Voodoo Glow skulls / Crawdaddy (1 Viewer)

TOXIC

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VOODOO GLOW SKULLS

+ Special guests
LEFT ALONE

Crawdaddy, Harcourt Street
Sunday 18th November 2007
Doors 7.30pmwww.tickets.ie
Over 18's , ID Required

www.voodooglowskulls.com
www.myspace.com/voodooglowskulls
www.leftalone.net
www.victoryrecords.com
www.hell-cat.com


In their sixteen years of existence, the Voodoo Glow Skulls have an impressive list of achievements. Seven albums, one million records sold, appearances in exotic locations like Brazil and Japan as well as the creation of a record store, record label, recording studio and a music venue attests to the remarkable creativity and energy of the band. Formed in 1988, Voodoo Glow Skulls meshed hardcore punk, traditional ska, tough guitar riffs and the Mexican music of their roots to create the prototype for the West Coast ska-core sound, influencing a wide range of bands from Sublime to No Doubt. Unflinchingly honest, their songs often used humor to comment on harsh political realities – from racial inequity to unrest overseas. Singing in both Spanish and English, Voodoo Glow Skulls' bilingual musical tradition has been a hallmark of the band since they began.

Titled Adicción, Tradición, y Revolución, the new album is self produced and recorded (in their Dog Run Studios), and contains some of their most rocking, candid music ever. "Adicción refers to our feelings about music, we have hardcore fans who consider our music to be both unique and addicting," Frank explains. "Tradición signifies the fact that we've been together as a musical family for this long, and have not really changed. Also, we have always tried to include our Latin roots in our music, either by writing songs in Spanish or incorporating musical ideas that we grew up with. Latinos have a very strong sense of tradition, and we are very aware of it. Finally, Revolución because we have always tried to steer clear of trends – we are somewhat of a musical revolution in that our music is unique, even hard to copy."

The core of the band since the beginning has been the three Casillas brothers, Frank, Eddie and Jorge, joined by drummer Jerry O'Neill and Brodie Johnson on trombone. The current line-up boasts a three horn section for the first time in six years. The lyrics are a collaboration between, "Eddie, a notepad and a pen, and myself," Frank jokes, and they run the gamut, from the hilarious send up of Jerry's girlfriend on "Dee Dee Don't Like Ska" to the political commentary in "We Represent". "Touring in some of the out-of-the-way places we have been, in some cases we are the first Americans they have dealt with directly. The negative feedback on the U.S. government is pretty universal, and disturbing." said Frank. "Smile Now, Cry Later" is their take on a rock steady song, with a killer groove. "Ghetto Blaster" indicts the corporate music industry and the force feeding of the masses. Every Voodoo Glow Skulls album contains one cover – their latest is a traditional ska version of the Guns N' Roses classic "Used To Love Her"!

With a list of accomplishments that might make some bands ready to slow their pace, the band shows no signs of slowing down. A full West Coast tour will be followed by a trip to Brazil to headlining the Punk Rock Show festival on Halloween, and another U.S. tour immediately follows. Voodoo Glow Skulls legendary live shows are full of searing horns, grinding guitars and throaty growls – and no one plays super tight ska faster than these veterans. Adicción, Tradición, y Revolución rocks harder than ever – Voodoo Glow Skulls dubbed their sound "California street music" – a perfect description of their high octane rock, punk, ska and hardcore.


LEFT ALONE
The exuberant yet repentant punk anthem that launches Left Alones 2006 sophomore Hellcat offering is the kind of no bullshit, honest proclamation that fans of last years highly-praised Lonely Starts and Broken Hearts have come to expect. That lead-off number, dubbed The Sinner, is the sort of joyous chant along that has earned the devotion of punk purists throughout the globe. But as Dead American Radio unfolds, it reveals itself to be a far more adventurous, diverse and rewarding song cycle than its predecessor.

Simply put, Left Alone has concocted a stone cold classic album that artfully takes aim at corporate radio, suck ass emo bands and everything in between while incorporating elements of ska, cowpunk, pop contagiousness and old school punk. Yet according to Left Alones guitarist, songwriter and mouthpiece Elvis Cortez, that variety which counts the efforts of saxophonist Noe, and the inclusion of Hammond organ and pedal steel wasnt necessarily a goal for the new disc.

