Total Blog

2012-02-07T18:30:00.012-07:00

TOTAL FEST 2012

Hello total world, Total Fest 2012 is upon us. Fortunately for us, 2012 is not the end of the world. Total Fest will happen this August 16-18 in Missoula, Montana, and we expect all of you total boys and total girls to be there. This is going to be one hell of the year of the dragon, and we plan on finding most of your rocked-off socks by the river this summer.

We're now accepting band submissions through April 1, 2012. As you route your late-summer tours, please consider that the best way to the Northwest from Minneapolis, or to the midwest from the west coast is on scenic I-90, via Missoula.

What do we want from you? The usual luddite feast: some tracks (CDR is fine; vinyl or other material is great), some great pics of you being a human being (please only one "occupy" photo per submission), a brief write-up of you and your mates (a review is ok), and reliable contact info (point of contact, email AND phone) for your band. Additionally, we're happy to accept mp3s via the submissions email mentioned below, but please don't simply send us links to websites and ask us to choose what to listen to; we appreciate you taking the time to select tunes that best represent your sound and making sure to include the additional items requested above.

Please send band submissions to:

Total Fest

P.O. Box 7784

Missoula, MT 59807

For further information, please contact us at submissionstotalfest@gmail.com.

2011-09-10T14:44:00.005-06:00

Total Fest X: In Your Rear View Mirror, Brah.
This is a long time coming; it took a few weeks to shake out the cobwebs, say goodbyes, and find all the stray shoes, bags and drummers. Total Fest X already seems so far away. The eight months of planning flew by and the three days of music lingered in a haze that dissipated in the flash of a river drenched Sunday. In a way, Total Fest marks the end of the summer, but it's never a longing for days gone by; rather, the Sunday after Total Fest is more of a "let your hair grow long" type of celebration.

What can we say? We said that it was coming. We're sure that we raised that flag. Were you ready? It seems like you were. 3 sultry summer days of DIY music with handful upon handful of familiar and new friends do things to a person's face. It stretches the ends of the mouth until it meets the ears. Laugh lines cement deeply into your face coupled, maybe, with some black under your eyes. A delirious, sleepless exuberance establishes a foothold as the days mercifully bleed into one another. The entire weekend is well oiled chaos that's a delight to behold.

Ten years! It's difficult to live up to an anniversary. All the anticipation can sometimes lead to disappointment. This year was far from disappointing. I can't do justice to each band's set so I'll just throw out some well-worn yet polished adjectives that I hope can sum up each night. Thursday night's kick-off established a telling tone for the weekend. The envelope was slightly pushed open. We looked at the cat. We made it to the end of space and stuck out our arms. More

space! Truly inspired sets helped initiate the Top Hat as one of this year's new venues. Special thanks to the Top Hat for helping to make this year's first night a smashing victory. Friday had all the promise of another spectacular evening. Awesome summer temperatures, great food and one helluva early show at Zoocity Apparel (the second addition to Total Fest X). The space lived up to our expectations. People packed in and the bands delivered. Impassioned from the get go, Friday's opening showcase set the perfect table for the Badlander / Palace. I'm not sure exactly when the Palace turned into a swamp, but sometime around 10 PM you could swim in the air. Saturday was no different. From the moment the doors opened, the Badlander / Palace complex buzzed with anticipation. Hammerhead! It's hard not to be excited for one of your favorite bands of all time, but holy shit did they deliver. This isn't to take away from any other band that played Total Fest. Each band brought it and kicked serious ass. There were so many gems that it's hard to pin down those moments where everything seemed to come together. Bad Naked's controversial set? Vaz's close-out? Shellshag? Unstoppable Death Machine's swimming and drumming? Dead's ass-solo? Gull!?!?! The Men! Helms Alee's shreddage? Big Business sweat machine or White Shit holding up the ceiling? Seriously, there is so much that's missing from this post that it hurts to think that some people missed this year. But, Hammerhead placed the perfect bow on a memorable weekend. Finely tuned and blistering, the closing set left a full year in its wake. Somehow it seems fitting that the slate is wiped clean. We have big ideas, plans and changes coming up for next year. So stay tuned and keep your eyes and ears pegged to the pavement.

There are so many people to thank.

Totalizers: Josh Vanek, Niki Vanek, Kari Nicole Workman, Lou Beard, Wendy Maltonic, Travis Jack Morss, Paul Hansbarger, Marty Hill, Greg Ragan, Erin Lambert Sipe, Josh Harteis, Julie Tompkins, Bryan Ramirez and Johnny Fink

Volunteers: Alex Key, Monte Sipe, Jonathon Richter, Derek Andrews, Greg Twigg, Jesi Noe, June West, Marcie Erving, Sarah Poole, Robyn Hegland, Scotty Moore, Marshall (BBQ Mercenary), Tom (Peace Mouse - all BBQ), Matthew LaRubbio, Hellgate Rollergirls: Lucky,
Knuckle Slambitch, 60 Grit, Flo, Mess, KP, Kelly, Shannon P., Bows, Lora Weitzel, Sarah D., MK,
Grobel, Paige, Andrea K., Laci, Dawni, and Kristen Grimm

Sponsors: American Made Tattoo, Astarna Web Development, Betty's Divine, Big Dipper, Biga Pizza, Black Coffee Roasting Co., Boom Swagger, Ear Candy Music, Edge of the World, Garage Tees, Garden City Gondola, Good Food Store, Howsyournetwork.com, KBGA, Kent Bros, Kettle House, Le Petit Outre, Missoula Copy Center, Missoula Independent, MissoulaEvents.net, Nature Boy, NewWest.net, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Piece of Mind, Rockin' Rudy's, Selvedge Studio, Shakespeare & Co., Statriot Designs, the Badlander and Palace Lounge, The Green Light, The Top Hat, Zoo City Apparel

And of course: YOU. Thank you so much for your continued support!!

2011-08-18T11:03:00.000-06:00

KBGA - "THE LAST BEST RADIO STATION" MOTION TO MAKE KBGA THE STATE RADIO STATION!
Strolling through the radio stations in Missoula can be quite a depressing affair - four stations playing contemporary country, four more playing BTO, one playing Dave Matthews and another with some bullshit autotune top 40 hit. That is until you turn over to 89.9 FM, your friendly neighborhood college radio station, KBGA.

KBGA has once again married Wantage USA to bring you Total Fest X. The thing of it is, with all of the great music and shows like Ink Mathematics, Ultra-Mega Blast, Muffin Tops, Swimming With the Mermaid, and deejays like H-Rap, Avatar, Bullit and Dr. Katie we feel like we already owe them. Instead they throw some major support our way and make it possible for us to bring bands like Big Business to Total Fest.

So kids, next time you hear KBGA is doing there annual Radio-Thon pick up that phone and support them because they are the best radio station in town and if you don't then you will only have yourself to blame for the eight Sheryl Crow songs that are playing simultaneously on other stations right now (seriously, right now - I checked).

2011-08-17T15:35:00.004-06:00

TOTAL SPONSOR-FOCUS: HICKEY TIME.

There are few people more ubiquitous in Missoula than the Hickey brothers. They seem to have their hands on every relevant pulse in this town, and they have for awhile. You may have heard of the Volumen or The International Playboys, but it's the behind the scenes stuff that really keeps this town ticking. From the outset, they've been generating or promoting something. It's a horribly rare thing for people to remain connected to the heart of a town, but somehow they seem to never falter. They've made their local mark on the internets (remember the place with the illusion of anonymity). Shane Hickey's HOWSYOURNETWORK is a company focused largely on things we don't understand. We know Shane wears lab coats, has crazy unkempt hair and is a wee bit too extroverted (and lacks the Coke bottle glasses) to a be a Weird Science type geek, but understands science and math in ways we never will. Need network stuff done? This is a so-called non-brainer.

Colin Hickey's MissoulaEvents.net stretches its fingers into everything that's happening in Missoula. Pick your poison and you'll find it in the calendar. It's an egalitarian run of information. If you're bored in Missoula, it's generally your fault; but, MissoulaEvents gives an edge to even the most jaded introvert. Aside from that, it puts the burden on you. Do you wonder why only 5 people showed up to your fundraiser or art show? Did you post an event? Together with their brother Brian (whom we've talked about on our Big Dipper post), Colin and Shane have helped keep Missoula and Total Fest glued together. In one way or another, they've helped fasten things. Cheers to you guys and thanks for all your support!!!

2011-08-17T10:28:00.006-06:00

TOTAL KARAOKE
What??

In case you've been snaking your way through caves or letting your hair grow too far over your face, Total Fest is less than 36 hours away. In that time, you could beeline across the country, but then you'd be stuck there and, most likely, only have blurry car-tourist photos of the Largest Ball of Twine or Carhenge. So what's an antsy person to do? Well, our friends Colin and Tom (Shahs) have offered up their services for a Total Karaoke Kick-off / Pre-Blast:

As if Total Fest weekend couldn't get any more consumed with summer fun and debauchery, we Karaoke hosts at the VFW want to up the ante a bit and deliver a THANK YOU to all the organizers and bands that are making this tenth festival happen. This Wednesday we'll be running Karaoke like normal but with one added incentive: all of the organizers and any Total Fest bands local or otherwise will get $2 wells all night long. Keep in mind that's in addition to some of the cheapest beer prices in town! If you're wondering, the VFW is located next door to Biga Pizza on Main Street and always open to the public. There's no cover and it's always free to sing. Colin and myself (Tom) will be hosting for y'all and making sure you folks are having a great kick off to one of wildest weekends Missoula will ever see!

So whether you fancy yourself as David Byrne or Rebecca Black, march those purty faces to the VFW tonight! Who knows, you may be blessed with a rousing Tom Jones song or two.

2011-08-16T07:38:00.004-06:00

EAR CANDY MUSIC: VINYL, DIGITAL, LOCAL.
Ear Candy's been a TF sponsor for something like err, 9 years now. I remember going into Ear Candy for the first time in 2000. They were located up the street, closer to Hellgate in a smaller spot, and I immediately knew that Missoula was changing for the better. Their hand-curated collection of metal, punk, garage, soul, psych, world, hip hop, electronic is beyond solid and employees knowledge of their stuff tends to run pretty deep. And the folks who work here aren't your typical antisocial, I-know-more-about-the-Pretty-Things-than-you-do types, John, Ira, Marty, Adelaide, Kalen are interesting, informed and happy to share what they know and talk to you about what you're stoked about.

Ear Candy's used bins tend to run ridiculously deep. They run especially deep in the obscure gem department, and offer a handful of listening stations. Luckily, they're located directly across the street from Big Dipper, stop in for a good solid look. There's even a Total Fest section.

Ear Candy's one of the special set of sponsors (along with Betty's and Boom Swagger) who helped get our Thursday night off to an immense start with Vaz, White Mystery and the Pharmacy. Jeesh. Thanks, Ear Candy.

2011-08-13T15:34:00.003-06:00

BOARDS, CLOTHES AND SMILES: MISSOULA'S EoW SHREDS TOTAL FEST

One of the great things about the Missoula businesses that help support Total Fest is that many of them are owned and fronted by some of the same people who help craft the landscape of Missoula's music scene. Edge of the World is one of the handfuls of sponsors whose manager Chris Bacon is not only a fixture of Missoula's punk past and present (Volumen, Bacon & Egg) but also is on the front lines of Missoula and Montana's skateboarding / snowboarding culture. It's a hard gig to maintain, but Edge of the World and BOMB Sk8boards puts their best feet forward to provide a statewide support network for boarders, while also keeping them in some of the finest duds this side of the Mississippi. If you're in need of anything, you should consider stopping by EoW and having them help you equip yourself before saddling yourself into the recliner that has seen better days and perusing the internet for a quick fix.

TOTAL FEST JUST GOT A LITTLE SWAGGER IN THEIR STEP, THANKS TO BOOM SWAGGER.

2011-08-12T10:17:00.008-06:00

Boom Swagger has only been around for a short while, but in this short while it has become the paramount of hair salons in town. You're going to come out of Boom Swagger looking fresh and feeling good enough to reenact the beginning of Saturday Night Fever, that's a fact. The thing that sets them apart is their major support for community events such a Total Fest. So we have compiled a top five list of why we love Boom Swagger.

In no particular order:

1. Refreshing beverage service while you wait
2. Vintage Betty and Veronica comics in the waiting area
3. A dish of all-red Tootie Pops at the register (because we all know those chocolate Tooties Pops are just plain bullshit)
4. The salon is named after a Murder City Devils song (which I’m assuming means Coady from Big Business gets free haircuts)
5. Super friendly, full of smiles, non pretentious, talented staff

Seriously, Boom Swagger is a fantastic business that really cares about their community and in the words of Wesley Willis, "take your ass to the barber shop and tell him you're sick of looking like an asshole". Just make sure it's Boom Swagger.

2011-08-11T11:47:00.006-06:00

TOTAL FEST AND ITS FEAST AT BIGA PIZZA, MISSOULA, MONTANA.
Whoaaaaah! Sunday's Total Feast. That officially means we're starting Total Fest week. So, let us be the uh, first to say: Happy Total! Wanna support Total Fest and eat dinner in the process? Gather together ten or so American dollars this Sunday, August 14th and bring it to Biga Pizza's Total Feast! What's on tap is pizza, salad, beer and good-times!

What's the deal with Biga Pizza? Man, you must be livin' under a rock. Under a creek. Under Rock friggin' creek or something. Isn't blogging a rich dialogue of one? Of rhetorical conversations? It is. Seriously: Biga Pizza is the canvas onto which food auteur and alchemist Bob Marshall's wildly creative mind gets to work. Look at what you got. Ask: what's fresh and available and delicious? and then figure out how to arrange it with other delicious things in a way that blows minds, and throw it on the special board. Cilantro pesto with pumpkin seeds? That was a special a couple weeks ago. The guys a wellspring of awesome, constantly changing ideas manifesting themselves in delicious, nutritious pizza. Come for Flathead cherry with Gouda. Stay for the Quattro Fromaggio. Here's Bob, he guitars for Bacon and Egg and drums for Volumen.

