing under lights between needing hands shooing off the dull blasé days ahead and behind. The country returns on “God Damn It”; he unleashes the unlikely line “I have more resources (or is it reasons?) than a mathematician,” and admits that just because it rains doesn’t mean he will complain. As the sound speeds up in start-stop hiccups, you feel a kind of “hang-on” resilience, a little Kerouac fun instead of fury. The snakey, rockabilly “Rudy Can Fail,” a pun on the Clash’s “Rude Can’t Fail,” skitters like tumbleweeds across the naked highway. The song is propulsive and powered by a man who ain’t gonna give into hypothermia of the soul, while the slow “Piece of My Girl” pictures her bubblegum lips, making him want to pay a fool’s ransom just to rub-a-dub with that heroin-like girl-child. This echoes a thousand songs under a soggy roof, but at least there is a touching, low-key honesty to it all.
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Smother.net (Dec '06)
One-man bands can be really amazing and sometimes they can suck all the available air out of a room, coughing it out in a dizzying cloud of stink. Guitar Bomb is fortunately a damn fine one-man band. Rifling through the massive documentation of blues-punk, Guitar Bomb utilizes a drum machine and an electric hollow body guitar. His sneering vocals speak of crafty clever lyrical wit. Raunchy guitar noise gleans well over the melodic down-home blues riffs. You may remember his band The Don’t Stop—if not you should damn it.
- J-Sin
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Kaiju Big Battle . com
"In other Dino Kang news, Dr. Cube has filed suit against the heavy rock band, Max Levine Ensemble. The members, apparently huge fans of Dino Kang, dress up in Kang's honor as they rock their stringed instruments silly. The band's publicist did not respond repeated requests for comment."
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Spin Magazine
November 1st
"Opening band Max Levine Ensemble, on the other hand, was punk-by-the-numbers -- as in 2-minute songs with 3 chords. Still, if each song was the same, it wasn't a bad one. The vocals were mostly inaudible, but that didn't prevent the front row from singing along. On a night where the dress code was supposedly "historical figures in hell," even Capote and Zappa dug the D.C. act. Meanwhile, Hunter S. Thompson stood pensive, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he asked coolly, "What is this bullshit?" KAREEM ESTEFAN / PHOTOS BY ANDREW HINDERAKER
Photo from spin
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Salvo Magazine (UK)
Feature and interview Oct '06
Guitar Bomb is an angry antagonist with alcoholic tendencies. He is also an army of one, emerging from a sorry scene obsessed with fake bands and worse haircuts; he is ready to go traditional, strap on the hollow body electric and go it alone. With obsessions revolving around porno, cocaine and Jesus, you should be warned that Guitar Bomb is painting an ugly picture of modern America.
As bands come and go, Guitar Bomb (Brooklyn's Mikey Devigne) can be identified as something of a veteran on the
New York circuit having fronted Don't Stop for almost five years and most recently wielding his axe with last years (since demised) pop-punk noise outfit Mixed Art Foundation. Since choosing to go it alone, Guitar Bomb has done it his way or nothing. He has proven in a strikingly short period of time that he is cut from a different cloth and has already made more
than a slight mark on New York, and is making inroads across America. He has just returned from a second American tour
within the space of the last twleve months which were both received with growing affection. He will be back on the road for a short tour in Septemeber, to coincide with the release of his first album, 'Back Alley Jesus'. Regularly performing in and around New York, with growing crowds and interest, Guitar Bomb was called upon to satisfy demand and answered with 'Live @ The Bowery Poetry Club', released before the summer.
From the tender splendour of 'Kathleen', through the heart wrenching downer 'Just Bury Me' to signature track 'Porno & Cocaine', the live record captures the despariity of despair that is an inevitable feature of the Guitar Bomb experience, yet perfectly demonstrates its surprisingly uplifting nature. It is not unusual to find yourself sat on the subway cheerfully whistling along to songs thematically calling upon notions of death, destruction, and our ultimate demise. It is a torrent of conflicting affairs that will usually fall either side of the line; suicidal ideation or worthless popism. Guitar Bomb has somehow managed to master the juggling act and find the perfect balance between the two. One hand opens and inside his palm he shows you something that will make your pretty heart bleed with optimism, hope and joy; from the other, he slams you with a firm punch
to the face that is called reality.
Guitar Bomb is ticking, and ready to explode. He spoke to Salvo in New York.
Salvo: You have played in bands before. What made you decide to go it alone ?
G.B.: Well, I can bullshit you around and say that it was creative differences that had split up past projects that I was involved with, but I would hate to compromise your journalistic integrity with any sort of half-assed answer like that. The plain truth of the matter is that there was simply too much whiskey and cocaine lying around the house and not enough touring. I feel that if I'm truly going to be able to progress as a musician I will need to play 200 shows a year and some how be able to make a touch of money off of the music so I can quit the mind numbing job that Ihave.
Salvo: Describe the Guitar Bomb sound.
