Coming from the same hip-hop enclave as such indie hip-hop heavyweights Atmosphere, Brother Ali and others, Minneapolis’ Dessa has a little bit of a different vibe to her than the previously mentioned acts.

Sure, the singer born Margret Wander came from [...]]]>

Away from Doomtree, Dessa's sultry vocals invade the Stick this Thursday.

Coming from the same hip-hop enclave as such indie hip-hop heavyweights Atmosphere, Brother Ali and others, Minneapolis’ Dessa has a little bit of a different vibe to her than the previously mentioned acts.

Sure, the singer born Margret Wander came from the collective known as Doomtree, but it’s when Dessa went out solo is when we really started to see what she could really do. Her debut, 2010’s “A Badly Broken Code” was heralded as a soulful trip back in time that would satisfy fans of neo-soul, hip-hop, spoken word and others. But with Dessa working on her next album, due out in 2012- she has released a reworked version of some of the songs from “Code”, entitled “Castor, The Twin”.

”Castor, The Twin” flips the last album on it’s head, completely switching around the arrangements on the song. Songs like “551” are almost purely spoken word now, while songs like “The Beekeeper” see the previously shape of the song twisted and turned, but loses none of the poignancy of the music. In the new tracks, pianos, mandolins and stand up bass play a much bigger role on the album, and gives it a smoky jazz lounge feel to a lot of the songs.

Dessa is currently playing a few dates in the States to round out the year. With the mini-tour wrapping up in Chicago on November 18^th, the soulful singer comes to Detroit this Thursday (November 17^th) at the Magic Stick. It will be a opportunity to see what would be the not-so-secret weapon in the Minneapolis hip-hop scene at her finest.

Dessa plays at the Magic Stick on Thursday, November 17^th. Tickets are $10 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.facebook.com/dessadarling.

When it comes to hardcore music, you don’t get much more old school than Agnostic Front. Back when most of the members of any modern hardcore band was barely able to walk, Roger Miret and company [...]]]>

Roger Miret and Co. get ready to throw down in the Magic Stick pit on Tuesday.

When it comes to hardcore music, you don’t get much more old school than Agnostic Front. Back when most of the members of any modern hardcore band was barely able to walk, Roger Miret and company were delivering some of the most ground breaking stuff there was in hardcore.

Starting with 1984’s “Victim in Pain”, the band forged a path where the worlds of punk and thrash metal met and set a path for thousands of bands that came after them. Let’s be honest, there wouldn’t be a Hatebreed or tons of other hardcore groups without Agnostic Front. But four years after their last album, the forefathers of hardcore are back with a brand new album, “My Life, My Way”. The band’s ninth album is a punishing exercise of what the band does best: metallize (is that even a word?) their hardcore attack. Produced by Madball frontman Freddy Cricen delivers the same sort of empowering lyrics and riffs on cuts like “Self Pride” and “Us Against The World”, which serves as rallying cries against the problems that plague society. Going with the band’s foray into more metal sounds, this is the band’s second album through Nuclear Blast Records and shows how punishing the Front can still be.

Frontman Miret has been busy over the past couple of years leading up to the new release- with his other band, the Disasters (who released an album earlier in the year), as well as joining up with the Cavalera Conspiracy on the track “Lynch Mob”.

Agnostic Front is doing what they do best now, bringing the hardcore to the masses- young and old. The band starts off their tour this week and runs through November 20^th. For Detroiters, your lesson in hardcore comes on Tuesday, November 8^th when the band hits the Magic Stick. So, for all of you newcomers to the scene, check out Agnostic Front and see just how well the originators of the scene do it.

Agnostic Front play at the Magic Stick on Tuesday, November 8^th. Tickets are $14 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.agnosticfront.com.

Ok, that’s a playful way to shove all the names of the band’s playing at the Magic Stick on Sunday as Calgary based quartet Braids hits Detroit with LA band Pepper Rabbit for a night of art/experimental [...]]]>

Braids headlines of a night of eerie yet breezy pop on Sunday at the Stick.

Ok, that’s a playful way to shove all the names of the band’s playing at the Magic Stick on Sunday as Calgary based quartet Braids hits Detroit with LA band Pepper Rabbit for a night of art/experimental tunes.

To give you a little background on Braids, the group has recently released their debut full length album, “Native Speaker”. The album, well over a year in the making, got started in 2009 and rumoredly only cost 500 dollars to make- perhaps I should make an album (now that would be truly scary!). Lead by songs such as the sparse and somewhat moody “Lemonade” and the eight minute eye-opener “Glass Deers”, you can really feel the vocals of singer Raphaelle Standell-Preston and the rest of the group as they emote and make the lyrics “f—ed up” sound sweet and innocent, unlike 99 percent of the time when the lyric is uttered in a song.