2011-08-06T13:35:00.002-06:00

TOTAL SISTERS: BETTY'S DIVINE!
Missoula's vibrant south-of-the-Clark Fork district, or so-called hip strip is chock-friggin' full of excellent, local, vibrant businesses. In fact, it's where the lion's share of Total Fest's business support comes from. At the very heart lies Betty's Divine. A clothing shop with excellent duds, threads, "ropa" or whatever the kids are calling clothes these days. Head into Betty's a frumpy Francine or a untubular Thomas, and leave a Smashing Suzie or Dapper Duane. It's just that simple. Betty's supports local designers and printers like mad, and are community leaders outside the mold! They're key in putting on community events like the Block Party, Urban Golf, sponsor Le Kickball, a kickball league. It doesn't stop with the retail at Betty's.
Betty's Divine is one of the small handful of businesses that is helping Total Fest kick off this year, and which is responsible for insane Total Fest Start Up Bands (yes, it's capital letter worthy) like Vaz, White Mystery, the Pharmacy and the Pygmy Shrews, all of whom play on Thursday, August 18th at the Top Hat this year with local heroes Bad Naked and Mordecai. Jeezum crow. Here's a quick interview with Aimee, Betty's owner:

2011-08-05T17:32:00.005-06:00

TOTAL TICKER COUNTING DOWN. TIME FOR A DELICIOUS KETTLEHOUSE BEER.

In case you haven't noticed, Total Fest is officially less than two weeks away. We've said it a few dozen times -- we're really excited about this year. Ten years is a big deal. Did you see this coming? We didn't. A lot of people have helped make this possible. Some of the best people have stepped-up and offered their time, energy, knowledge, passion and friendship to keep this ball rolling. Independent and underground music require feet and ears on the ground. Music isn't the only art form that needs such things, but it is, perhaps, the one that requires more of the right amount of things to come together for it to be enjoyable and successful. It's summer for crying out loud -- we want enjoyment, and we want to move slower. In addition to the cast of wonderful and dedicated (some may say obsessed) people who have helped with the nuts and bolts that keep Total Fest hanging together, we've had a solid group of local sponsors who flat out kick ass. Because of them, we are able to keep this an all-ages event, to stay local and independent, to feed bands, and to continue to grow on our own terms. We'd be total slackers if we didn't publicly acknowledge their collective and individual support as well:

Kettlehouse has been sponsoring Total Fest for years in some form or other. We all love them, and their donations have helped make the band / volunteer BBQs a reality. It's a daunting, yet rewarding, task to feed 150 or so people, but thanks to sponsors like Kettlehouse we're able to pull it off. It's a win-win situation for all of us. Both locations resurrect the neighborhood bar feel while providing the standing-around-the-campfire sensation. And ....well, there is .... the beer. Double Haul, Bong Water (Olde and Fresh), Eddy Out, Brick & Mortar, Ginseng Pale, ImperiAl Pilsner, Cold Smoke, etc. Mouthwatering, therapeutic goodness. We're more than thankful. So .... get down to Myrtle or N. 1st, be sure to say hello. Look for them at the beer cooler when you're heading to the river (tall boy cans and better beer. plus, it's easier to keep 4 beers cold than it is to keep 6 cold). Watch this.

2011-08-04T09:11:00.002-06:00

TOTAL SPONSOR-FOCUS: AMERICAN MADE TATTOO
There's a little tattoo shop in Missoula, on the Front Street (in Missoula), nearly where it crosses Orange, behind Biga Pizza and the VFW. It's called American Made Tattoo and it's where all of Filthy Jim's ink (or most of it, I think) comes from, and Lou's, and Niki's too. They do awesome work. High quality. American Made's been a sponsor for a lot of years, and we appreciate 'em. Thinking about getting a Grateful Dead bear on your calf, or a Steel Your Face on your lower back? Howbout a Steely Dan tat on your forearm? Here's your place. Thanks, Phil and American Made!

2011-08-01T11:07:00.011-06:00

TOTAL SPONSOR-FOCUS: BIG DIPPER ICE CREAM.
Total Fest happens for a lot of reasons, and among the biggest are the handful of Missoula businesses that support the thing with cold-hard cash and all sorts of in-kind donations: first up in this list is Big Dipper Ice Cream.

Big Dipper's owned by (old Missoula punk bands (the Banned and Vi Thompson Overdrive) singer/guitar player) Charlie Beaton and managed by Brian Hickey (Volumen, Bacon and Egg). They makes all their delicious ice cream and sorbet themselves, and are sort of a mega-fixture of Missoula life. Who doesn't freakin' feel a little better after a cone of White Mint Oreo or El Salvador Coffee?

As you likely know by now, Big Dipper is home to the Total Fest Record Swap, which happens Saturday, August 20th at noon and which features Sam Humans and the Light, Tyson Ballew and Le Sang Song this year. Bring your old, weird, good records and swap or sell them!

2011-07-21T08:05:00.001-06:00

TOTAL FRIEND: THE PASS, THE SHIRT, THE KOOZIE, THE FEELING.

Do you know in the Commodores' song Easy, when he's all "I wanna be free, soooooo free.. free to know things I do are right...." and how it just kind of captures a lot of the uh, human experience. We know it, we sing it in the shower.

Well, we've been doing Total Fest for 10 freakin' years now, and we're proud of that. We know it's important to have good bands, and to work hard to make it an event that's ultimately about community rather than commerce, and I think that's kind of our secret.

Lots of platitudes here, but our point is that it happens because of people who love music and love seeing it live, and love sharing that feeling with others. It's pretty simple really. To honor that sentiment, and to say thanks to people who have given us ten great years, we've put together a package called the "Total Friend" this year. It offers something unique to the people who make total Fest happen by watching, listing, participating and patting backs and buying records and clearing out their spare room. You know who you are. For sixty bucks, a Total Friend package gets you a three-day all-show pass, a unique T-shirt (Wantage design), an ultralimited koozie and a thank you in our program. It's a 10-year anniversary only sort of deal, so don't expect next year. We'll have a preview of the special shirt design up here soon. the Total Friend is among the Purchase Passes and Tickets tab.

2011-07-17T18:15:00.004-06:00

JAPANTHER RETURNS!

When it comes to late editions, one hardly seems more relevant than Japanther. Total Fest pioneers and perennial Wantage artists, Ian and Matt supply some of the best summer time beats that you desire ... and a ton more than you thought that you'd want. Let's be frank: Japanther kicks ass. If you don't dig on their sound, well go back and hate on your grandmother some more. Japanther asks us to take notice of the world we exist in but not to be cynical shits. You have to dwell in it, but you also need to create. There's enough to bitch about; what do you celebrate? And once you celebrate it, you need to move on and find something else. Their records do the same thing as they shift gears, tweak tempos, mix-in art house, noise, lo-fi and punk. It's a virtual stew of influences and impulses, and, well, like every other thing in this world, Japanther appropriates them and weaves them together into something that in theory seems overly complicated, but in practice seems simple and seamless. We're preaching to the choir here. You want Japanther. You have Japanther. This is happening! Come ride the train or get the hell out of the way. In the words of Flipper, "life is the only thing worth living for" ... and these cats give you the soundtrack.

2011-07-15T16:50:00.005-06:00

THRONES!
Really, that's all that should need to be said.

Joe Preston possesses a teeth-kicking resume that puts Chuck Norris to shame (you know who he's played with). Thrones is one of those groups that helps you to organize your friends (if you're one of the chosen few riding the google + comet, the first thing you should do is create a Thrones circle and non-Thrones circle ... and then never speak to the non-Thrones circle again). A one-man orchestra, Thrones moves away from the "days-of-yore-two-degrees-of-separation" indy-metal and strips it down to its most primal parts.

Thrones has released a slew of albums in its close to two decades of existence, but for my money, 2000's Sperm Whale is like staring into the mirror at 4am -- hide the tweezers and razors because Joe composes layers of sound that are thicker than any Rothko painting. You want to lie belly down in it and dig in your fingers, but you soon begin to lose your limbs. It's hard to swim so it's better to just let go and hope that the teeth that are mashing you save your brain for last. You need to feel it. A friend recently told me about centipedes in Maui that still bite weeks after she cut off their heads. This seems like an apt metaphor for Thrones -- an unstoppable, nightmarish beast that keeps calling you back for more. You brave the bite because the experience is therapeutically surreal. Adjectives are pointless here. This is the stuff that crafts your dreams.

2011-07-11T16:28:00.005-06:00

WHITE MYSTERY VS. BAD NAKED
You all know that among the bands playing the Total Fest start-up event, Thursday, August 18th at the are radical, free-rock and roll bro-sis, windy city, Bus Beaver Button Co. employees and ginger ambassadors (drum roll): White Mystery. They're a heap of fun rolled up into a single two-piece band, with some stuff that sounds like the Gories and Cramps, some stuff that sounds like yadda yadda, and an awesome, participatory live show and good vibes galore. It's killer, just g'head and find some and listen for yourselves.

So what's Bad Naked's deal? Well, you know, local misanthrope, music dork, radio guy, punk show promoter, weirdo about town, vegetarian, photographer... you know the type. In short, awesome dude all rolled up into a one-man, gluten free spazz fest. And, he does a radio show on KBGA called Naked Missoula.

Interested in hearing what happens when that selfsame KBGA DJ and local performance art wild man interviews Chicago rock and roll duo White Mystery? Wellsir, look no further than thisahere LINK to the interview. It was nicely engineered by Duane Raider!

2011-06-27T21:36:00.005-06:00

DEAD: TOTAL AUZ.
Melbourne's (technically, Brunswick's) Dead, pronounced "did" (we believe) in their native tongue are coming to Total Fest. They've got Jem from We Empty Rooms, Fire Witch and Fangs Of, and Jace from Fangs Of. Here's a video of them ripping a bit more ponderously that usual. Wantage will debut their LP called Thundaaaah at this year's Total Fest, August 18th.

2011-06-25T18:10:00.023-06:00

PRE-TOTAL FEST BLASTS.

For those of you in Missoula, the buildup and anticipation for Total Fest X must be utterly insane (I know it is for all of us behind the scenes, as we look forward to this year's shows and their insane line-ups). To tide you over, like last year, we're doing a batch of killer Total Fest lead-in shows and the first two are coming up soon -- one on July 3rd for Richmond, Virginia's noise rock mad men HEX MACHINE and another on July 6th for Minneapolis power trio THE BLIND SHAKE. Both play some top shelf, noisy and incredibly awesome rock/punk/whatever you wanna call it.

Sunday, July 3

Zootown Arts Community Center

8:00 PM

$5, all ages

Weirdos HEX MACHINE bring their mad scientist math-metal and noise rock to Missoula all the way from Richmond, Virginia. They'll be road-tripping their long way home from a brief US tour and a week layover in San Francisco recording a brand new album with TF veteran Tim Green (The Fucking Champs, Nation of Ulysses). Do yourself a favor and check out some choice cuts from their last album Omen Mas (of which they just pressed up a super limited 12" version) and a couple older singles/EPs on their bandcamp site here. Featuring locals and heavy instrumental duo LB. and the debut of THE GUTS, a new Missoula group with some Deny The Dinosaur pedigree.

Wednesday, July 6

The Palace

9:00 pm

$5 in advance, $6 at door

Total Fest favorites THE BLIND SHAKE, from Minneapolis, return to Missoula on the last leg of a tour in support of their upcoming full length Seriousness and a insanely limited new single on Amphetamine Reptile. They're sure to bring down the house with their wildly energetic, dual-baritone-guitar garage rock/punk attack. You can check out a few new songs from their upcoming record on their site here. With support by locals, SHAHS and 10YOGF.

Come get your pre-Total Fest fix with these sweet upcoming shows. Tell all your friends and bring some extra dough for their cool new records and other junk. Oh and we're selling advanced tickets for these at Ear Candy. If you stop by the shop, be sure to grab the newly released Mordecai and Trashies LPs!

2011-06-17T10:15:00.010-06:00

HAMMERHEAD, VAZ BRING PLAINS-THUNDER TO TOTAL FEST X.
Back when many of us were impressionable young men in the early 90s, there was a noise rock renaissance happening. It kind of centered loosely around the monolithic Amphetamine Reptile record label, Your Flesh fanzine and probably some bars/clubs that I was never old/cool enough to figure out about. Granted, Missoula's about 1200 miles west of Minneapolis, but you know, we got a lot of it through here too. We got bands like the Cows, Janitor Joe, the God Bullies (California), Steel Pole Bathtub (Californians with Montana roots), Walt Mink, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (New York)... uh, there were more I'm pretty sure. And a lot of us spent what little money we could scrape up on things like AmRep's Dope, Guns and Fucking compilations. All of it had this sort of built in coolness, and allure. Every third shirt you saw a show had the huge NOISE AmRep logo on its back.

Looking back, I'm not sure exactly why it had that built in allure. I think for Missoula, it was the confluence of some recent North Dakota transplants in John Fleming (now Ear Candy Music co-owner) and Kelly Gately (Honky Sausage, Fireballs of Freedom, etc) and how ready to be blown away by loud, epic, desperate rock so many of us were. Lots of it was and is awesome, and certainly much of it hasn't aged terrifically.

For my money, the absolute top of the heap was the band Hammerhead. I saw them probably three separate times in the '90s. Once at Connie's bar, a scuzzy biker/hippie sort of place shut because of massive health code violations. Connie's gave a new, dark meaning to the words "dive bar". Anyhow, Hammerhead helped destroy the place, with bassist Paul Erickson knocking loose ceiling tiles with his base, to punctuate some song. The two other times were at Jay's. Every time was like Christmas. You heard about the show about 6 weeks ahead of time, and just spent the time carefully anticipating how excellent it was going to be. And it never failed to deliver in the excellence department. It was loud, though a big feedback/Ampeg rumble powerful and driving kind of way. They pulled you into what they were doing and dropped you onto the floor afterwards. They each had Soviet space program inspired band pseudonyms, they had songs about World War I.. and they had the White Album of the noise rock epoch, Into the Vortex. There was always lots to like. After a final record (Duh, The Big City) and tour, Hammerhead called it quits. I never read an official account of the break up, but the third party scuttlebutt made it sound like there wouldn't ever be a reunion.

Following Hammerhead's demise at the end of the '90s, Paul Erickson and Jeff Mooridian, the rhythm section, moved to Los Angeles and began a new band, Vaz. In lots of ways, Vaz picked up where Hammerhead had left off. It had all the paranoia, all the driving through space sonic blast, and their first record was called Demonstrations in Micronesia. Since then, Vaz has released a major catalog of full length records, each of which continues the excellent saga. At some point, Vaz moved to Brooklyn, and base from there now. They tour much less frequently, but when they do, it's a special thing.

About a year ago, word started circulating about a Hammerhead reunion in time for the Amphetamine Reptile (AmRep) 25th anniversary. We were beside ourselves with joy over the possibility. And when it happened, we knew that someday, if we played our cards right, there might be a chance to get them back to Missoula.

Here's the Brooklyn Vegan piece that ran for their reunion show at the Amphetamine Reptile 25th anniversary.

2011-06-16T08:44:00.002-06:00

PYGMY SHREWS: ATTACK OF NOISE SCUZZ CONFRONT SYSTEM
Brooklyn's Pygmy Shrews are one of those bands who just blast you from the first second you hear them. Just get all up in your shit, so to speak.

