Thursday, December 29, 2016

1/20 Library After Dark Series

Happy New Year! 37FLOOD is turning 10 years old this year! And to mark this occasion, we have exciting projects in the works for 2017. One exciting project we are a part of for January, is being a sponsor of the Louisville Free Public Library's new local streaming service 'Louisville Mix' and the new 'Library After Dark' music series! Louisville Mix is a streaming service of local music hosted by LFPL. (read more about Louisville Mix here).


Please join us on Jan. 20th at the main branch at 301 York Street from 7-11 for a 2 stage, 6 band Louisville Mix showcase host by 1200!
the event is free and all ages and includes music by Jonathan Glen Wood, RMLLW2LLZ, Justin Paul Lewis, Billy Nelson, Brooks Ritter and more! The event page is here.




Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Interview: Pat King of Skam Impaired

Interview with Pat King of the Post Ska-Punk louisville band Skam Impaired on the Reunion show at Headliners Dec. 30th 15 years to the day after their last show in 2001 (following a 5 year career releasing 3 LPs)

37) it's been 15 years since your last show, what was the motivation for dusting off the ol' plaid pants and reuniting?

PK- So the idea spawned back in March.  It had been one year since my niece had passed away and I was having one of those nights of reflection.  For whatever reason, the idea of playing a reunion show popped into my head.  I really didn’t expect the idea to manifest into anything real, but suddenly I started writing to the members of Skam Impaired, Left Out, Five Hours (members of the Kodiaks) and the Lynnwoods.  I knew it couldn’t just be a Skam show. If it was going to happen, it was going to be with our friends.  

Skam, Left Out and The Lynnwoods played so many shows together throughout the 90s that it wouldn’t have felt right not doing this with at least one of them.  Left Out was the first to confirm.  They were great friends and also played their last show in 2001.  That was enough for me to make this thing real.  Five Hours agreed to play at first, but not all the core members could commit in the end.  A few of the members went on to start the Kodiaks around 2001 or 2002, and confirmed that they would be able to play.  Ultimately, the Lynnwoods couldn’t commit to the date.  

To answer the question, if it weren’t for Left Out and The Kodiaks joining in, then this show wouldn’t be happening.  The most important aspect of Skam Impaired for me was the community.  I’m excited to play again, but I'm even more excited that I’ll have a chance to stand in the audience and hang out with old friends watching my favorite bands from that era.



37) the reunion show falls on the 20th anniversary of your first full length album 'If It Ain’t Too Broke' was this planned or a coincidence?

PK- Not planned! The stranger coincidence is that it is exactly 15 years since we played our last show on Dec. 30th of 2001.  When we booked the show, the date was more about finding a time that worked for everyone. It wasn’t until after we nailed down the date that I realized the milestone significance to the last time we played together.  


37) who from the original line up will be in the reunited band, and what new faces will we see?

PK- The biggest unknown has been whether or not Nick Dixon will be joining us on the drums in some capacity.  We adore Nick.  He’s been a dear friend and was a solid drummer, but wasn’t able to commit to the show.  So we reached out to a few other drummers to see who could fill in and found Sean Johnson.  It’s our first time playing with Sean, but he was a regular face at Skam shows...that familiar connection feels right.  He’s also a talented drummer and just a great person. We’re completely looking forward to adding his energy to the band.

Otherwise, we’ve got the remaining core members joining in.  We’ve also added Melanie Dillman on trumpet to help round out the horn section. 

37) from 1994 to 2001 Skam-Impaired released 3 full length albums as well as 7"s and cassettes, how much of your catalogue will you be covering, and will any of it be available at the show?

PK- Our set will span through our entire catalogue, but we’re definitely focused on the historical crowd favorites.  We’re not trying to pull any surprises musically.  Largely our efforts are going to be just making sure we can actually pull this off!  Whatever happens, it will be fun.  Apart from the music, we will be telling many anecdotes of the past and will have a nice collage of old photos, flyers and video shots projected behind us throughout the show.  If we can recreate at least of the feeling of when we were active, I’ll be over the moon. 

We're going to have new t-shirts, a very limited supply of old t-shirts and patches (from us and other bands from the time), a limited supply of the 'Monster Themes For J' CD, and thumb drives for sale which include our discography, digital photos and flyers and complete footage from our last show in 2001.

37) what have you been doing musically and otherwise over the last 15 years, and what have the other members been up to?