Like Braids, the LA band Pepper Rabbit is also having a year where their debut is just out, as “Red Velvet Snow Ball” just hit the streets and is lead the heavy keyboards in “Murder Room”.
Both bands toured together this summer and liked each other so much that they’re back on the road together.

This current trek takes the groups through a few American cities, but focuses in on Canadian dates. However, one of those American dates is this Sunday (October 9^th) at the Magic Stick in Detroit. Make sure to check out the clash (in a good way) of sounds between Braids and Pepper Rabbit as they head to Detroit this weekend.

Braids and Pepper Rabbit play at the Magic Stick on Sunday, October 9^th. Tickets are $10 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.myspace.com/braidsmusic or www.myspace.com/pepperrabbit.

Nope, nope- this isn’t giving a shout out to the crazies who decided that swimming in a cold ass lake is a good idea in January, that would just be stupid. Good thing the punk band Polar [...]]]>

Punk and racquetball mix when Polar Bear Club hits the Stick on Thursday.

Nope, nope- this isn’t giving a shout out to the crazies who decided that swimming in a cold ass lake is a good idea in January, that would just be stupid. Good thing the punk band Polar Bear Club took that name and wrangled it away from a bunch of idiots. The upstate New York based quintet is back on the road in well over a year behind the release of their third album “Clash Battle Guilt Pride”.

The album, produced by post-hardcore extraordinaire Brian McTiernan, rages through more epic and borderline on anthem moments on tracks like “Kneel On Nails” and “Life Between The Lines” in which the bands sound grow tighter and potent at the same time. And the band’s sound continues to grow with the addition of drummer Tyler Mahurin, who replaced original drummer Emmitt Menke earlier this year.

“Clash Battle Guilt Pride” is the follow up to 2009’s “Chasing Hamburg”, which received rave reviews from Alternative Press and other magazines.
But with the new album, the band is building on the success of “Chasing Hamburg” and starting to expand outside the usual punk groups while on tour. The band recently toured with the Gaslight Anthem and Tom Morello’s Nightwatchman group as well, and aims for bigger and brighter things to come.

Polar Bear Club plays on a U.S. tour through October 15^th, but well before that, the band hits Detroit for a show this Thursday (October 6^th) at the Magic Stick. Make sure to check out the openers, such as the local guys in Fireworks and Balance and Composure. It ought to be a good night to see some of the big up and comers from the punk world.

Polar Bear Club plays at the Magic Stick on Thursday, October 6^th. Tickets are $15 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.myspace.com/polarbearclub.

Ten years is a long time for an active band to not have a headlining tour, but for the California based band Samiam, it’s not because the band hasn’t been doing anything. Keeping an pretty active [...]]]>

It's been 10 years since the last Samiam show in Detroit, but play the Stick tomorrow.

Ten years is a long time for an active band to not have a headlining tour, but for the California based band Samiam, it’s not because the band hasn’t been doing anything. Keeping an pretty active overseas tour itinerary over the past few years, the band has not just had the time to make it to play the States. But now with the release of their new album, Samiam is making their grand return to America.

With the release last week of their eighth album, “Trips”, the band is trying to reconnect with a home country fan base that hasn’t seen the band in a while. Reviews of the new album are promising so far, with many calling it a trip (no pun intended) back to the band’s early days, recalling albums like “Soar” and “Billy” from the early 90’s. With tracks like “Demon” and September Holiday”, it’s easy to see why the new album is getting fans back in a nostalgic feeling.

”Trips” is the first release for the band since 2006’s “Whatever’s Got You Down” and proves to have the band on the road for a while. Even though the band played a handful of U.S. dates in 2008, Samiam is making sure that 2011 is an even bigger year, with “Trips” now out and staying out on the road more. So, for a band that is getting on with the third decade of their existence, this tour is a big step for them and for U.S. fans.

Now that the guys are back on the road, the band will travel North American through a Sept. 24 finale in Philadelphia. But well before that, Samiam will be in Detroit very soon as they play the Magic Stick this upcoming Monday (September 12^th). It will be a good chance to get reacquainted with one of indie rock’s longest running names.

Samiam plays at the Magic Stick on Monday, September 12^th. Tickets are $14 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.myspace.com/samiam.

Sorry if I make it look like you’re about to get a tasty peanut butter and jelly sandwich if you go downtown. The city of Detroit may be desperate at the moment, but they haven’t resorted to ordering food [...]]]>

Peter Bjorn and John (yes, that's three people) hit the Stick this Thursday.