If you've been a music fan for the past 10 or so year, hopefully you're familiar with the psychedelically interwoven 'scapes of Brooklyn's Zs, or howabout Little Women? The brilliant free-jazz cum noise rock group who broke minds with their 2007 release simply called "Teeth." Shit's brilliantly bent and discordant and excellent. Then their's Archaeopteryx, a two piece mathy noise-rock deal that was shortlived but ruled. And then Cutter. And Hubble. And.. it goes on and on. All of it's tip top, totally diverse and across the board, and all of it's got the common theme of one Ben Greenberg esq. running through it. Ben's a multi-talented instrumentalist (drummed in Archaeopteryx, guitars in Shrews) who can multitask with musical projects in a way that's just about as dextrously as it comes.

The Ben-band that's gonna be at Total Fest this year is Pygmy Shrews, whose 2009 (right?) release called "The Egyptian" we at Wantage did. The thing's a crazy romp of powerful punk, ala you know, Black Flag at their scummiest, or something. Oh, and they have a song called "Your Party Sucks."

2011-06-14T22:03:00.006-06:00

WHITE LUNG CONFIRM!

For the last two years the Total Fest stage has been graced with some killer bands from the great land of Canada. Last year, Lethbridge natives Fist City played one of my favorite sets of the fest. Along with the snow blower, Lord Stanley’s Cup, table hockey, top notch maple syrup and Rick Moranis it’s safe to say our friends to the north churn out some great products.

Vancouver’s White Lung have picked up the maple leaf torch and have officially been slated for our tenth anniversary. The three-girl to one-boy ratio White Lung shred through songs like buzz saws through tin, they don’t fuck around either, they get to the point with songs averaging just over two and half minutes. White Lung is way up on my list of “don’t miss” sets at Total Fest and I’m convinced some people will surely find their new favorite band in White Lung.

2011-06-14T00:18:00.005-06:00

HELMS ALEE RETURNS TO TOTAL FEST.

Helms Alee are one of those bands that came out of nowhere and just straight up knocked me on my ass. I'd heard of their guitarist Ben Verellen's old band Harkonen in passing, but to be honest, I'd never checked them out (later smacking my forehead about that one). Anyway, I remember grabbing their first record, Night Terror, on a whim from my friend Andy's label when it came out a couple years back. A minute or two into the first track, I think my jaw dropped on the floor in utter shock at the weird, complex and amazingly heavy and melodic mix of sounds that came out of this little ol' three piece. Due to my geographic location at the time, it wasn't until last fall that I was actually able to see them live. And in that dark, dank Missoula basement, those songs from their LP (and much fabled demo 12" of which I then grabbed a copy) were fully realized for me, finally in a live setting. That said, they aren't super technical -- it's the range of sounds and textures that they create from such minimal instrumentation and vocals is what that makes them so unique. It's got equal parts of full-on, head crushing, sludgey riffs with sugary, border-line dreampop melodies and a few sparse, instrumental dirges here and there... it's hard to explain but utterly awe inspiring and all makes sense to me.

They played Total Fest a few years ago, and we're excited to have them back for Total Fest X this August. By then they'll have released a new full length on Hydrahead (out June 21st) and will be fresh off a long haul across the US with Big Business, Torche and Thrones (hell of a line-up, eh?). While we wait, let's marinade on a brand new song and a great older, live video here:

2011-06-13T08:33:00.009-06:00

TOTAL PIGS.

You know those albums. You snag it on a whim or excavate it from the recesses of your memory, trying to recall who recommended that you seek it out. You spill out a handful of change and bills, grab a six pack on the walk home, put on the record and then make dinner. It's about the 5th time that you've flipped the thing when you realize that your dinner is burning and you're short 4 beers. This may not be the exact scenario, but it's just about how we all felt when we listened to Illuminati House Party by Oakland's Pigs. The record grew on us. It moves through instrumental psych-sludge into all out thrash. Part instrumental part gut wrenching vocals, this album lays waste to your anticipations.

Pigs -- Rachel Reichert bass, Jack Murphy vocals & guitar and Brian Hamilton drums -- is riff heavy, chunky, loud, metal-punk (all those attributes we love and cherish). There's some pedigree here (Civil Dysentery and the Fleshies), but it translates into a fresh sound that plays on those longings hard wired into our lizard brains. The first album is hand screened and initially self-distributed. It's a shining example of what can be produced through a small budget and a love for playing. Their live sets are as scuzzy and loud as the record, and they bespeak that well-seasoned and well-soiled DIY punk rock that some have forgotten sustains the bay area.

2011-06-04T11:21:00.005-06:00

CHAOS IN TEJAS REPORTAGE
A handful of us Total Fest organizers made it to the sweltering mesquite hills of Austin last weekend to witness the power and glory of what may really be, the country's best music festival. It's called Chaos in Tejas and has a website that's similarly named. This was Chaos's 7th year, and it was a crusty, excellent blowout. There's nothing worse than reading a huge inventory of the bands I saw, but I mean, this thing was totally packed, and more than packed, curated. Actively.

Up top on my list was Universal Order of Armageddon, the 90s Baltimore group who gave me my first taste of really, really intense music, played perfectly. A UOA set was never much longer than 20 minutes, and they stayed true to form. Played everything they knew and got off the stage without and encore. UOA is one of those groups where you just kind of get enveloped by the hugeness of it.

Yeah, UOA was the nostalgic but-I-don't-care hit of the thing, but they were just the start of the greatness. Robert Collins' (Artimus Pyle, Fuckface, High on Crime) new band No Statik also broke my mind. Heavy ass hardcore, with a little bit of a southern gallop. Perdition from New York won the award for most absolutely fucking dangerous and killer. Lazy Dogs (ex-Annihilation Time dudes) also brought an awesome, 70s sort of gallop. Career Suicide closed things out for me and my brother. The in-betweeners were pretty wild too, especially Kriegshog from Tokyo, who do the wall of noise d-beat punk deal really incredibly. Isterismo, also Japanese, but who sing in Italian broke my mind twice. Capitalist Casualties were awesome sort of grindy punk. Kieltolaki got hosed on their sound mix, but remained excellently Finnish. See You in Hell from the Czech Republic also raged. From the more rock and roll side of things, my highlights are: Shellshag (playing TFX!), the Arrivals (also playing) and TV Ghost. Oh, and Omar Souleyman, the Syrian wedding-disco singer, who added the most fiber to the thing. No hardcore kids at that show, but it was officially tied in to the festival.

The thing ran pretty much like clockwork too. bands playing when they were supposed to, short fast and loud. It's awesome sometimes to see another festival that's as DIY as hell, and gives us something to aspire to. Good work, Chaos people.

2011-06-02T07:45:00.006-06:00

LEADERS. NOT FOLLOWERS.
The weird paranoid-mysanthropic punk of the Leaders is as a little bit disturbing when you see it. It's awesome too, and ultimately first, but they're a band that has a vibe that something big might go wrong at a show. Their singer Donnie, whose astutely detailed collage-art robotic animal mechs are on all the band's releases, has a way of kind of making folks concerned for their safety and stoked at the same time. He wraps the mic chord around his neck, he tears apart beer cans and cuts his forehead, and.... he sings.

And meanwhile, you've got this excellent melody driving the whole thing, and a gronky Korg sounds giving it a sort of future-o vibe. But don't get the wrong idea. It's not some sort of gimmicky we're-really-into-Devo sort of deal. It's weird and lives in a world of it's own creation. Or, maybe Donnie's. Yes, it's clear it's Donnie's world, and that former Missoulian (Honky Sausage/Fireball of Freedom) and-rarely-side-man Kelly Gately's also in the band only makes it the more compelling. Kelly's a guitar player with few peers, and what's nice about Leaders is that it's kind of an exercise in spartan playing, not normally Kelly's bag.

Seems like we've gotten this far without exactly explaining what this stuff is all about!? Man, take a look at these vidz, howbout?

2011-05-31T17:23:00.010-06:00

TEN YEAR OLD GIRLFRIEND: CLASS PERSONIFIED.
What I like most about 10 Year Old Girlfriend(or "10YoGF" I guess) is their spirit. Their, ahem, crazy spirit. It reminds me of great, kind of rudimentary but punk-as-fuck stuff like Kleenex, Chin Chin and that vintage of awesome Swiss stuff. They’ve been around for about three years now, I think, and started as Hana and Tom playing tunes on sub-shitty gear at Missoulaparties. The gear is slightly less shitty these days, maybe, and they’ve got an actual drummer (and a Spartan-kit playing Bonzo) in Matt Coté –whom you might remember from Fag Rag, another great Missoula export, but the spirit’s still there.

And don’t mistake “spirit” for some horrible high school thing, like “spirit, spirit. Let’s hear it” or whatever. I mean actually spirited, fun punk rock spirit. Like, let’s go swim in the river. Let’s drink beer. Let’s have fun. That kind of spirit.

So, what’s the deal with the music? Uh, it’s kind of singalong, keyboardy, danceable, good-time, don't care, poppy punk rock. That’s what I think of anyway.

SHAHS ////*there’s no “the” doods\\\

2011-05-31T17:23:00.006-06:00

Shahs is Tom Helgerson and Colin Johnson. Can I now safely say they are Missoulians? They came from the Minneapolis motherland, but that was ages ago. …Or it seems that way because Shahs has played everywhere and anywhere the past two-ish years. Their name is constantly plastered all over handbills and show posters around town.

Anyway, Tom has been spreading Shahs’ sound around Missoula and has only recently added his good friend Colin into the mix. Their metro-blended musical cocktail will get you drunk on goooood vibes. Each song is built on a looping of beats made by machine or by mouth and layered with reverberations of delay and distortion pedals. Shahs is like a hip version of calypso or tropicalia that weakens stiff white knees to dancing.

I am a fan of the song St-Gilles from the album Divine Interest. It is super reverbed and atmospheric with lyrics that I am unable to make out. Shahs’ newest LP “Dry Heat/Valley Low” even made it to Josh’s top releases of 2010 list! You really got to hear this for yerself.

Other, more seasoned, bloggers and journalists have written about Tom and Shahs and I encourage you to check those out. I could provide you with endless links to articles and blogs but here are only a few to get you started on researching this interesting character:

@citypages

@pitchfork

@impose magazine

TYSON BALLEW Tasty Local Flavor

2011-05-30T16:38:00.002-06:00

Tyson is a Missoula music staple. He is everywhere. Playing music, making art, or playing with his kids. His songs are built with pop chord progressions and layered instrumentation while maintaining an acoustic folk punk sound. His newest album The Escape Artist Kids is Tyson’s punk autobiography of making bands, having big dreams, and being frustrated with the fire marshal’s stance on popular punk venues.
It was recorded at Club Shmed and released on Tyson’s label Tummy Rock. I love the taste of lyrical folk music topped with a punk garnish in my musical diet. Here is a healthy helping of that folk-punk sound you just can’t get enough of.
Check out Tyson’s bandcamp to listen/buy his newest release and also hear his past work here. Explore this talented songwriter's archive and other band releases on his label here.

2011-05-30T16:22:00.009-06:00

THE ARRIVALS - JUST IN TIME!

Calling them unapologetic, heartwrenchingly sincere, and goddamn catchy still somehow seems to fall woefully short when trying to describe the Arrivals. Having been around for well over a decade now, these Chicago punks, and especially the more recent record on Todd Congelliere's Recess Records, wear their Clash and Pegboy influences flawlessly by cranking out soulful and intelligent rock'n'roll songs without all the bullshit patriotism and bogus I'm-Americana-Cause-I-Have-A-Mustache garbage that destroys (for me) most modern bands of this sound. Sort of the way Avail made you feel inspired and proud of your hometown, yet didn't try to dispel the idea that employment and social justice is a sickening joke. But don't get me wrong, the Arrivals aren't rehashing working-class rock - they're ripping it a new one that makes London Calling sound fucking boring (yeah, I said it).

Touring all over the damn place this summer, as well as sharing members with the unkillable Dillinger Four, the Arrivals embody the inspirational and emotional power of music. A desperate rallying cry to stay afloat in a sea of "progressive" shit. We here at Total Fest, Inc., LLC, DOA could not possibly be more excited to raise our fists and go completely hoarse when the Arrivals take the stage and send your wimpy, banjo-cuddling butts back to the bar to earn that goofy whiskey voice you've been trying to pair with your ironic hat collection. This is how it's REALLY done, kiddos - take note!

2011-05-30T14:00:00.008-06:00

SHARKPACT IS COMING INLAND.

This duo is a powerhouse of loud. They are here to scream about things that matter to them, like the year-old-already-forgotten oil spill in the ocean, working in the service industry and helicopters. Jeff and Camille are best friends and love making music together. Both play with The Hail Seizures, that familiar group of folk-punkers busking throughout the northwest. Sharkpact is a bit different from HS, a little darker, louder and more “plugged-in”. I got a chance to see these two at Le Voyeur in Olympia the other day and I was blown away.

Camille is on the keys and delivers a dark sound, something like a haunted church organ or a creepy dentist’s office. Jeff serves up his brand of energetic percussion ripe with bashing and bass and always with a smile.

I got a few vids on my digital point and shoot camera, the quality stinks but the energy is there and I can’t wait for y’all to see these guys live at Total Fest Ten!

2011-05-29T12:03:00.014-06:00

P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S.? YEAH, WE'VE GOT P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S.

The Total Fest bands that I tend to get the most excited about are the ones whose set leaves me drenched in sweat and nursing a massive headache from all the night's head bashing. Somewhat related, I also like to drink whiskey - a lot. So when a band like P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. gets added to the TF lineup I find it somewhat amusing that I can pinpoint an exact time in the future when my brains will feel like they were crammed down a garbage disposal, my body will smell like a rundown distillery, and my face will hurt from the accompanying shiteating grin. These, to me, are the signs of an excellently successful show.

It should come as no surprise at this point that a band as crushing as P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. hails from the only metropolis in the country that I could tolerate living in - Portland. It should also come as no surprise that this band rocks as hard as it does when you take a cursory look at its members. I've seen Kelly Halliburton shred in the obliterating Severed Head of State while being equally commanding behind the drums in your and my favorites, Pierced Arrows. Throw in the fact that Poison Idea's original drummer plays on their more recent EP and you get the fucking idea. Think the Hellacopters without their excessive wankery, or the Supersuckers without the goofy country overtones. Get off the tracks man, this shit will run you the fuck over!

2011-05-28T16:39:00.006-06:00

MARCH OF ... THE MICROBABIES
Boise is a weird place. Saddled in western Idaho, it looks as if travel to Boise from Missoula should be much easier than travel to, say, Seattle, Portland or Denver. But, it's not. The serpentine drive makes it frighteningly beautiful in the winter, and the darting RVs along the recreation corridors test your patience in the summer. It's a fantastic drive either way, but it never fails to surprise me how long it takes to get there.