We were just picking up on different kinds of music and grooving on different elements, Cortez says. My only goal was to do a record Id be 100% happy with. Lonely Stars was recorded in like four days or some shit. This time we had a lot of time. Plus we had been on tour forever and had a lot of songs. Everything just worked out. Much like our band, its just a bunch of weird shit that just all kind of goes together.

From a pensive heartbreaker like Waiting For You to the charged punk firecracker Drunk Again, the flow of the record is somehow seamless thanks to the musical aptitude of Cortez, Noe and their rhythmic commando Ramrod (drums). With La Pregunta, recent tourmate Patricia Day (of HorrorPops fame) joins Elvis on the quirky ska-inspired, Spanish-sung duet, while Rancids own Tim Armstrong joins forces with the band for the upbeat, rock & roll road tale City To City.

I brought some songs over for Tim to check out and he really liked City To City, so I asked him if he wanted to sing on it, Elvis says of his hit-worthy collaboration with Hellcats founder. And he said, Yeah.So he wrote the verse he sings and he helped me arrange the song. Hes so good at that kind of stuff. The guy is amazing in so many ways. It was a trip working with him.

If City To City is an instant classic that deserves to be an airwave favorite, Cortez recognizes that the likelihood that it and the other winners like on Dead American Radio like the reflective, energetic Every Night and the terrestrial (a.k.a. testicle) radio critiquing title track will be heard by the masses is slim. People think that bands get popular out of being good, and its just not true, Elvis proclaims. Ive always known it to be pretty much a money thing. Its like the rich gets richer and radio is the worst example of that. For a band it sucks because theres so much good stuff that should be on the radio but it never gets the chance because maybe their label cant afford it or just chooses not to buy into it. Ive always felt that if a song is good enough, it shouldnt matter what label its on, but thats not the way it works.

If corporate radio still sucks, Left Alones frustrations with the medium havent kept the quartet from excelling on Dead American Radio. Its funny because somehow these songs wound up being some of the catchiest Ive ever written, Cortez marvels. And some of the songs ended up sounding like they could be at home on the radio. But I didnt sit down with that in mind. We just jam and then put the ideas together, its never a plotted out thing with our music.

Its amazing then, to consider that this big, bombastic sounding record was produced on a modest budget before mastering. A testament to Cortezs skills as a producer, he says the band just took our time and did what we always wanted to do. We did the drums on reel to reel analogue and dumped them into Pro Tools. I borrowed a Gretsch and a bunch of Les Pauls and different amps and cabinets. And Ramrod got a new, high end drum set and all of this equipment and we focused on the sound as much as the songs and it really worked out well.

Of taking Left Alones music to a new level, Elvis acknowledges, We could do the whole hardcore thing, and I started with it, but Im more about melody and textures. Thats everything for me. We feel really good about this record. The whole band is excited. I can finally say that from start to finish, I feel so complete with this thing. It feels like we hit it out of the park. When I listen to the record we made, Im like, Fuck yeah!

If defying convention seems to be protocol for Left Alone, Cortez confirms this notion when he speaks of a recent House of Blues gig in L.A. with Hellcat labelmates Tiger Army. We both had pedal steel guys! the frontman laughs. Its like totally out of context for punkers with Mohawks. The soundman was like, You have a saxophonist, a pedal steel player and an organist and youre a punk band with Mohawks What are you guys doing

But despite the groups willingness to try new things, the men of Left Alone are still ardent punk purists a disdain for a certain popular rock subgenre. Hence the delightful, revivalist kick in the ass known as I Hate Emo.

On the 2004 Warped Tour it started for us, Elvis confesses. It was like attack of the clones. Emo bands they look the same, they play the same, they talk the same. So the song started as a punk rock song called Fuck Emo.And the chorus was like, Yeah, I said it. I said it. And then we did the Warped Tour Barbecue and all these emo bands would look at me like I was an asshole. And maybe I was.

I guess with me, I dont give a fuck what music looks like or how its packaged, Elvis says, As long as its good and genuine, it will shine through and people will catch on. If you play your shit with balls, and truly have some balls, it will shine through.

Summing it all up, Elvis Cortez decrees, Were no Hot Topic band. Thats for sure
 

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