Sorry if I make it look like you’re about to get a tasty peanut butter and jelly sandwich if you go downtown. The city of Detroit may be desperate at the moment, but they haven’t resorted to ordering food to come downtown. But what you will get on September 1^st is the catchy indie rock sounds of Peter Bjorn and John, who are touring behind the release of their latest album “Gimme Some”.

Lead by the first single, “Second Chance”, the album moves more into a punk rock sound, but given and indie and poppy edge to it. The trio has been on a tear lately, as “Gimme Some” is the second release out for the band in the past 18 months. But the tear of creativity for the group only enhances songs like “Breaker, Breaker” and “Lies”. Even if you have been a fan of the group for a while now, “Gimme Some” will throw a few curveballs along the way, but seems familiar enough to longtime fans to not alientate them.

Most casual fans know the trio by the 2007 track “Young Folks”, which was pretty much playing out of every twenty and thirty-somethings speaker at some point that summer. But as you can tell, the band has not rested on that big hit and have been working at a breakneck ever since.

Peter Bjorn and John are currently hitting the States for a huge tour, keeping the band from Stockholm in the States through October 8^th. But an early tour gig brings the band to a familiar spot in Detroit as the band plays the Magic Stick on Thursday, September 1^st.

You may not have got that whistling from “Young Folks” out of your head, but checking out Peter Bjorn and John will give you new stuff to store in your musical memory for a while to come.

Peter Bjorn and John play the Magic Stick on Thursday, September 1^st. Tickets are $18 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.peterbjornandjohn.com.

Thrash metal revivalist Joel Grind always seems to be pumping out new material and remaining one of current metal’s true road warriors. But even with being on the road as much as he has and recording all the material for the albums [...]]]>

Joel and the Holocaust head to Detroit next Wednesday.

Thrash metal revivalist Joel Grind always seems to be pumping out new material and remaining one of current metal’s true road warriors. But even with being on the road as much as he has and recording all the material for the albums himself in the past, even Grind most likely knew he couldn’t keep that pace up forever.

For the band’s fourth full length album, “Conjure and Command”, Grind had decided to enlist his touring band to help create the new album. The ear blistering new album clocks in at just over 32 minutes and features such jump in the mosh/circle pit cuts as “Red Winter” and “Nowhere to Run”. The addition of his other two bandmates helps give Toxic Holocaust their fullest sound yet. If you want a pure 80’s style thrash attack, you can’t get much better than the material on “Conjure and Command”.

Joel and the rest of Toxic Holocaust are currently out on the road throughout North American through September 10^th, before heading off to Europe until December. Toxic Holocaust brings top notch fellow thrashers Holy Grail on tour with them and will be hitting the Magic Stick on August 24^th.
So, make sure to bring your studded jean jackets and lots of patches of bands (new and old) and get in the pit as Toxic Holocaust delivers their deathblow to the Stick.

Toxic Holocaust play at the Magic Stick on Wednesday, August 24^th. Tickets are $12 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.toxicthrashmetal.com.

Criss-crossing the U.S. while on tour in the dead of summer can be a grueling experience, but tons of bands always endure. This summer, some of stoner/sludge metal’s biggest names hit the clubs of the States as Big Business [...]]]>

Big Business and Torche bring the sludge to the Magic Stick this Tuesday.

Criss-crossing the U.S. while on tour in the dead of summer can be a grueling experience, but tons of bands always endure. This summer, some of stoner/sludge metal’s biggest names hit the clubs of the States as Big Business and Torche make their way through the heat to bring the doom to fans.

The Seattle based quartet Big Business will be using this time to get fans to hear their music before hitting the studio once again later this year, to work on their full length album, most likely due in the early part of next year. But to hold the fans’ appetites until then, the band has released a new quadruple single on their own Gold Metal Records.

While speaking with vocalist/bassist Jared Warren on their way to their show in Cleveland, he says that the album has been partially recorded at this point, but “holding off on completing it until they can get back in the studio once this tour wraps”. But according to Warren, the material that you will hear on the next album will be very similar in structure to the recording and sound on the current quadruple single.

According to Warren, one advantage that the band has had in the recording that they have done to this point is the work ethic of guitarist Toshi Kasai. “Toshi came in and recorded the first songs, and got into a proper studio and just spent a day kicking out guitar and drum parts, which helps” said Warren.

The new album will be the first to feature extra guitarist Scott Martin, who came into the band last year. According to Warren, Martin brings a heavier vibe and brings heavier bass lines to the band’s sound.