Part of me likes it. Maybe only for the PBR mural. Part of me fears its visor-laden populace. But beneath the sterile veneer of Idaho's capitol is a thriving population of artists who don't shy away from holding the slimy into view. In fact, they douse themselves in it.

There's a pleasing amount of irreverence pulsating through Boise's Microbabies. With song titles like Look Whose Taco Trucking and Sex with Jeans AKA Dry Hump, you get a good picture of what to expect. It's an atonal affront that's reminiscent of the playful spurts of the Happy Flowers. Layered and energetic to the point that it almost seems directionless. You like it, and you're sure you know why, but anything you say just doesn't seem to measure up to the music. Microbabies is the band you'll hate yourself for missing, and the album that you'll relish to have in the shit-to-annoy-my-neighbors arsenal (you know, the Sunday after Total Fest when Amstel Light dude decides to mow the lawn at 8am). It's blatant with its disregard for ... well, just about everything.

2011-05-27T14:42:00.004-06:00

RELIGIOUS GIRLS IN BOYS CLOTHING

Feeling left behind? Case of the non-rapture blues? Lucky You.

The percussion dominant Religious Girls is a hard nut to crack. Ambient-noise poetics? Who knows? Haunting, jubilant, experimental and poppy -- maybe somewhere around Animal Collective. Some groups are simply (not simple) live bands. It's difficult to represent the energy in a studio, but these cats are actively attempting to translate just that. In the post-raptureless world, we need bands like Religious Girls to express our collective excitement. It's breezy and magnetic. RG form a world without boundaries, yet perceptually vivid and tangible -- a ghostly resonance that is intoxicating and invigorating. Their live sets tap into some subsonic residue and teases it out as they build up to a primal shift. It's a charged atmosphere that reminds us of possibility.

2011-05-27T13:27:00.006-06:00

WARM AND HELLBENT, SHELLSHAG CONFIRMS

We pride ourselves on the DIY ethic that underlies Total Fest. It's the part of the festival that we strive to celebrate the most, and it's the joy and friendships that happen that leave that PBR stained perma-grin on our collective faces come Sunday.

Step-in Shellshag. Since the 90's, John (Shell) and Jen (Shag) have helped establish the strata that stretches between both coasts. Their newest lp, Rumors in Disguise, builds upon the groundbreaking, yet oddly familiar ep Gary Young (2004) and 2007's Destroy Me, I'm Yours. Yes, they're a two-piece. Yes, we tend to like those. Yes, two-pieces run the risk of becoming predictable. Trust us, Shellshag is anything but predictable. They possess an impressive resume of touring, "played-with ..." and community involvement. The songs contain all the right hooks, the right lyrical catches, but there is undoubtedly something more. For some reason, you're never supposed to say this, but, John and Jen are great people. They're fun loving and committed. The crisscrossed mics that link the two on-stage mirror the effect of their music. It's intimate. It's fun. It's personal. It's a healthy dose of honesty. It's inclusive and forward looking. It's not unchecked positivity, but it is the result of a decade and a half of eating, breathing and playing music together that allows for this duo to continually impress fans. Shellshag is hypnotizing, and it's refreshing to know that people like this not only exist in the world but also help to secure its foundations.

2011-05-26T23:02:00.009-06:00

THE PHARMACY CONFIRM TO TOTAL FEST X! SIDE EFFECTS MAY CAUSE LOSS OF HEARING, DIZZINESS, ETC.

It seems as though Seattle Washington’s The Pharmacy have cracked the formula of crafting a perfect psych/pop song. Their latest release, “Weekend” is chock full of tunes that would make a 22 year old Mick Jagger envious. Beautiful melodies meet with the perfect amount of reverb and then ease into memorable choruses that you’ll be singing for days, and you kids get to see em’ live at Total Fest!

If you haven’t witnessed The Pharmacy for yourself trust me when I say their set will not let you down, it’s full of energy and brilliant musicianship and you will be moving with the crowd in no time. We at Total Fest couldn’t be more excited to have these gents play at this year’s fest!

2011-05-25T14:41:00.006-06:00

OMOTAI. MUAY THAI? MUCHO TAI!

Houston, Tejas's town we're totally unqualified to comment on. We're better suited to talk about... uh, Pasco, Washington and Blackburg, Virginia frankly. Headquarters of tons of the U.S. chemical industry? Enron? Pain Teens? Tacos? A Miami Vice knockoff called Houston Knights? Hakeem Olajuwan? Nutria? I've heard it's a hardship post if you're in the British Foreign Service. So, in some ways, Houston's on par w. Lagos, man! Isn't Houston Justin Lawrence's home town?

In 1998 or so I read a good essay by James Crumley called Driving Around Houston. It's where most of my information comes from. Mostly he discusses the weird disconnectedness that comes from existing indoors in places that require constant air conditioning to be habitable. That and Matt LaRubbio, who claims a subburb.

Anyhow, that there's a band called Omotai which plays awesome metallic sheets of metal scuzz is pretty cool. They remind me of a younger, faster version of Kylesa somehow, with the same 2000 ft. vocals and awesome, building, repeating, soaring riffs. Voila, Omotai. Meet Total Fest.

2011-05-24T09:12:00.004-06:00

BAD NAKED: NAKED, EXCELLENT AND TOTAL.

If you've been around any punk rock sort of happening in Missoula in the last couple of years, you've probably witnessed a Bad Naked show. Bad Naked's a guy (identity unconfirmed) who's got songs about failure balls, the Billings Metra's lost roof, what dogs like, and (your) not being able to keep Bad Naked down. It's incredible stuff, really. Among the best that Missoula's got happening right now.

A "show" in the world of Bad normally consists of gathering a handful of folks around, playing a bizarre acoustic bass and singing an awesome set of approximately 10-12 1.5 minute long songs, played outdoors between bands, with an audience singing whole songs along with Bad.

The youtube clip below's a pretty good idea of what it's all about. Not long ago, it went from novelty-with-guts territory to sheer brilliance. Not sure if it was the wheat gluten free diet that Bad's recently started or what, but this stuff has got a kind of original, awesome, weird, shitty, funny excellence that you don't see but a couple times per lifetime.

2011-05-23T21:53:00.010-06:00

STREET EATERS RETURN TO TOTAL FEST.

Last year I had the wonderful, chance opportunity to walk in on a set by a band called Street Eaters at Total Fest IX and we're happy to announce that they'll be returning to Missoula this summer. I've always had a soft spot for two-piece bands, but to be honest, I'd gotten kinda burnt out on the novelty that many other bands have made of it, but this East Bay husband and wife, Johnny Geek and Megan March took the stage with bass and drums and totally killed it. Their songs are a fresh and explosive mash-up of post-punk and riot grrl inspired sounds with plenty of melody, hooks and occasionally, a bit of heavier, rhythmic bludgeoning to round things out. Top that off with a fascination for the natural world, camping, river fun and underwater exploration. All in all, a perfect fit for us fellow nature dorks in Missoula.

Megan and Johnny have been touring like crazy since they came through last year, have released a couple new EPs, and are about to drop a new full length record on super rad labels Plan-It-X and Bakery Outlet. Here's a fun video with some great bits of live footage (from last year's Total Fest) but there's plenty more great videos out there if you do some exploring:

2011-05-23T20:33:00.004-06:00

THE TRASHIES BRING THE PARTY TO TOTAL FEST.

We're proud to share the news that Seattle's The Trashies will be hitting the road this August and playing our little party here in Missoula. They've been kicking around for a while now and if you've not heard these fellas before, prepare yourself for a damn good time. And just a warning - you'll probably wake up Sunday morning in your neighbor's yard and not remember the feel-good, booty-shakin' psychedelic surf punk party jams you and yr friends danced your ass off to the night before, not because it wasn't totally radical, but it probably had something to do with the two empty forty bottles you found duck-taped to your hands. We're looking forward to the Trashies at Total Fest... and a little sketched out.

They've got a new record coming out this summer, the first in a while, so get stoked. Check out some songs from their past couple releases on their 'space and this nice live clip to hold ya over.

The Blind Shake at Total Fest X!

2011-05-21T15:04:00.010-06:00

In their own words The Blind Shake play “stompy-garage-y punk with some psychedelic influences”. Which means your ears would have had to be blown off in a high school science accident for you not to enjoy something these guys bring to the table. If you missed their set two years ago at Total Fest let me bring you up to speed. Brothers Mike and Jim Blaha have sworn off bass guitars with the result being an intense and nervous blending of guitar with baritone guitar. The riffs come quick and with the mixture of Dave Ropers pounding of drums the music becomes relentless until The Blind Shake pummel you into the ground like a pissed off, coked-up, steroid infused Macho Man Randy Savage – couldn’t help myself. Total Fest is insanely excited to have The Blind Shake on the roster again this year.

Authors note: If you are in the market for some new music, march down to Ear Candy immediately and pick up The Blind Shakes collaboration with legendary outside artist Michael Yonkers entitled Cold Town b/w Soft Zodiac. This is the second collaboration between the two musical entities and in my opinion was one of the best releases of 2009.

CUSTODY BATTLE, well we’ve won this one for Total Fest

2011-05-20T14:37:00.003-06:00

They are coming back Missoula!

Hide yer kids, hide yer wife! Pickle, Loren and Travis are returning to Total Fest X to follow up their kick-ass set from last year. We had an effing blast down in the Palace and I distinctly remember seeing some melted faces from the punk-ass garage fallout brought on by Travis and Loren's insane shredding, and Pickle's maniac drum skillz.

These boys bring a good portion of Flagstaff with ‘em to party and have a good time. They’ll be here to jump off bridges and float the river with you, PBRs in tow. The flagstaff kids know how to party, there's even a party sounds track on their 10”, and did I mention they party? I can’t wait for these dudes to return and bring their flagstaff family and straightforward, plugged in, punctuated songs.

2011-05-19T21:50:00.007-06:00

KOWLOON WALLED CITY TO BRING THEIR WALL OF NOISE TO OUR FINE CITY.

So far, with the exception of a few, this year's Total Fest line-up has been somewhat lacking in the heavy department, but we're proud to announce that San Francisco powerhouse Kowloon Walled City will be joining us this August in Missoula. This Bay Area group has been around for a couple of years now, melting minds one head at a time with their unique blend of low-end, crushing sludge metal and AmRep-inspired, mathy noise-rock. Their self-released 2008 debut EP Turk Street quickly caught the eyes and ears of many (including rave reviews from San Fran mainstay Aquarius Records and others) and interest in the band has since exploded with the subsequent release of their Gambling on the Richter Scale LP, a split 12" with Fight Amp, occasional touring (when they're not juggling family and work lives) and non-stop local shows supporting the likes of Unsane, Kylesa, Saviours, Helms Alee and many others. Their visit to Missoula this August will be a rare out of town performance for the band and our collective inner-metalhead is eagerly looking forward to it (and hope you are too).

We've posted a live video from a past show below, but their penchant for gratuity and accessibility certainly shows through as they've made all of their releases available for free digital download on their website here.

2011-05-19T18:00:00.005-06:00

GROWN-UPS WELCOME AT TOTAL FEST.

I know we've said it before, but Alberta and Western Canada in general have become quite the breeding grounds for some quality, noisy punk rock these days. I don't know what it is about that little chunk of the world, but it's birthed some awesomely creative and interesting music lately. Total Fest got a taste of it last year with Lethbridge post-punk outfit Fist City and this year we're looking forward to a visit from Friendo, The Shrapnelles and now, Calgary punkers, Grown-Ups. This young trio brings a smile to my face with their stripped down, slightly distorted scuzzy punk, some bits and pieces of classic SST love and just enough pent-up energy and quirkiness that could only come from the Great White North.

In their little lifetime as a band, they've done a heck of a lot... touring their little butts off all over Canada with the likes of Fucked Up, White Lung and B-Lines (and are playing what I believe are their first ever US shows this weekend in OR and WA), getting all viral with their homemade 'Bieb Flag' shirts, releasing a couple solid tapes and singles, and are gearing up for the release of their appropriately titled, first full length LP Stopped Caring (out this summer on new Portland label Modern Documents). While you wait on that slab of wax and their set this August at Total Fest, here's a fun little live video and a download of everything that they've released to date.

2011-05-17T22:44:00.004-06:00

TOTAL FEST X: HOT PANTS, SUNBURNS AND SHANNON AND THE CLAMS SET FOR AUGUST.
"If there is one band we knew for sure we would pee our hot pants for when we heard they were playing Total Fest X, it’s these two handsome guys, and one smoking hot babe. Anyone who listens to Women of Action on KBGA (or KBGA at all, for that matter) has heard this band and loved it. Thank the gods, they will be rocketing from horny Oakland, California to our magical land of sunny Montana. This is music probably best experienced in the summer, when it’s hot as fuck and everyone is sweaty and you can look super cool in sunglasses and as little clothing as possible. Shannon + Clams have two full-length LPs and every single song is a dirty, doo-wop stained, rock and roll hit. Shannon Shaw does not fuck around when it comes to crooning with real soul and one of those Clams has a voice that would make Buddy Holly jealous. Emily Newton-John caught them in Portland last summer, when it was 90+ degrees and she was sunburned and nursing her heatstroke with ice packs and Bloody Marys. And guess what? They still blew her away with their ability to lay down sweet, upbeat party songs right alongside such emotive laments." (Women of Action, Emily Denman and Hanna Zimorino)

2011-05-17T18:04:00.006-06:00

BATWINGS CATWINGS: NEW BEATS, ENDLESS FUN.

Part phoenix, part collage, Batwings Catwings is a frantic, howling blend of punk, dance, funk, pop ash-molding .... fun. Its fierce and playful mix of members from LA DIY stalwarts TPF!, Puppy Dog and Luna is Honey is art house without the house and more punk than post. What the hell else do you want? BWCW's Peacock Collection is available through Idiangold Records. The lp is a gem that brightened more than a few dull and dreary days of Missoula's winter. BWCW never seemed like one of those bands that shot out a few catchy demos and singles but then you didn't hear from again. They've been establishing a solid momentum, playing shows with Big Business, Foot Village, Bitches and a host of others. This shit will make you sweat. Isn't that what summer is for?

2011-05-16T16:31:00.014-06:00

HOW HIGH, MORDECAI?

I first heard these dudes' demo at one of last year's Total Fest listening parties. My ears were dead, we'd just listened to a particularly painful group of submissions, and I was fucking hungry. I remember being pretty ambivalent towards what I heard, but they were also from Butte and it didn't totally suck. Fast forward to working the door of the festival and suddenly being slammed with their antagonistically noisy and utterly rocking riffs and driving bass - this can't be the same band!? This is fucking great!!!