PK- Nick Dixon (drums) is married and living in Louisville. He has a beautiful daughter and is making a great life for himself.  As far as I know, Nick stopped playing drums after Skam. 

Carlos Ramos (bass) has two adorable children and is currently living in Louisville. He’s played in a few projects over the years and was planning on putting out a solo album at one point, but I’m still waiting! 

Will Spiro (saxophone) is married with 2 kiddos and living outside of Washington, D.C. He was jamming with some people in the D.C. area, but currently is focused on family and work. 

Dennis Sheridan is married with 2 kids and currently living in California.  After Skam, Dennis focused on guitar and songwriting and had pretty decent success the bands The Blue Goat War and then Follow The Train.  Dennis has continued to make music in different capacities and has continued exploring music out on the West Coast. 

After Skam, I played in a band called Tastyface with Carlos Ramos (Skam’s bass player) and Jason Hester on drums.  Carlos left the band early on to travel the country with his wife.  We ended up releasing one album on Little Heart Records and wrapped up our career in 2005 with Jesse Spiro on bass. That same year, I graduated from IUS with a BA in Music Business and decided it was time to try something outside of Louisville. I moved to Limerick, Ireland to work as the tour manager for the Irish Chamber Orchestra.  After meeting my (now) wife, I moved to Northampton, MA in 2006 where I currently live.  I still play music, but haven’t been actively playing with bands for some time.  I started working with a video game studio in the area as an audio engineer and composer in 2007 and have been largely focused on game development since.  

Even from Massachusetts, my connection to the Louisville music community has remained strong and I’ve continued to work hard to incorporate Louisville music into my projects.  In one project I negotiated a few Louisville bands, including Wax Fang, to contribute music to one of our games.  I started my own game studio in 2014 called Woodpenny.  This past year we partnered with Kentucky native Ben Sollee to crowdfund a Virtual Reality animated music video app for him called the Vanishing Point.  It was released earlier this year on iOS and Android mobile devices.  While I’m not writing as much music, I still play guitar nearly every day and am largely enjoying being a father of two girls (4 and 6).  I still love performing live and am very much looking forward to this show! 



The Skam-Impaired Reunion show will be at Headliners Music Hall Dec. 30th with Left out and The Kodiaks ($12)

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Best Of: 2016

37FLOOD has been doing year end reviews, and also decade end reviews (yes, we've been around that long) since 2010, and filing them under the category of 'Best Of'. Last year we heard a compelling argument by a Louisville musician on why he declined to accept a 'Louisville Music Award'. His argument was that music is subjective to the listener, and not objective, therefore cannot be quantified and measured as such.  "you can have a 'tallest building' award but it is not possible to prove mathematically a 'best song'." We here at 37FLOOD agree, and have changed our categories to 'Favorite' instead of 'Best'. We, however, will still put our 'Favorite lists' on the 'Best Of' page to preserve continuity, with the previous 'Best Of' lists.

And, so, we give you 37FLOOD's 'Favorite's of 2016'. Last year we asked one of our writers if he would like to make a 'Best of 2015' list. His response was that there wasn't enough great music in 2015 to justify a list (however we disagreed and made a 2015 list anyway, found here).
Regardless of the overwhelming evidence that 2016 in general sucked, we found the music in 2016 to be extraordinary, with an above average output of quality music!

But not just extraordinary in a few genres, but holistically, as seen reflected in our 'Favorite Albums' list. You will find our favorite albums this year include Hip Hop, Psychedelia, Black Metal, Folk, Instrumentalia, and even Disco.  And, of course, half of the music and media on our lists are Louisville based, including Twin Limb, Sea Hero, Jaye Jayle, Sick Velvet, and more, including the local media outlets Never Nervous and Kath In The Bath.

Among our favorites, we have included Leonard Cohen's last LP, You Want It Darker, recorded as he was dying. The album is genius, with several tracks reaching the hight of masterpieces, including the title track, Treaty, and Leaving The Table.  Due to the high amount of musical related deaths this year, You Want It Darker was largely overlooked. But as for a look into death, this LP is as true as it gets; it's a heartbreaking trek through the mind of someone who knows he is not getting out.

Car Seat Headrest's first physical release, Teens Of Denial, get top marks, as the double LP is solid from stem to sternum. Will Toledo's focus has been tightened while still keeping the 'Jonathan Richman' style New England shrug to life's uphill battles.