As for as this tour with Torche, Big Business’ main goals are to “stay out of the swampy and hot weather and makes lots of money”. And to be honest, after this current heat wave, I couldn’t agree with Jared’s comments more.

Big Business play at the Magic Stick on Tuesday, July 26^th. Tickets are $12 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.bigbigbusiness.com.

If I had a quarter for sometime back in 2004 or 2005 when a band got labeled “math-core” or “math-rock”, I might be a millionaire right now- or at least upgrade my life a little. One of the bands that [...]]]>

Maps & Atlases chart a path to the Magic Stick next Wednesday.

If I had a quarter for sometime back in 2004 or 2005 when a band got labeled “math-core” or “math-rock”, I might be a millionaire right now- or at least upgrade my life a little. One of the bands that were given this title was the Chicago based band Maps and Atlases, who released their first EP in ’05. All from different areas, the band met while at college at Columbia College in downtown Chicago, the band began to put together their indie folk meets pop sound.

Throughout the past several years, the band released a few EP’s that garnered attention from various outlets and have stayed within the indie ranks for those releases. But last year, the band finally decided to release their first proper album, “Perch Patchwork”. Enlisting Good Old War producer Jason Cupp, the band captures their full potential on crisp sounding tracks like “Is” and “Solid Ground”.

With a lot of touring behind them since the release of the album, the band are just getting started with a tour with the RX Bandits, who are on their “farewell tour” of sorts after a long career. The tour runs through August 7^th, but will be making their way to Detroit as the bands play the Magic Stick on Wednesday, July 20^th. Even though it may be the last time to see the RX Bandits do their way, it will be a good chance to see Maps and Atlases continue bringing their best to the stage.

Maps and Atlases play at the Magic Stick on Wednesday, July 20^th. Tickets are $15 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.mapsandatlases.org.

Since their inception in 1993, the experimental metal band Earth has made a giving their listeners some curve balls. Starting out in more of a doom metal vein, the combo of Dylan Carlson and Adrienne Davies have given fans a plethora [...]]]>

Dylan and the rest of Earth hit the Stick this Friday.

Since their inception in 1993, the experimental metal band Earth has made a giving their listeners some curve balls. Starting out in more of a doom metal vein, the combo of Dylan Carlson and Adrienne Davies have given fans a plethora of different musical genres to savor. With their latest album, “Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1”, released back in February, the band started experimenting with folk rock and cellos, which saw the band moving farther away from their doom metal past.

The latest album is the first part of a two part series and the band is out on tour to support the first half of the album and will be on the road most of the summer. As the band was at home in the Seattle area, I had a chance to chat with front man Carlson about the development of the new album the band’s choices for unusual instrumentation for the album.
Here’s my interview with Dylan:

AM: How has the reaction to the new music been while on the road?
DC: It’s been pretty amazing so far. We just got back from a 6 week tour of Europe and things went very well. We sold out our vinyl copies of the new album and things went pretty easy with this past tour.

AM: What things going on in your life helped shape the sound for the new album?
DC: Obviously, dealing with some personnel changes changed things up on this album. Steve Moore and Don McGreevy (former members) had decided to work on other projects, and it gave me and Adrienne time to work on material. We were really getting into English music and folk rock a lot and listening to albums in my old collection. We also had written a few of the songs (“Old Black” & “Father Midnight”) while on tour in Europe last year. I think this album has a more live sounding feel to it this time around than in the past.

AM: What sort of themes and methods of putting together the album seems to work best for you?
DC: We did all of the material for both albums in one session, we didn’t wait to start work on the second half or anything. The first songs were very composed, and we rolled the tape and went with it and it turned out pretty well. On the second half, we still decided to roll the tape and see what happens and seemed to be more of a continuation of the improvisation that we tried on the first batch of songs.

AM: How long did the recording process take for the album?
DC: We did the basic tracks in about two weeks and then about a week of mixing for the first part. The first album took about 4 weeks total, while the second album took a couple of months. All in all, it was still pretty quick and a pretty productive time for the band. Things don’t always come together this easy (laughs).

AM: The band has used a lot of different instrumentation over the years- is there one that you’d like to see on an album that you have not played yet?
DC: You know, that’s a good question. To be honest, I’m pretty happy with the cello actually and how it’s used on the album. It really just all depends on how we’re feeling at the time, so I’m not really sure what else we plan to use at the moment. Contrary to what most people think, I don’t have a master plan (laughs).

AM: When should fans expect to see the second half of this album?
DC: Originally, we had said it wouldn’t be out until sometime in 2012. But I think the way things are going, that people should see the second half sometime in October or November.

Earth plays at the Magic Stick on Friday, June 10^th. Tickets are $10 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.thronesanddominions.com.