Mordecai reminds me of all the things I like about bands like Flipper and Pussy Galore - songs that piss me off while unconsciously causing me to turn this shit up! Their incredibly simple tunes are raw and gritty and will leave your head swimming from all the feedback and insane volume. While brevity has never been their strong suit (and why should it be - get lost in the noisescape, man!), this band is going to be absolutely great to see again at Total Fest. They've also got a much anticipated LP coming out on Missoula's very own (and very distinguished) Killertree Records. Make sure you get a spot up front so you can fully experience the total mindfuck that Mordecai has to offer!

2011-05-16T16:19:00.009-06:00

GUN OUTFIT

There are some bands that lend themselves to bizarre introspective thought that only really makes sense during the asphalt daze of a roadtrip or whatever the hell you think about while passing in and out of consciousness. For example, Meat Puppets, Sebadoh, and Unwound are bands that have always lent a connection when I find myself on a long walk home after a shitty day's work. The weirdness and warm feelings those bands evoke seem to draw away the tedium of pounding the sidewalk and dwelling on the concept that the only good boss is a dead one. When my friend gave me a tape of his new band, Gun Outfit, I popped that shit in the tape deck and was instantly excited about the next time I found myself pissed off and bored (which, if you know me, didn't take long).

The riffs Gun Outfit seem to come up with in their sleep are so awkwardly catchy that it sends me back a decade or two to trading tapes of "You're Living All Over Me" and zoning out until the school bell releases my mind to more productive pursuits (like finding out why Jenny said hi to me in the hall - does she LOVE me???). My friend doesn't play in Gun Outfit anymore but unlike many of your "friend's bands," that hasn't done a damn thing to keep me from loving this band more with every release. Get ready to lose your head in the clouds and get weird.

GODDAMMITBOYHOWDY …is REZ punk

2011-05-16T16:17:00.003-06:00

These Browning boys are something special because they’re something different. They have experiences that a lot of angry white kids don’t have. Goddammitboyhowdy’s brand of punk simultaneously embraces and disregards the “outsiderness” of coming from the reservation. The Blackfeet rez is a slice of Northern Montana overshadowed and underpaid by the East entrance of Glacier National Park. These Rez kids have the energy of the snowmelt coming off Logan Pass and their music will maul your face in Night of the Grizzly style. I love their style of authentic punk music that has something real to say.

But I don’t want their unique native background to overshadow the quality of their music. These guys are awesome musicians first. Their new 7” GDBH IS REZ PUNK is a great press and includes a cd of even more tracks put out under Marty’s label Minor Bird Records. It’s a piece of art, with a hand printed sleeve of the Blackfeet Nation’s seal. Their other release is super-punk packaged in a brown-bag that ironically draws attention to the other, more problematic, item wrapped in a brown bag.

GDBH’s popularity is growing. A friend of mine visiting from Olympia picked up their disc after he saw a Goddammitboyhowdy patch stitched to some Oly punk’s obligatory hoody. Will this music spark a new generation of the American Indian or inspire other AIM wannabes? I don’t know. I do know (or I may be projecting here) that the energy of their live shows can stoke a revolutionary flame or make you wish you were a native too.

Check out this video, can you feel it?

THE BUGS these insects are men!

2011-05-16T15:13:00.001-06:00

Our favorite Portland pests are returning to Total Fest with their special blend of party punk. Paul Haines and Mike Coumatos are seasoned musicians playing with the Last of the Juanitas, Trumans Water and Plastic Harmony Band. A few years ago they brought the party to the Record Swap down at the Big Dipper ice cream, serenading us while our espresso heath cones and starship bananas melted in the August sunshine.

Barbaric***Mystical***Bored****** was their 2009 release of scuzzy, pop, fast-paced tracks. We’re begging for more guys! I like these vocals because they remind me of the cute eff-yous of the Violent Femmes. They also have the mechanical smartness of Devo and I’ve been told they are recommended if you like the Buzzcocks.

2011-05-14T20:55:00.004-06:00

SAM HUMANS? YES PLEASE!

Before the ipod, going on long road trips required me to fill up a black caselogic with cds of bands that would accompany the lonely highways of southern Wyoming and would keep my mind off the trip long enough to reach Colorado. Needless to say bands like The Minutemen, Pavement, Beat Happening and The Feelies got me through some pretty unbearable trips.

Portland, Oregon’s very own Sam Humans would without a doubt have been one of my go to albums. Besides some extraordinary beards, Sam Humans write some down right extraordinary tunes - tunes that get engraved into your brain for weeks at a time. The package is there, catchy riffs, impeccable drumming and impressive vocals, not to mention some first-class lyrics. Hell, who knows I might have thrown in their album and before I knew it I would have been in Mexico.

2011-05-13T15:03:00.005-06:00

...2...3...HAINTS.
Equipped with a guitar, washboard, a single snare drum and a washtub bass, The Pine Hill Haints play music that any fan of rockabilly, blues, punk, or roots music will surely dig. Their stripped down brand of music sparks an honestly to the genre that I haven’t heard since maybe The Gibson Bros. The Haints lo-fi recordings about heartache, whiskey and supernatural affairs fit quite nicely on K Records, but to be honest the first time I heard “Ghost Dance” I thought someone had just dusted off an old Sun Records 78. One thing is for sure, with all of the influences and genres these Alabamans mix-up into a set anyone who sets foot into Total Fest will be in for a treat.

The Pine Hills Haints graced the Total Fest stage back in 2006 and the Total crew couldn’t be more excited to see these raucous rawkers back for our tenth anniversary. We are so inspired we may have to whip up a batch of bathtub gin to celebrate.

T.I.T.S. “Totally Invited To Sing”

2011-05-11T17:53:00.000-06:00

Now also known to us at Total Fest Headquarters as “Totally Invited To Sing” this TOTALFESTX.
Hailing from San Fran these four ladies have eight T.I.T.S. total, which is more than you’ll find in a majority of bands on the circuit. Two guitars plus bass and drum, this group is the Beatles with boobs.

….except their rock style is darkly different from the sweet-boy lyrics of Lennon-McCartney. These babes are loud and not apologizing. Their sound is metallic and spooky, spawned from the evil depths of the earth goddess. Deep, dark drones played by our endowed matriarchs drive a ritual chant to perhaps inspire sacrifice or, shall I say it? ...Castration. Too bad poor Knight, welcome to the Castle Anthrax, there is no Holy Grail here, just temptation.

Don’t bother searching “T.I.T.S.” on YouTube or google, you know what you’re in for. Go straight to their site titsacrossamerica.com to see other clever T.I.T.S. acronyms describing these ladies. And later, when you are sweating in the crowd come August, show these T.I.T.S. some respect and don’t ask them to show ‘em, (though I hear these girls are smokin’).

T.I.T.S. will turn you on and then turn it up, to like, 11.

2011-05-11T12:55:00.004-06:00

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD FRIENDO.
These freakin' Albertans are onto something lately. Not sure what it is about oil-wealthy western Canada, but they're kind of running things. Friendo, who I think have got a dude from Women, are an awesome, spooky pop group from there.

Women, also Calgarians, has ruled my world since hearing their second record, Public Strain last year. It caused me to seek out their first, self-titled LP, and that thing's been on heavy rotation in our household. At the time of the s/t record, they sounded kind of like a subtler, more creative Pixies or something. Great short songs, awesome parts, good hooks. Weird twists and turns and excellently recorded. That was the Women S/T. Public Strain reminded me (and I think lots of folks) of Sister-era Sonic Youth to an awesome extent. And not in the we just-heard-Daydream-Nation sort of way, more like a, we weave guitar parts together in a weird, awesome way like SY.

So, on to Friendo: what's their deal? I like this stuff because it's experimental, kind of wonderfully basic, and fresh. Come and see. Or, at minimum for now, click and see.

2011-05-10T11:15:00.009-06:00

WHITE MYSTERY: RIFFS, CURLS, DRUMS and FIRE
There is hair, and then there is hair. The brother-sister duo White Mystery (Alex and Francis White -- real names, real siblings) slams out some fuzzy, spastic garage rock that makes you want to bounce. Their live shows are mesmerizing. I feel horrible because I continually want to talk about their hair, but all the connotations that we have with the color red seem to fit the bill when describing Mystery's music. There's love, passion, anger, fire ... For all its simplicity, it's rock at its purest and most complicated. The drums and guitars clash with all the synchronicity of a riot and there is something intuitively present between the siblings -- so much is communicated between them with at smile, an eyebrow or a glance -- that ups the tempo, signals a change or unleashes havoc. It's a subtle nuance that you'll most likely miss because White Mystery shreds. As with any good two piece, the sound is large and enveloping to the point that it seems impossible that other band members are not hiding in the shadows, beneath the floorboards or in the rafters. If you read the press, you'll undoubtedly stumble across a few dozen white stripes comparisons. Don't buy it! It's a lazy comparison. White Mystery pumps a whole lot more punk-energy into their music, and, for my taste, it's entirely more genuine, more gritty, more streetbound. Alex and Francis write and play songs that make you feel like you're walking in the world they live in. It has that residue of grease on the chin from feasting on the everyday, of bumping up against the muck and grime of Chicago. They've recently released a new LP Blood and Venom -- suck on that!

2011-05-09T18:36:00.006-06:00

DEAD. SO TOTAL.
Total Fest has an international past. Canadian international.... just last year Fist City ensured that we broke out of the u.S. a little bit. Even if southern Alberta's closer than eastern Montana, hey, international's fuckin' international around here.

So, that we've got a group hopping on a plane to come to the states for the first time, from somewhere that's like yesterday and tomorrow at the same time time-zone-wise, and who are not only from a different continent, but a different hemisphere, well, few things tickle us quite this much. So who is it? The band is Melbourne, Australia's Dead . Jem from Fire Witch and the We Empty Rooms newest band. Jem's been a Wantage bro for something like five+ years here, we've traded LPs, we've swapped mailorder woes, and Wantage even put out an insane Fire Witch Japan 10" just a couple years back. So what's Dead all about?

Same vibe in many ways as Fire Witch, but with a single bass courtesy of Jace. Heavy, but heavy on its own terms, not by shear riffin' mayhem, more a creeping ominousness, some good space and slow creep, and then the epic riff. Jem's a furious drummer, akin to a Bonzo/Crover vibe. Always winning in our book around here. He's been on this wild channeling of noise rock and doom for his career, and we think this shit is top notch, or "ripper" as they they say, south of the equator. So, that's that, man. They're touring in Malaysia right now. Look for them in the U.S. this summer with Unstoppable Death Machines! This is a pretty momentous thing for us around here, our first band, and they're from Oceania. Home to the Celibate Rifles, Eddy Current, AC/DC, Lubricated Goad, the Saints and Grey Daturas! OUCH.

2011-05-07T15:35:00.009-06:00

WHITE SHIT.

Well now this certainly is a disgusting treat! You know how when you were getting into punk and you would intentionally play something that you knew would piss off your friends or parents when they came in the room (and you played it loud enough to make sure they did!)? White Shit still makes me want to do this, and I'm fucking old! This is some of the most brilliantly offensive, utterly hilarious, and scathingly furious music I have heard in a long time and I can't get enough. Though make no mistake, this ain't no funny-for-a-minute joke band. Despite their tongues busting through their cheeks, the songs are so good you'll easily find yourself singing them while at work, hoping someone will overhear and ask you about it - which of course sends you diving to the record player (or I-Pod... kids these days...), thrilled with the idea of pissing off yet another square!

Dudes from Big Business, Karp, Monorchid, Wrangler Brutes, etc. combine to deliver tunes whose seemingly sole goal is to infuriate anyone with good taste or self respect. Lyrically, White Shit conjures memories of the mighty Killdozer - songs that are so stupid that it takes nothing short of genius to come up with this stuff.. Visually, they remind me of the way I felt when I started learning what the Internet really had to offer and stumbled upon www.rotten.com around 1997. Sonically - fuck, this shit rages. They even do an excellent cover of an otherwise untouchable band, GISM! Think Black Flag if they never slowed down and if Henry Rollins actually had a sense of humor. I am literally shaking with excitement (or maybe it's from something I caught from handling their record covers...) to see this band - YOU SHOULD BE TOO, MOM!

2011-05-06T10:58:00.004-06:00

MILK MUSIC. SHEETS OF UN-VERBED FUZZ WALL COMMENCE.
For a sort of bummer collection of mossy stipmalls, military bases, ports and clearcuts, western Washington and northwest Oregon has got damn near about every region of the country beat in terms of killer musical output. Think of it historically: frat rock bands like the Sonics and Wailers, hardcore groups like the Fartz, Dead Moon, the Rats, the Wipers, Gas Huffer, U-Men, Mudhoney, Seaweed, Beat Happening, Unwound, Karp, Fitz of Depression, the Lights, the Spits, A-Frames, etc. etc. Jesus. I can think of about 29 more off the top of my head. Add to that colossal list Milk Music, please.

This Oly (I think, based on their short MRR interview) group (Milk Music, I mean) has got an authentically blown-out and (in its reverb-undrenchedness) refreshing take on the pioneering SST hardcore (in approach vs. sound) deal of the late 80s. Every thing written about the band seems to mention old Dinosaur Jr, and I think that's apt, they also mention Hüsker Dü and the Feelies. Sure, why not. Good reference points for sure, but it's got it its own stuff too. This ain't some cover band.

Here's a link to their self-relased Beyond Living LP. Try it on for size. It blew my mind! And the thing gets better with age, the mark of good songs vs. a strictly tonally nice record. I think their web-presence is refreshingly meager. Maybe a Last FM page, though who knows how to make those work.

2011-05-03T07:27:00.004-06:00

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TO CANDYLAND: SAN PEDRO'S PUNK TORCHBEARERS.
Todd "Recess" Congelliere's a bro. He's been in bands that we've been fans of for like, uh, 20-some years. I think if you were to consider all of the Todd-related bands that have played Total Fest over the years (Toys that Kill, Stoned At Heart, Underground Railroad.., Audacity) the guy takes the prize for most time on a Total Fest stage.

Part of what we so dig about Todd's projects is that he still does everything diy and keeps up a feverish release pace, and he remembers everybodys' names. Hell, he met Johnny at some point, briefly in the early 00s, and hasn't forgetten that guy!, and same goes for a lot of us. One of my all-time favorite Total Fest anecdotes comes from Todd, via Ben Wildenhaus from Federation X: it was TFIV, the one we held at the American Legion hall. The beer had run out and the alternative alcohol was Sparks, the nasty acidic orange alco-caffeine hybrid. Todd, and some bandmates, had switched from beer to Sparks out of necessity, and got wired-buzzed on the stuff. They were staying at Niki's house, and.. (this is where it gets a little fuzzy) when Todd took a shower, he looked down at his chest and hallucinated a feathery bird's breast, rather than what you normally see. Was it the combination of being in a 90 degree, sweaty room and a massive dose of pharmaceutical grade caffeine and dodgy malt liquor...or was it the Total Fest je-ne-sais-quois? We'll never know.