G.B.: I feel like I'm trying to give the blues some more punk rock credibility with my songs. Someone else asked me the same question once and I told them the music sounds like if Bob Dylan had a mohawk and his best friend was Charles Bukowski, then they would drink together and find a woman that they could have a threesome with.
Salvo: What has inspired your subject matter ?
G.B.: Some of the most interesting people that you will ever meet are the really fucked up ones that are milling about through everyday life. I've had run ins with truck drivers, junkies, and socialites. I just take their stories, twist them around and mix and match them with other faces so as to keep them unrecognizable. I like to witness other people's tragedy just so I will always feel a bit better about my own situations. That asshole lying face down in his own puke really boosts my confidence.
Salvo: The album is hugely anticipated. What can we expect?
G.B.: It will sound like my demos but a bit cleaner. There will also be some killer art work with the cd. I was lucky enough to have the front and inside cover created by Brooklyn artist, Evan Schwarz? Encased within the spine of the first 100 copies of the cd there will also be fireworks and matches enclosed. If you hate the cd you will be able to literally blow the thing into smithereens. Or you can just blow your own face off.
--Neil Morgan (a.k.a Frank Raige)
Razorcake Issue 36
CAPTAIN CHAOS: This Is Cake: CD
I’m pretty sure this is the dude(s) that run Plan-It-X, and that this is a concept album, the concept being that it was written/recorded as a birthday present to a friend of theirs. Like a lot of the PIX stuff, this is all fairly lo-fi, acoustic stuff, some of which gets pretty silly at times, and some of which takes more than one listen to get used to. Now, this may not be flawless, but for what it is (a simple folk punk record, done entirely in about three days, while the dude was apparently sick), it’s still really good. I’ll add that if someone called me up and told me “Hey, Captain Chaos is playing at the Laundromat in our cruddy town tonight,” I’d eagerly head over. –Joe Evans III (Crafty)
GUITAR BOMB: Back Alley Jesus: CD
I’m not much of a one man band aficionado by any means, but that’s what this is, and I liked it. Going with that, I’m not sure how else to really describe it other than a bunch of rad country/bluesy jams, so I’ll add that it this is on Crafty, who get an A+ in the “being stand up dudes” department, for putting out some cool local records, as well as setting up shows, which makes this worth checking out on that merit alone. It’s like the fact that it’s a good record anyway is an added bonus.–Joe Evans III (Crafty)
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Dunedin Free Press Cover Story (click for PDF article)
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Timez Out Music Scene Story
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Urban Folk
March/ April '06
Brook Pridemore
The Reflecting Skin
What has Brook Pridemore done this time? Only made the best album of his career. This may be no great stretch, of course. "Metal and Wood is basically stuff i don't play anymore,but people in Michigan seem to like it. First Name/Last name isn't bad, but this one..."the reflecting skin, Pridemores latest, is a big sprawl of a record; chock full of 11 songs, all of which have been heard throughout New York and Pridemore's hundreds of touring destinations. All these songs exist here with full arrangements from strange players, including the usual suspects(David LK Murphy, Toby Goodshank, Dan Costello, Andrew Hoepfner) as well as mountainside studio regulars and Indiana idols the Ghost Mice (most notably on the subtle "Sensormatic.") All of the typical Pridemore strengths are here: crazy energy, desperate sentiment, opaque lyrics, but added to the mix are instrumentation, arrangement, sonic offerings unparalleled in his past. It fleshes out his material, and consistently makes the album much stronger. "Hand in Hand (Foot in Mouth)" has a glorious Replacements moment in the chorus. Paul Westerbergs sense of Midwestern desperation clearly means something to Pridemore, as evidence by the following "Someone Else's Life is Hanging over my head on a string." "I'll be here all Night" is beautiful, with a barbershop quartet of Antifolk artists, "John Danielle," named in Honer of the songwriter inspiring the song, shuffles along with more drive than usual, leading directly into "The Fake Joie/DBG song."Pridemore has been a standard-bearer of the DIY spirit as long as he's been in New York, but with The Reflecting Skin, he forgoes DIY for DIT (Do it Together), collaborating with growing cast, building a larger community of artists. This would be a good thing, even if the album weren't- but it is. It's real good.
BrookPridemore.com
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AM New York
March 14, 2006
Brook Pridemore
The Reflecting Skin
A fixture on the LES anti folk scene, local singer/songwriter Brook Pridemore celebrates the release of his sophomore album, "The Reflecting Skin." A little bit punk and a little bit folk, Pridemore's songs are like passionately told stories set to music. The confessional tone and emotional rawness is reminiscent of John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats (who is saluted on track 9), but the delivery and execution is all Brook. Of course, for the full experience, you have to see it live, which you can do tonight at he Bowery Poetry Club (308 Bowery, 212-614-0505). Doors open at 6:45pm, $10 at the door includes a free CD.