Some of our favorites failed to get a physical release, but deserve a seat at the Favorites table none the less. Knox Brown's Searching EP was released by Virgin EMI Records, but only as a download, but is very worth a physical release. Drugdealer's debut 'The End of Comedy' was released physically, but not in the U.S. which is a large oversight, as it's disco overtones only enhance the mystical feel added by Weyes Blood and other contributors.

Take a look at our picks, and let us know what your 2016 picks are. Send your list to us here by Jan. 1st, and we will pick 5 lists at random to receive a free download of Louisville Is For Lovers 2016 compilation!


Favorite Albums:

Car Seat Headrest

15. Drugdealer "The End Of Comedy" 
14. Freakwater "Scheherazade"
13. Survive "rr7349"
12.  Angel Olsen "My Woman"
11. Louisville Is For Lovers "LIFE"
10. Black Mountain "IV"
9. Jaye Jayle "House Cricks and Other Excuses to Get Out"
8. Frankie Cosmos "Next Thing"
7. Sea Hero "Graustark"
6. Charles Bradley "Changes"
5. Anagnorisis 'Peripeteia'
4. NxWorries "Yes Lawd!" (Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge)
3. Twin Limb 'Haplo'
2. Leonard Cohen 'You Want It Darker'
1. Car seat Headrest "Teens of Denial" (37FLOOD Approved!)

 
Favorite EPs & Singles:

10. Hot Prowlers "Neon"
9. Brenda "Nightschool"
8. Team Totoro "Democrasexxy"
7. IamIs "Go Supernovae"
6. Sick Velvet "S/T"
5. The Fervor "Nightfall in the Kali Yuga"
4. Tender Mercy "It Was You"
3. Dr. Dundiff & Otis Junior 'Jakarta Dubplate #5' 
2. Knox Brown "Searching" EP
1. Twin Limb "Anything Is Possible And Nothing Makes Sense"* (37FLOOD Approved!)
*the digital version was released November 2015 and the vinyl edition in October of 2016. This will be an issue to work out in the future as record labels move in a segmented release standard of releasing digital and CD copies 6 months before Vinyl copies.  
Twin Limb


Reissues & Compilations:
15. Louisville Is For Lovers Vol.2
14. Louisville Is For Lovers Vol.1
13. White Zombie "It Came From NYC"
12. V/A "Return Of The Living Dead" (on Brain Matter grey vinyl)
11. Dr. Dundiff & Friends 
10. Gubbey Records "Head Cleaner Vol.7-11"
9. Lucero "Tennessee"
8. V/A "God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson"
7.  The Gallery Singers At The Electric Church Of The Tambourine "From The Galley To The Gallows: 15 Years" Compilation
6. Damien Jurado "Ghost Of David"
5.Louisville Is For Lovers "Live" 
4. Damien Jurado "Rehearsals For Departure"
3. Louisville Is For Lovers "Louisville babylon II"
2. The Staple Singers "Amen/Why?"
1. Louisville Is For Lovers "TRAFOZSATSFM: A Louisville Is For Lovers Tribute To Ziggy Stardust" (37FLOOD Approved!)

TRAFOZSATSFM


Favorite Websites:



This Week In Louisville History 
Proud of your City? This Week In Louisville History gives you a peak into the past on how our city was shaped over the last couple centuries, with interesting facts you probably didn't know.
Did you know Louisville was founded on a small Island, called Corn Island, in the Ohio River?  Did you know that the island was mined by companies so much that it washed away? All this and much much more at thisweekinlouisvillehistory.culturearchivist.com


The Louisville Free Public Library's new local music archive and streaming service with over 100 local albums to stream free. The service includes music by Jonathan Glen Wood, RMLLW2LLZ, Justin Paul Lewis, Billy Nelson, 1200, Brooks Ritter and Louisville Is For Lovers compilations! 

A live music showcase on Jan. 20th, at the main branch at 301 York Street from 7-11, will have a 2 stage, 6 band Louisville Mix showcase to introduce the service and host by 1200. the event is free and all ages.