In the past year, Todd's done a great solo record called "Clown Sounds," he played on the Stoned At Heart LP, and now there's this great new Underground Railroad To Candyland record. It's all got his stamp on it. If you're into modern skate punk, and the torch-bearers of the best of southern California's punk output, Todd and his crew(s) are your folks. The band that's playing Total Fest X is the Underground Railroad to Candyland. They have got a new record coming out, and are massively fun and excellent.

2011-05-02T22:38:00.003-06:00

MAKE WAY FOR THE MEN.

The Men are without a doubt a fresh breath of punk rock or whatever-you-want-to-call-it coming out west to Total Fest this year from New York. Part of an new wave of creative, young DIY punk/hardcore-rooted bands from the Empire City (that brings to mind ABC No Rio in the late 80s and early 90s), The Men offer up a smattering of in-your-face, blown-out, feedback-soaked post-punk, not afraid to throw in some elements of sludge, shoegaze, and even some completely left-field, twangy, country-tinged bits here and there. A bit of My War-era Black Flag? Yes. A bit of My Bloody Valentine? Yes. A bit of the Birthday Party? Perhaps. In the tradition of Total Fest and all that is damaged, desperate and weird (and by weird, we mean incredibly awesome!), we welcome and look forward to The Men knocking us all on our asses this August in Missoula.

Compliments of the band, here are some free downloads of their out-of-print Immaculada LP (which is soon to be reissued by Deranged Records) and "Think" single (featuring a cover of Devo's "Gates of Steel"), plus a TOTALLY raw live vid below:

2011-05-02T08:43:00.007-06:00

LE SANG SONG. SANGING, SONGING (SHE'S JUST A WOMAN).
Seattle, WA's the town that added more hair to rock and roll than anywhere this side of Hollywood in the '80s, or wherever Black Oak Arkansas are from. So, bands like Soundgarden etc. are the well known exports. On the fringes, the town has an incredibly rich underbelly. Bands like the A-Frames knock out insane, cold, skronky punk. Climax Golden Twins washing psychedelic, err, 'scapes of some kind. And it keeps on going from there. AFCGT, the band that features people from both groups, does some insane, unhinged Kraut thing, without any motorik-ness, more just a wild dangerous swing.

This is a long way around an introduction for Le Sang Song. AKA, one of Craig (Lights) Chambers other bands. Le Sang Song's one of those groups that you hear about because the dude puts a CD in your hand. And you listen to it, and after about 5 more listens, you start to digest the thing and it's got a something about it that's completly like what the Lights do, only with a subtleness, or spaciousness that adds a dynamic and takes Craig's crazy baritone in a brand new direction, and you realize that this guy's songwriting ability runs deep and diverse. Live, the band is Craig and his wife Adria. It's also got a rotating (I think) cast of folks from other groups like Factums and A-Frames.

We're tickled pink to have 'em.

GULL: The Masked Man Confirmed for TFX

2011-04-30T08:58:00.002-06:00

Virginia native Nathaniel Rappole is a wearer of many... err masks. He's been involved in some pretty out there, abrasive and unique punk/rock music for awhile now, from his contributions as guitarist/vocalist for Ultra Dolphins to drumming in the ever-morphing instrumental band Snack Truck. A couple years ago he started a solo project called GULL, taking the show out of the basement and into the streets, literally. He started off playing to mystified passerby audiences on the street in front of the local record store and art galleries in his hometown of Richmond. Before long, Nate found himself blowing minds in a variety of unique places around town, joining with other musicians for experimental one-off collaborations, releasing an EP, and touring throughout the US and Mexico. Recently, he returned home from an east coast tour opening for local rocker Jeff Ament's new group, Tres Mtns.

GULL's performances are magical, energetic and almost supernatural - playing guitar and drum kit all at once, and vocals ran through a homemade microphone-fitted mask, he explodes into a hybrid of rhythmic, freaky noise rock and vision quest jams. It's tough to explain in words so you'll just have to witness it for yourself this August at Total Fest X. In the meantime, here are some videos to salivate your senses...

2011-04-29T16:31:00.004-06:00

QUIT YOUR WHINING: UNSTOPPABLE DEATH MACHINES SET TO COLLIDE WITH TFX

What is it about a two-piece that automatically brings a smile to my face? There's something spontaneous built into it, some sort of give and take that jettisons unity for the sake of clarity -- or maybe not. Maybe it's that this old brain can only focus on two people at once. Whatever it is, two pieces jar me into happiness.

The beyond aptly named Unstoppable Death Machines -- brothers Billy (drums) and Mike (bass) -- produces hard hitting sounds that you'd expect from their name. This isn't some pre-programmed drone-plane assault -- Brooklyn's UDM is a "blown-out distorto-punk-rock freak-show." Does that do them justice? Probably not. I like to think they got their name from the 1995 film , but they've transcended the mechanical, hydraulic visions into a beautiful, brutal chaos. They're sure to draw comparisons to Lightning Bolt. They should. Take the noise/hard core sound, mix it with some no wave aesthetics and throw on some homemade mics, you're bound to take that step. But, UDM is a particularly different experience. If you were lucky enough to catch them when they played the BSMT in March, I'll let you carve out the differences. Their Slumlord EP on Last Ever Records is four tracks of brilliance. It meanders and drives all at once as it smacks you in the face, drinks your beer and eats your leftovers. And we're tickled as punch-drunk lovers to have them back in Montana.

The tag line to the video says it all: "THIS BROTHER DUO WILL RIP YOUR FACE OFF AND KISS YOUR SKULL"

2011-04-27T23:28:00.007-06:00

BIG BUSINESS AFOOT, AND CONFIRMED.
Big Business has been a band now for something like eight years. Wantage did their very first wee little Tour I EP way back when. It reminded us at the time of pulling the pins simultaneously on 73 hand grenades. It had that kind of immediate, jump-off-the-stereo kind of vibe. Big sounding, and really in more of a large way, than just a loud way.

Jared of course had the Karp and Whip, err.. deals, in his past and shy of starting a Gordon Lightfoot cover band, it would've been hard for anything he did to bum us out. Coady had drummed for bands like the Murder City Devils and Dead Low Tide. In the early days of Total Fest, before they moved to Los Angeles, when they lived over in Seattle, they were able to make it more regularly. Now, generally, they're on tour with their other band, the Melvins, playing Oslo and Buenos Aires and All Tomorrows Parties. Well, thanks to KBGA 89.9 FM, Missoula's college radio station, we've got them back this year. And right after their epic tour with Torche, Thrones and Helms Alee wraps up. If you don't know them yet, you're in for a treat. Listen to "Grounds For Divorce", it's got this great line: "I heard he dabbled in the witchcraft, I heard occult. Oh, they're pretty much the same." "White Pizazz" is pretty ripping too.

Anyway, you get the idea. Here's a video of them before they added members.

Submission Deadline Approaches!!

2011-03-25T14:20:00.003-06:00

Hey Total World,

In spite of this drab March 25th, April will still come (if we allow ourselves to believe in calendars). April means that the submission deadline for Total Fest X is a week from today! Grab your puffy envelopes, your sharpies, your rolls of penny stamps and send it in already! We're super excited and determined to make Number 10 one of the most memorable Total Fests to date, and we'd be saddened if you somehow missed out. We look forward to this part of the planning process so do whatever it takes -- stalk that mail carrier, push yourself to the front of the line, etc. -- to drop it in the mail:

Wantage USA Attn. Total Fest X Submissions
P.O. Box 8681
Missoula, MT 59807

GOD DAMN, and BOY HOWDY. THIS GODAMMITBOYHOWDY 7" IS INCREDIBLE.

2011-03-07T17:59:00.006-07:00

Neighbors be damned, the lads of Godammitboyhowdy didn't even get to play their own record release show the other night at the Bike Doctor! That didn't stop me from picking up a copy of this new 7" of theirs, it's a white hot artifact, and in two days time, I've played it more times already than I can recount.

Part East Bay '89, part pow-wow, part rural punk, this thing has got personality and guts in spades. It's all the things a perfect punk 7" should be: loud, fast, and memorable. Godammitboyhowdy has played a couple of Total Fests, and there are few things not to like about 'em.

We've got them for sale over at wantageusa.com

TOTAL TIME.

2011-02-14T10:20:00.005-07:00

2011 will mark the tenth year we will have gotten all Total out here, and to celebrate, we're working on some extra-ambitious stuff. More on that soon, but for now, let's just commence the accepting of applications. We want you. Deadline: April 1, 2011. Here's what an application looks like:

1) A good recording, CDRs are fine, of three or four songs that best represent your band. One CD is fine. Electronic submissions are a hassle for us, so don't email us saying "Bro! Just go head and go to our myspace page. It's all there." We are old, weird, "traditional" folks for whom computers, MP3s and the like still are confusing and frightening.

2) A promise that you understand that by applying, you're holding onto the days of August 18-20, 2011 and not simultaneously figuring out how to do 16 other things simultaneously.

2.5) Some type of paragraph explaining your deal. Who are you? Where do you live? Why do you play tunes? Why do you like the Pink Fairies and Karp? We don't need a long list of the bands you've played with, but we like context, and if a decent writer has written about your band, that'd be a nice thing to get.

3) Good contact information for you (i.e. a single contact person for your band, a good phone number and email address).

4) Your patience. We will listen to everything we get, discuss it, give it a fair shake and decide upon the bands and artists that most help us with our mission of Totality. Totally. Thank you.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: APRIL 1, 2011. Send to:

Wantage USA Attn. Total Fest X Submissions
P.O. Box 8681
Missoula, MT 59807

Josh's Top List of 2010

2010-12-08T12:13:00.003-07:00

And with no ado whatsoever, here are some top lists for last year. I'm going to see if I can't collect these from some of our Total Fest organizers!

RECORDS
Bassholes: And Without A Name LP (Columbus Discount)
Don Howland's records keep getting better, spookier and more excellent and time goes by.

Kieltolaki LP (Feral Ward)
Finnish hardcore done so well it's unfunny.

Kvoteringen LP (Feral Ward)
Swedish harcore done so well it's unfunny.

White Shit: Sculpted Beef (PPM)
For a one-sided 12", this thing packs in adventure, Jim Morrison references and plugs four of my favorite musicians into a single, ripping band.

Fleshies: Brown Flag LP (Recesss)
Who knew this killer band was still killing?

Omar Khorshid LP (reissued material by Sublime Frequencies)
Offers crucial pre-surf, and showcases Arab guitar at its absolute finest.

Fist City: LP (Deadbeat)
Southern Albertans whose sound is as rurally-isolated, beautiful, and frustrated as Lethbridge.

Harvey Milk: Small Turn of Human Kindness LP (Hydrahead)
Not rock whatsoever, but good in spite.

the Lights: Failed Graves LP (Wantage)

Jangle-jangle donk, jangle-jangle donk. Rhyming choruses... the formula is unchanged and perfect.

Japanther: Rock N' Rolle Ice Cream (Menlo Park)

My soft spot for Japanther's pop is real, and their pop keeps improving.

Shahs: Dry Heat/Valley Low (Riley Bushman) LP
One man and a tropical, washy mission.

Post Regiment: Czarly reissue LP (Nikt Nic Nie Wie)
Polski punk at its finest.

White Lung: CD (Derranged)
Canadienski punk at its finest.

Bird's Mile Home LP (Minor Bird)

Missoula's only 12" in ... what, 4 years? A fist pumper.

Child Abuse: Cut and Run CD (Lovepump)
Lightning Bolt's estranged west coast cousins? Or is it just a west coast label?

Broken Water: Whet LP (Radio Is Down)

Great, slow, enveloping rock and roll music.

Konono #1: Assume Crash Position (Crammed)
Congolese all-stars continue to thwack at their likembes.

Custody Battle 10" (Morning Star Tapes)

My sleeper hit record of 2010.

AFCGT CD (Sub Pop)

A-Frames dudes, Climax Golden Twins dudes. A one time collab? Who cares.

1776 12" EP (Aerodrome)

Federation X fix, four songs worth anyway.

Mordecai CDR (Self-released, LP soon on Killer Tree)

Rock a rolla from the caustic, environmentally-troubled part of the state.

LIVE

Ohsees @ the BSMT

Capricorn Vertical Slum: Live at

Mordecai

Broken Water @ the ZACC

Warcry @ Total Fest IX

Night of Joy @ Total Fest IX

2010-08-23T15:08:00.007-06:00

TOTALLY TOTALED.

I think Carly Starbird's quote (above) captures it better than anything longer winded. I mean, Ach mein gott, man! Are you kidding? From the opening notes of Abe Coley's space-jam, to the pop-heave of Muhammadali to the melodies of Street Eaters, power of Warcry, jam-sense of Grandparents and scuzz-menace of White Drugs, Total Fest IX was a blast. Highlights are too copious to list, lowpoints involve only hearing loss, too few hours in the day, and so many friends to re-connect with.

The picture of Oneida on the right here was taken by the folks at musicsoula.com who have got a slide show up too. We'll keep you posted on developments around here, but for now, thank you for coming, get ahold of us if you haven't gotten paid and thank you for making Total Fest what it is. It's a lot of work, but I come off it pretty well charged up for a good handful of weeks. It's such a refreshing thing to see so much incredible, diverse music in one weekend. Additionally, it's an honor for us organizers (Lou, Wendy, Kari, Julie, Niki, Josh, Josh, Johnny, Genna, Neight, Marty, Jordon, Erin) to be part of something as community as Total Fest is. It wouldn't be anything without people to cook food, house bands, buy passes, play music, organize record swaps and all things in between.

We're hocking what leftover shirts and posters we have at wantageusa.com.

2010-08-16T13:24:00.003-06:00

SNEAK PREVIEW: TEE-SHIRT BACK.

Holy moly, four days till Total Fest nine starts at the Missoula Art Museum! Passes are moving fast, plans are getting made. We'll see you there.

Oh, and yes. Missoula artist Mathew LaRubbio's the man behind this year's Total Fest, Feast and Test poster art, and he's designing our tee shirt too. This is a sneak preview of what the back of the shirts is going to to look like! Go on, give it a click.

Garage Tees (in the Warehouse Mall in Missoula) is Total Fest's official sponsor, and they're the ones printing the shirts.