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Jersey Beat
Brook Pridemore
The Reflecting Skin
Brooke Pridemore The Reflecting Skin CD (www.craftyrecords.net) Mike turned me on to this, mainly because he played on it. I wasnt familiar with it much before hand, but I want to call this indie-folk punk, that most of my friends could probably enjoy (even the ones that dont spend hours looking for Japanese hardcore band LPs). Specifically, people who think that John Samson is still one bad dude will especially enjoy this. Apparently Crafty put this out, who run a tight ship they seem very Plan-It-X-ish, but with more of a This is just how we like to do things, we hope you like it kind of vibe to it. Recommended. Joe Evans III
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Punk Planet #72
Max Levine Ensemble, the/Spirit Animals - Split, 7"
When a band is clearly having fun, it often makes listening more enjoyable. Here, two bands sharing some members slop their way through catchy, poppy, garagey punk. It sure seems like both bands had fun making this music and I had fun listening to it. (RR)
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Pridemore finding his musical home in New York
Friday, May 19, 2006 kalamazoo gazette
By John Liberty
kalamazoogazette.com
Folk-punk musician Brook Pridemore is approaching the midpoint of his plan to live and make music in New York for a minimum of 10 years. Now, the Detroit native and Western Michigan University graduate is starting to see the benefits of this decision.
``I feel like it's moving along. It's getting to a place where I'm comfortable,'' he said during phone interview last month from Astoria, Queens. ``The more I go out (on tour), the easier the traveling gets, or the more people who are listening or giving you money for your recordings. It's definitely gotten easier. I don't feel like a household name, but I don't feel wet behind the ears anymore.''
Pridemore's third album, ``Reflecting Skin,'' was released on the independent label Craft Records in April, and Pridemore has been on the road with label mate Mike ``Guitar Bomb'' Devigne since.
Pridemore and Devigne, along with Ypsilanti's Satchel Jones and Ann Arbor's Spencer Michaud, will perform at 9 p.m. Thursday at Kraftbrau Brewery.
His time in New York did not start off as smoothly as he would have liked, and he often struggled to find his place in the city's music scene. But Pridemore eventually found a group of like-minded musicians, called the Strike Breakers Union, that collaborated on music projects and, he said, helped make the last two years enjoyable creatively. They assisted on ``Reflecting Skin,'' leading Pridemore to dub it a ``D.I.T.'' album, or ``Do-It-Together'' project.
In making the album, Pridemore also stretched his instrumental repertoire by playing drums on some tracks and learning to play the ukulele.
``I really briefly thought about quitting the guitar to play the ukulele, but my friends told me I was insane,'' said Pridemore, who plans to learn the piano for his next CD.
At times, Pridemore's 11-track release is doused with humorous lyrics like ``The prettiest girl in the whole rotten world/Is a waitress in a strip club that also sells eggs'' from a song titled ``John Darnielle,'' the namesake of which is half of the Canadian duo Mountain Goats. Pridemore said he was frequently listening to the Mountain Goats while writing ``Reflecting Skin.''
``I don't think he'll ever hear it, but I hope he does,'' Pridemore said of Darnielle. ``I don't want that to skew my chances of getting to meet him and have him think I'm some obsessed guy.''
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Pridemore's Scene Spirit
May 26, 2006 - 8:44 pm | Posted by BenKrieger www.jezebelmusic.com
To say that I’ve spun Brook Pridemore’s new release, The Reflecting Skin, about 10 times doesn’t quite tell the whole story; I’ve listened to Track #6 about three times that. From the opening snare salute to the final barbershop chorus, “I’ll Be Here All Night” is the standout anthem in a collection of punk folk gems.
Pridemore runs his acoustic guitar through the Ramones’ meat grinder on this record, combining Westerberg’s sincerity and penchant for clever one-liners with occasional sprawls of Springsteen and the punk energy of Uncle Tupelo’s first classic. In fact, someone should send this CD to Tweedy as a biting reminder that he used to rock.
The most touching aspect of The Reflecting Skin is the community feel. Be it the lyrics, liner notes or supporting cast of players, a large of number of artists from the current folk scene are present: Alex Lowry, the Bowmans, David LK Murphy, Dan Costello, Toby Goodshank, Ivan Sandomire. If those names sound familiar to you, it’s because they’ve all left their mark on both sides of the East River (Lowry was Jezebel's January 2006 Featured Artist). Simply put, if my grandkids ever ask me what it was like touring across the country and playing in NYC circa 2005-2006, this is the record I will play them.
(The Reflecting Skin is available through Crafty Records)
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2theadvocate.com/ scene team
Saturday, April 29
Brook Pridemore
North Gate Tavern
136 W. Chimes Street
Hearing Brook Pridemore belt out lyrics while beating on his acoustic guitar catches you off guard at first, but he immediately reels you in for more. Wrapping folk style hooks around punk rock rhythms, he doesn't sit well in either niche. Brook is on tour all the way from New York City and bringing a Guitar Bomb with him. Guitar Bomb is occasionally known as Mike Devigne, lead singer of The Don't Stop. Like Brook, he has shed the band to hit the road as a solo act. Don't let the lack of backing musicians fool you, though. These guys have turned folk music on its head and given it a punk rock thrashing. Bring your boots to North Gate Tavern this Saturday, April 29. Check www.myspace.com/brookpridemore and www.myspace.com/guitarbomb for details
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