Never Nervous
These boys don't sleep, between daily content on their own site as well as writing for LEO, there's no rest in the world of Rock N Roll. Aside from the daily rock news they often run themed series, such as Louisville Loves Horror, or The Louisville Music Community Speaks Out About Trump! series.
Always Serious/Never Nervous 


This Day In Pop Culture
Not a ''what's hot this week" culture website, This Day In pop Culture serves up a daily story of people & events that has shaped the world around us, reaching far beyond this week or this year. This Day In pop Culture explains how our society was shaped over the decades and centuries featuring biographies and stories including public executions of elephants for family entertainment, how Nazi politics drove a wedge between 2 brothers and in the process gave birth to the modern gym shoe, and how a New Orleans voodoo Queen was the reason the world's first Horror Punk band was arrested for grave robbing. (37FLOOD Approved!)

This Day In Pop Culture


Favorite Instagram:

Me and Cereal Every Saturday
Daniel Disparte adds a new self portrait every Saturday morning having some cereal. More creative than it sounds, each post takes it's theme from the cereal he spotlights. Daniel's captivating portraits and dedication (not even skipping a post when his child was born) have gained him a cult following.

Me And Cereal


Kath In The Bath


"This Is Your Captain Peeing" - Kath In The Bath
This highly creative (if not highly personal) Instagram account archives the exploits of Louisville's Kathy M, as she takes us on a tour of Louisville's bathrooms. Described as "Coming drunk and disorderly to a porcelain throne near you" this Instagram feed often portrays Kathy's adventures in costume or themed with holidays, and circle around our city's bars and nightlife in a bathroom setting, or in some cases, bathroom behavior nowhere near a proper bathroom.  (37FLOOD approved!)

instagram.com/kath_in_the_bath


Sunday, December 18, 2016

12/29 KFTC fundraiser with Boner City & Hot Prowlers at Cathouse

Say goodbye to 2016 and prepare for the good fight in 2017 at the Kentuckians For The Commonwealth End Of Year Fundraiser. Bands include Boner City, Hot Prowlers, Shark Sandwich, and Gymkata. The event will be Thursday December 29th 7pm-11pm at the Cathouse (747 S Preston St, Louisville, KY). The event is FREE but donations are welcome and go to support the Jefferson County chapter of KFTC.


Donate now here. Event information here.

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

12/16 Quiet Hollers' Holiday Yuletide Food-Drive at Headliners

Friday, Dec. 16, is the Quiet Hollers' Holiday Yuletide Food-Drive at Headliners. $1 from every ticket purchased goes directly to Dare to Care Food Bank. Canned goods and non-perishables will also be collected at the door.
Quiet Hollers will be playing brand new songs from their forthcoming album (now in production). Opening will be Third Man Records' Sun Seeker, and Louisville Hip Hop duo, Shadowpact.

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Review: Fred Armisen releases limited 12" vinyl single about chicken for FREE



Today, December 13th, is the day that 12 record stores across the nation will give away copies of Fred Armisen's new 12" lathe cut vinyl single about Hot Chicken, billed under the name “KFC’s Nashville Colonel and His Fabulous Band.” The chosen stores received about 7 records each in the mail and were told to hide them around the stores and those who find one can have it for free.
Guestroom Records in Louisville is one of the stores and plan to have their 7 copies of the single hidden in the shop before the doors open at 11 am.

Armisen recorded these 2 songs as part of his new gig portraying Colonel Sanders for KFC, the latest in a long line of doomed actors who have tried their hand at the cursed role before getting the axe. The songs themselves consist of one track about Colonel Sanders' suit and one about Nashville, the home of Nashville style hot chicken (at Prince's Hot Chicken Shack at 123 Ewing Dr, Nashville). The songs are in the Country Standard Style, bordering on stereotyping the genres of the regions, so much so that natives of Kentucky and Tennessee might find it offensive.

The song about Nashville, called 'Nashville-Centric Boogie', is literally Armisen reading facts about the city from Wikipedia (he even admits this in the song), and 'C-O-L-O-N-E-L', the song dedicated to Colonel Harlan Sanders, is about how the Kentucky Colonel went insane from wearing the same suit everyday. Both songs seem like the comedian walked into the recording studio without  forethought of what the songs should be and without any knowledge of the subjects he intended to sing about.

Regardless of  the semi-offensive nature of the songs, news of the limited edition scavenger hunt sent audiophiles and hopeful collectors searching the isles of Guestroom Records in Louisville a full day before the release date to no avail. All 7 of the hidden copies at Guestroom were found within minutes of the store opening.
Other record stores that have hidden copies of the single include Grimey's in Nashville and Landlocked in Bloomington Indiana, find the full list here.