2010-08-13T15:22:00.005-06:00

EATA THE PIZZA, SUPPORTA THE FESTA.
Biga Pizza Total Feast: a benefit for Total Fest. Happening Sunday, August 15th, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM, or until the dough's gone. Seriously. No dough, no pizza. $10, all-you-should-eat pizza and salad, beer too. But you've got to buy the beer separately. See you there!

Oh, and while you're here, we've got two sweet new developments: 1) We've got a live interview with Oneida's Hanoi Jane up at kgba. org! 2) Next week on Muffin Tops radio, at 5PM August 19, Niki's gonna air her interview with Fist City! they're an incredible punk band from Lethbridge, Alberta. Here's a video!

2010-08-12T08:33:00.002-06:00

THRONE UP! DIP DOWN!
Dear christ, this stuff is so crushing! Thrones play Friday, August 20th at the Palace.

Saturday's (August 21, 12 noon) Record Swap happens at the Big Dipper, on South Higgins. This spring, the Dip went mobile with this thing!

2010-08-10T22:22:00.002-06:00

DERANGED DICTION: LISTEN TO THE TAPE ON A VIDEO, MAN.
Back in the 80s Montana had its hand in a nice Bloodstain across Western America style group called Deranged Diction. They had a nice rural isolation vibe, a nice Discharge style snare tone, and a good disaffected, fuck-up vocal style . The dudes are older, the music and message ain't.

2010-08-04T10:56:00.004-06:00

AHOY, TOTAL WORLD!
Get your walking shoes on! Total Fest marches into August with exhibitions and events held during the First Friday Art Walk on August 06 from 5 - 8PM (First Friday). We've assembled a few tokens from yesteryear and have branched into the smacktastic world of pinatas. A photo retrospective of past Total Fests will be on display at Taco Del Sol. Betty's Divine will host an evening with wine, treats, Total Pinatas and music by Colin Johnson. We're bursting at the seams to get this party going. Stop by some of the other venues on Friday but be sure not to miss the Total events!!

2010-08-03T13:43:00.003-06:00

SERIOUSLY?
CUSTODY BATTLE. THURSDAY AUG. 19.

BIRTHDAY SUITS. THURSDAY AUG. 19

ONEIDA.FRIDAY AUG. 20.

THE LIGHTS. FRIDAY AUG. 20.

WARCRY. SATURDAY AUG. 21.

2010-07-28T18:01:00.008-06:00

AH HOLLY FAM'LY, ALL UNFOLDING AT TFIX

This bands' fantastic folk album "Reservoir" has been played regularly between the turntable and the ipod since they last played Missoula in October of 2009. Their calm, cool caress of sound with their pretty strings and flute combined with lead male vocalist Jeremy Faulkner's unique croon is a contrast to a lot of the loud, hard and fast blast of many other Total bands but their command is only slightly more subtle and no less powerful.

Previously of Moscow, ID, the band is no stranger to Missoula. Aside from the afore mentioned 2009 basement gig, Ah Holly Fam'ly has graced other lesser known local venues before their move to the big city of Portland, Oregon where they're currently hailing from. They're kicking things off at the Palace just shortly after our first ever Totaltini at the MAM so shuffle quickly from one venue to other and don't miss this terrific treat of a group. We think they're stellar.

2010-07-28T13:42:00.008-06:00

STREETLIGHT PEOPLE, PEOPLE.

If being from semi-rural Montana's a crime, then Dave "Davre" Martens is a guilty man. Dave's a native of Havre, Montana. Pride of the Hi-Line, Northcentral Montana's unofficial regional capitol. A real-deal Blue Pony, and it comes through at every turn. That the guys got more authentic rock and roller in him than redneck is a not-minor and beyond-strange semimiracle, perhaps owing to the guy's height or something. Havre and the Hi-Line is fertile land, and has in fact produced some of the state's most notable punks. Look at it by the numbers: Jeff Ament/Deranged Diction is from Big Sandy; Dave Parsons/Humpy/Sasshole/Nazgul/Juveniles: is from Havre. Matt Svendsen/Antidifrancos/Ass-End Offend/Nazgul/Squalora has roots in Loma. It's an isolated part of the state. Close to Canada, two Indian Reservations and the Bear's Paw mountains.

My theory is that in towns like Havre you've got the opportunity to settle down and figure out what you really like and don't like. It's not like a larger town where there were probably 29 kids at your high school who already knew about Steel Pole Bathtub (or some cultural analog).

Anyhow, thisv is getting dangerously close to quasi/faux sociology b.s. or something, and I think its point really ought to be that Dave's one of those local music heroes here in Missoula, having played with handfuls of people, probably most notably Rooster Sauce as the drummer, and it turns out the guys also a pretty excellent guitar player. Streetlight People is Dave, his buddy Fletcher and a bassist and drummer. They released one hell of a record about a year ago. It's called A Diving Man and there may be a copy somewhere to be had. It's got a rather hard pop vibe, not unlike the Kinks or Unrest, get's its thing done in less than thirty minutes and left me as a listener immediately wanting to replay the thing. Live it's the same deal.

2010-07-22T17:35:00.003-06:00

SPOTLIGHT ON THE TOTAL SPOTS, PART ONE.
THE MISSOULA ART MUSEUM, PATTEE STREET, DOWNTON MISSOULA. Because we've all but wrapped up the slow release of our lineup, and have actually posted the TFIX schedule here on our website (right hand side there), we're going to take a minute to look at some of the spots and people and their businesses that help us make this thing possible. First up, it's the Missoula Art Museum ("MAM"). A vibrant place on all accounts, first as a Carnegie Library, the museum had a classically Roman via Pittsburgh facade. Then a couple years ago, after much raising of funds and planning, a nice modern addition was put on, and the museum's galery/office space went from not much to lots more in just about a yar. As fans of art, creativity and all things in between, it's been awesome for we Total Fest organizers to see the museum grow as a central part of Missoula's cultural life, with our very own Tom Dewar (Total Fest poster printer nonpareil) having shown work there, as well as tons of awesome local, regional and national artists. The folks who run the museum have the rare gifts of being both visionary and ambitious about bringing in art from elsewhere, but also to fostering a creative, arts-stoked Missoula/Western Montana communities.

The MAM folks do a monthly event called Artini, wherein they sneak preview new shows and open the doors in the evening, and allow for some alcohol enjoyment on premises. This year, Artini, or TotalTini as we're calling it will bring some punk rock to the MAM in the form of Abe Coley, Japanther, Fag Rag and Muhamadali. We'll start up first thing at about 6PM on Thursday, July 19 and welcome folks to Total Fest with a new venue in the family. We're excited about the partnership, and encourage Museum patrons to come and enjoy some more of what we've got on offer. More to come soon!

2010-07-21T08:13:00.004-06:00

TOTO FEST?
We're not sure about the relevance here, other than there seems to be some confusion that softrock legends Toto have something happening at Total Fest. It's not true, at all. The rumors are unfounded.

However, note on the right hand side of the screen that we've both got passes for sale and the full schedule (some changes coming) published. That is all.

2010-07-15T23:27:00.004-06:00

MISS LANA REBEL ALL SET FOR TOTAL FEST
No matter what venue I’m at I have a certain habit of standing in the same spot for shows. I stand just outside the main gathering of people making sure I can see the entire stage while garnering a little personal space at the same time. The last couple of times I’ve seen Miss Lana Rebel I’ve stood in my normal spot, which is also a pretty good spot to survey my fellow patrons. Each time it never fails that I see people in front of me start to immediately chatter to each other with excited “damn, she is really good!”

Former bassist for the sludged induced math-metal outfit Last of the Juanitas, Miss Lana not only traded in the bass for the guitar but traded the Melvins for Lefty Frizell and Hank Williams. Miss Lana’s shift in style has resulted in some of the most honest, dobro filled, beautiful tunes that have a Pavlovian effect on me. When I hear Miss Lana Rebel strum her first chord my brain tells me I need whiskey and I need it quick. After a couple of songs that make me feel bad about anyone whoever did me wrong Miss Lana swings into one of her barn burning, stomp your feet tunes. Which should also be about the time the bottle is empty leaving me no choice but to throw it in the air and shoot it down with my six-shooter.

2010-07-14T12:49:00.005-06:00

TOTAL FEST: NIGHT OF JOY

Denver's Night of Joy puts to shame most of the bands that are pigeon-holed as “post-punk” – a phrase that I'm still trying to comprehend. Are we really in need of recycling this category? Seriously, we'd be better served by jettisoning the entire “post” naming fetish. Given the list of bands that typically fall under the post-punk revival umbrella, it's border line insulting to brand a band with it. NoJ – Bree Davies (Teen Pass Out) and Valerie Franz – serves up some great pop power with strong emotive vocals, sitting somewhere between soothing and caterwauling, that challenge simple record store shelving. The energy is refreshing and oddly comforting. Quick, spidery and haunting, Night of Joy brings a bundle of honest, good time, tangible DIY rock. Look out Bro Rock, this shit is asking you to do something new.

2010-07-09T22:26:00.002-06:00

SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR: ADDED TO THE TOTAL BREW
When this August gets too hott and even the coldest ice cream won’t cool you down emerge yerself in the sweet sweet sound of Sugar Sugar Sugar.

Bellingham’s music scene sweethearts Sugar Sugar Sugar (whom I will henceforth refer to as SSS) are a three piece, one sugar for each member, fronted by two dudes who know how to rip and backed by one girl-b***h drummer who hits hard. SSS applied to Total Fest with an impressive Curriculum Vitae of bands and musicians they have played with over the years including but not limited to: Black Diamond Heavies, Pierced Arrows, Lozen, Helms Alee, The Trucks, Coconut Coolouts, Bugs, Yogoman Burning Band, The Narrows, and Lana Rebel of the Juanita Family. They are also talented enough to have played with members of The Stooges, The Minutemen, The Germs and Dead Moon. So we said “please, pour some sugar on us, your sexy blues songs and heart pumping beats are what we love to have at Total Fest”. … And it turns out hot sticky love is what they want to make you feel. They will be sure to give you the sounds of good lovin’ and hip swangin’ no matter if the lyrics break your heart or make you sweat.

Enough with the sweetness though, their sound is anything but. SSS serves you loud, hard blues tunes with an edge of grunge rock. SSS’s brand of sex-core (if I can call it that) is about more than getting some; it is about creating a corporeal experience in four dimensions.

Come to think of it, SSS may make you hotter than that melted ice cream cone so prepare to lose some layers and sweat Pabst profusely.

2010-07-08T17:20:00.004-06:00

STREET EATERS: EAT EAT EAT.

Errrr, speaking of things we're all kinds of fanned out on, howabout John Geek's bands/projects? Freakin' Triclops! somehow a band that did the heretofore unthinkably undoable and made punk rock and prog rock at the same time. It doesn't sound like it'd be a good idea, but when Triclops! did it, it was such a good thing. Back in '08, man, when Triclops! played Total Fest VII, their set blew more minds than really anthing that year. John made crowdsurfing work, even though the music wasn't exactly what you'd call "totally conducive" to that sort of thing.

Then of course you've got the mighty Fleshies, whose blown out, strained, desperate and hopeful (and participatory) punk rock made my Show of the Year List at least two years consecutively. No other band could have a dude in cop outfit, a guitar player named Mattowar and a usually naked, spastic but extremely on-point singer. Yeah, the Fleshies, man.

Going way, way back to the second half of the nineties you've also got John's awesome S.P.A.M. label, responsible for more expand-the-horizons-of-punk-to-include-total-outsiders than any label the Bay's had before or since. Dory Tourette and the Skirtheads? Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children McNuggets? The list goes on and on and on and on.

Now, roll forward to fall of 2009: I'd gotten a promo package from a Florida punk label called Bakery Outlet, and among the stuff they sent was an EP by a band called the Street Eaters. It didn't appear particularly special until I threw it into the car stereo. Once the dude started to sing (they're a two piece, bass and drums and both sing) I knew it was John, back, with his then girlfriend now wife, Megan. It's a nice combination of punk, cute, good and fun all at the same time. Yes, I'd be the first to raise some hackles at that description, so sample it for yourself. I don't want to damn this with faint praise or anything, let's just end by saying that Street Eaters rip.

2010-07-07T10:57:00.007-06:00

SHAHS: AYATOTAL FEST!

We at Total Fest’s mountaintop citadel-based headquarters have got a thing for one-person bands with plural names. It seems to be a winning formula. Well, actually all we can think of is Thrones... and we do like them. Missoula’s Shahs is Tom Helgerson, a transplant with a keyboard, sampler, baseball cap and a freaking fantastic knack for pulling sounds of thin air and turning them into music. It’s got a High Places-y vibe, or maybe even a warmer Suicide sort of vibe to it. But it’s really Tom’s baby and you can tell that by the spookiness, the dancing he does while playing, and seriously good time he has playing. Shahs is a band that makes songs that have more of a jaunty soundtrack vibe to them than a straight up song-only vibe. It’s an entrancing thing to witness.

Part of a two-man wave of relocated Midwesterners, the other half of which is Colin Johnson whose band is called Capricorn Vertical Slum, a Bob Pollard-styled one man rock band, Shahs and some other notable locals (Fag Rag, Skurfs, the Infernal Machine, Thug Nasties, Judgement Hammer) have busily been breathing life into Missoula’s underground rock scene for the past year or so. I first saw them at a local showcase deal at the Elks Lodge in the Fall, and was really blown away by the depth the stuff brings. I saw them about a week ago with Gay Beast and it was no less enthralling. I think you’ll dig it. We do.

2010-07-01T16:43:00.002-06:00

ABE COLEY BRINGS DA NOISE

Abe Coley’s oft casual but enlightening shows are something of a non-secquitur in the Missoula music scene. Abe has been known to blow unsuspecting minds, both in person and on stage, playing often in his homegrown venue the BSMT that has come to foster the attention of Missoula's misbegotten musical youth/nerds. Abe was last seen playing distorto-mega-guitar through an old fender bassman with strange dexterity, manipulating fuzzboxes and knobs to create an expanding and contracting sound much akin to the inner noise of one's own brain. Look for Abe to provide a great break from the usual gimmicks of the indie rock rat race, as his noisily picked of enveloping haze storms the Total Fest gates.

2010-07-01T16:22:00.005-06:00

KINSKI SAYS "YES-FERATU"!
I thought artistic greatness died with Klaus Kinski, but I was wrong. Kinski the band carries on the family name in style and grace, albeit with slightly less weirdness, in their hard strum psychedelic dance music. In ’07 Seattle Wah’s Kinski released Down Below It’s Chaos to reviewers who eagerly lapped up the refined sounds of experimental rock like emaciated kittens. Time Out New York’s Mikael Wood said:“Kinski’s lengthy guitar jams are meticulously designed meditations on riff and groove in which each element contributes to an overall feeling of forward motion; few rock bands muster techno’s impassive determination as confidently as this one”.

Over here at Total Fest HQ the question “Hawkwind?” is tossed about regularly and Kinski formidably answered with the 2008 release of a 7” split with Bardo Pond-a tribute to one of our favorites, Hawkwind.

By using the Scientific Method to formulate noise hypotheses and to conduct sound experiments, Kinski has arrived at a solid theory of how music should be made, simultaneously allowing "geeking-out" over successful sound experiments to be cool. I promise that Science will have you feeling their live noise reverberating through your body and tickling those taboo places inside your pants.

…Now to wait patiently for the intimacy of a Total Fest stage and a musical Kinski experience that would make Werner Herzog proud.

2010-06-30T14:32:00.004-06:00

TOTAL TEST UPDATE: GAY BEAST: TONIGHT! ***** TACOCAT: FRIDAY!
Holy jeez a'mighty, the heavy hitters have been coming out of the proverbial woodworkings! Tonight, we've stoked that the mighty Minnesotans in Gay Beast are in town! GB's a wild progressively bent punk the likes of the world hasn't seen since the heyday of weirdo bent punk like Scratch Acid chopped up with Ruins, or something. That show's going on tonight, Wednesday (une 30) at the BSMT at 235 N. 1st, in the basement and excellent locals and Total Fest IX bands Shahs and Fag Rag open. $5 gets one in!

Then, oh man what a week, on Friday (June 30) we've got a serious two-fer of a show. Or maybe a four-fer if we're being technical. Seriously bitching Seattle punks Tacocat come out and bring their catchily ferocious, energetic deal to the Badlander. Tacocat have got Butte-roots and spunk to the gills. It's hard as hell to not have a good time at a freakin' Tacocat show. Billings MT's Budgets share members with Noise Noise Noise, but offer a more garage rock attack than Noise's power pop deal. Good news all around, people. More good news than a truckful of souped up Harleys at Evel Kneivel Days. We'll see you there.

2010-06-29T16:29:00.004-06:00

FREE RANGE PSYCH: WILDILDLIFE

It's time to raise the excite-o-meter flag again. If you've been following the blog you may be a little exhausted from the anticipation you've been feeling since the first band was announced. No matter, time to take a deep breath and brace yourself for the trip-tastic, psycho-blast of Wildildlife. These cats rock. When they confirmed last year, I bought three new pair of boxers so I could make it through their set and that was hardly enough. Experimental, sludgy, drenched in smoke stained soot there's little not to froth about. They mix together some blues and acid rock in a way that reminds me of Black Sabbath rogering Pink Floyd. Throw in some early Buttholes and you may have something to latch onto. But, that's only the tip of the iceberg. This isn't your grandma's stoner rock. Six and Peas Feast are must haves, and you don't want to miss the dreadlocked drum pounding, hair whipping guitar and pop-sludge vocals. Wildildlife provides maniacal, sing-along distortions that will keep your neck hairs trembling for a few days.

SXSW#11: Wildildlife performing at aQ/WFMU showcase from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.

2010-06-24T13:07:00.006-06:00

THRILLA IN MISSOULA: MUHAMMADALi SET TO BRING THE PAIN

MUHAMMADALi is just one of those bands that get people amped right from the first chord. The energy this Houston, TX band spews into each song is contagious and no matter how cool you think you are it is impossible to stand still. Even the coolest of cool can't help but move their bodies (even if it's just a slight head bob) to the tunes. Their songs are jam packed with so much vigor I feel like I'm losing weight just listening to them.

MUHAMMADALi's catalog consists of one guitar driven song after another and this barrage of songs make for some downright catchy tunes. Combined with the gravel filled vocal styling of John Zambrano MUHAMMADALi reminds me of a steroid injected "Archers of Loaf" or maybe even "Chavez". No doubt their tunes will be ingrained in your brain for a lifetime. Dare I say many of you might just have found your new favorite band at this year's Total Fest.

2010-06-22T22:10:00.007-06:00

WHITE DRUGS STRAIGHT TO YOUR VEIN TOTAL FEST STYLE
My parents can breath a sigh of relief that the White Drugs debut album came out ten years after my sophomore year of high school because that album would have put me straight into juvie. I mean I’m almost thirty years old and still get the urge to bash in a mailbox every time the first note of “Harlem” hits me in the chest.

I have never seen White Drugs live before, but I’ve heard enough of their music on wax to envision what’s in store for us when these Denton, TX boys take the stage. I can imagine a tornado of noise, bashing drums, a frenzy of fuzzed out guitars, beer and possibly some blood. These guys are loud and they WILL make your eardrums feel bad about themselves in the morning but I can’t wait. White Drugs is set to play the Amphetamine Reptile 25^th Anniversary Bash and release their second album on the legendary label as well. So uh, get excited!

2010-06-22T17:36:00.005-06:00

BACON AND EGG: SIZZLING TOTAL FEST
The dudes of Bacon and Egg are a known quantity in these parts. Chris Bacon's been the president of the Missoula Skatepark Association since it's inception, and helped them raise over a million dollars to build our town's skatepark. Bacon plays keys and yelps in Volumen, and runs our skateshop, Edge of the World, too. Bob Marshall's the man behind the best Pizza in the west, Biga Pizza. Bob's also the drummer in Volumen. They've been in Missoula bands collectively for probably around 30 years.

Bacon and Egg is the band that grew out to the fact that once Volumen practices end, these guys wanted to continue rocking, and work out some of their own songs in the process. It's an excellent drum-machine driven, church keyboard fortified, guitar-blaze, replete with double vocal duties, songs about the malls and dirt bikes of their youths, and a hell of a lot of fun.

2010-06-21T22:37:00.007-06:00

TOTAL FEST WELCOMES THE UNNATURAL HELPERS

The past couple of years it seems like Seattle has produced two things, facial hair and dudes with facial hair playing music I can only imagine astronauts listen to when they are going into hyper-slumber on their way to Mars. So you can imagine how refreshing The Unnatural Helpers are to a scene I always associated with all out rock n’ roll, for gods sake Seattle you have fucking Mudhoney! With whip tight drumming and punch-drunk guitar riffs The Unnatural Helpers fuses together no-nonsense, straight to your brain rock tunes. These dudes don’t mess around either; they get to the point with songs clocking in at an average of two-minutes each. Anything longer would seem - well - unnatural.

Dean Whitmore (The Diapers, Intelligence and Welcome) serves as drummer, lead vocalist and primary force behind The Unnatural Helpers surrounding himself with an ever-revolving lineup that has included members of The Lights, Kinski, The Intelligence, Dutchess and the Duke and Idle Times. So half the fun of The Unnatural Helpers playing Total Fest is one can only imagine who will be showing up to play along with Whitmore.

2010-06-19T07:26:00.006-06:00

DERANGED DICTION: IN!
Hot dog, punx ('n drunx), we got us a hoe-down now. Huh? Who let the poser in? Uhhhhhh, yeah... Alright, now back in 1982 Missoula was home to a blasting hardcore group called Deranged Diction. They played desperate, underground hardcore, named their first Missoula-recorded EP No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules and quickly outgrew the town, and moved west. From there they had some lineup changes, and continued to be one of the west's original hardcore groups, trading tapes /corresponding with with skate kids in rural towns, running distros, and fucking shit up for the man.

The band may have been the first to start the bummer trend of the town's regularly hemorrhaging great acts, but we'll save the tedious theorizing for another place... All I know is that last year Deranged Diction reformed to play two shows for their 25th anniversary and for the purpose of finally recording some never-released songs. They re-issued their No Art, No Cowboys record (with the newly recorded old songs) as a double CD for a show last year and I went to the show. My only context was having heard and loved their songs on Matt Svendsen's/Poisoned Candy's Welcome To Montana CD comp from a handful of years ago, and I didn't know exactly what to expect from guys 25 years older. In 1982 I was 8 years old and punk wasn't near my radar.

Long story short it was excellent. There's video from the show below. The songs were great, and the dudes played 'em hard, fast and with guts. My neck hurt the next day, and I had a smile glued onto my face. Say what you will about reunions and reuniting, but getting to see a small piece of history once in a while is a pretty special thing. And its doubly excellent when you live in a town like Missoula where that history's pretty thin. We won't get all watery-eyed and tell you that "without Deranged Diction blah, blah, blah" but we will say "hey, this is the real deal, it's a rad thing, and we think you'll dig it, man."

Read about them on MRR
Read about them in the Seattle PI blog

2010-06-18T14:32:00.004-06:00

THE AX: AXING AUGUST NIGHTS AT TOTAL FEST.
Portland, via the inland northwest two-piece the Ax weild the kind of heavy, spartan bluesy punk rock hammer that Federation X did. Their sounds have got that haunted, far off but present feeling, and combined with loud drums and austere riffs they've got a way of worming into your mind and staying there. It's wild how much their 2009 Whoa! Boat LP, entitled (in a tres 90's sort of way that made me stoked) of Our Queen of Dirt makes me sick for the good old days when a summer never passed without a Fed X/Narrows tour.

Chris Pierce and Adam Jelsing have a worn-in, familiar vibe when they play and Our Queen of Dirt flew way too low on radar for a record of its quality. Let's do something about that, shall we? Wanna sneak preview? Get stageside when the Ax hack into town on July 10 (at the BSMNT in Missoula) with Belt Of Vapor and see what this group's got on offer. It's punk rock with it's own flavor, and the flavor is loud, heavy and good.

The Ax--Black Sea from Chris Stamm on Vimeo.

2010-06-17T20:25:00.005-06:00

IT'S OFFICIAL: THUG NASTIES ARE PLAYING
It’s safe to say Missoula’s Thug Nasties don’t give a shit whether you like them or not, and that is sincere. These boys play loud, fast and with an irate amount of energy, which always makes me think a fight or even a riot is about to take place right before my eyes. However, every time it’s a super positive atmosphere with a crowd that just
wants to hear some punk rock music and dance, I mean pogo with their buddies. It’s no accident The Thug Nasties have rapidly become one of
Missoula’s mainstays on the local scene. People love to see these guys play so don’t be the one person in town who misses their set at Total Fest.

On a side note: is it me or does Chris Justice look exactly like the dude at the beginning of The Decline of Western Civilization?

2010-06-16T11:31:00.004-06:00

LORDS OF FALCONRY TO BRING PSYCHELIC SONICS
If you’ve been a Missoulian and fan of music whose time in town began or, covered somewhat the 90s, then you know the name Sammy James Adams. Sammy was one of the wild crop of North Dakota transplants who rolled into town after John Fleming, Ear Candy Music (Missoula’s awesome independent record store) proprietor, bassist for the Helltones, Everyday Sinners, Hellgate Stranglers, Oblio Joes, Secret Powers etc. Yeah, so these NoDakkers were a wild bunch. Fast talking, hard partying, and fun as bag of fireworks. Sammy was the drummer for Honky Sausage, who at some point in time decided to become the Fireballs of Freedom. The Balls should need no introduction, but to cover our bases, they were a raucous psychedelic, punk, garage band whose live shows filled Jay’s Upstairs with loud, high speed prairie rock, and spilled into all-night blowout afterparties. Sammy James was the Fireballs’ drummer, and for a band filled with talented dudes, Sammy James’ drum style was hard to top. The guy hits hard, plays fast, and sits more upright on his stool than anyone I’ve ever witnessed. When the Fireballs were on, they were really, really on. And that was about 98.9 percent of the time.

So, now it’s around ten years later and Sammy’s got a new band, interestingly called Lords of Falconry. If you’re familiar with Sammy, that’s not a surprising name. The guy’s a scholar of Masonic cults, numerology, conspiracy and err, the ancient ways. The other half of Lords of Falconry is Steven Wray Lobdell whose past work includes guitaring with Faust(!), Sufi Mind Game and dozens of other wild psych folks. He’s recorded for the Klangbad, Holy Mountain, Ektro and Holy Mountain labels and lays down some of the bent-est psych this side of Gong. His discography is a who's who of the wildest and best from underground Americans, kraut pioneers and all things in between.

Holy jeez. Lords of Falconry.

2010-06-15T20:15:00.004-06:00

DENY THE DINOSAUR? YES.
Deny the Dinosaur? is one of Missoula's bands that I have and have always had trouble finding words to match the totally jazzed feeling I get when seeing them live. I've been lucky to witness them roll through many punches, breaks and line-ups. Their most current set up takes the cake. They produce well written songs, all currently instrumental with a serious part prog, part punk vibe. They've recently added a new fella, Ralston, to the mix and he's helped add a little something special that perhaps the bands been seeking for some time. J. Lybeck who fingertaps for DTD agreed to take a moment to talk about then band, tacos and the new deal.

Total Fest: Where ya'll from, originally?
J. Lybeck: Two from Great Falls, Chinook, and Victor.
TF: Deny the Dinosaur has been around for how long?
JL: 5 years, maybe even six.
TF: What was happening musically pre- Deny the Dinosaur?
JL: Really bad punk bands, nothing anyone probably remembers. Jarrod was in a band called The Bright Side (GF), Carson was in Mannequin Republic, err...
TF: The band has been on again, off again. What did we miss while you were away?
JL: Traveling, different solo adventures, none of us have been to school so there's no reason there..., girls, exhaustion.
TF: Deny the Dinosaur is tough to pin down genre wise. What get's you dudes excited musically?
JL: We don't really know what genre we fit into... some kind of rock and roll. We listen to a lot of Hip Hop, Prog, Punk so there's influences somewhere in there. We're an amalgamation of different tastes.
TF: Favorite 90s band?
JL: Brian Jonestown Massacre.
TF: Ideal taco?
JL: Ground beef, soft shell (flour), hot sauce, lettuce.
TF: Personal highlight playing music in Missoula?
JL: Opening for the Faint around a year ago at the Other Side. House shows have been our favorite too, though we're not great for neighbors... kinda loud.
TF: Tours?
JL: We've toured small twice, lots of out of town shows.
TF: Highlights of the new addition, the new line-up?
Jordon: We work well together. There's been a change for the better lately. We've played some really stupid music in the past. We're writing well... Ralston plays sax, keyboard, guitar and other odd instruments. He's added a lot.
TF: Beatles, Stones or Who?
JL: Stones. I also really like the Black Lips, the Velvet Underground...
TF: Any band rituals?
JL: We're typically pretty calm pre-show. We drink to calm the nerves, there's not a lot of talking before, quite a few cigarettes get smoked. That's about it... oh and the trailer lights are usually out so not getting pulled over at night coming home from shows is pretty ritual.

In conclusion, Total Fest IX is proud to announce Deny the Dinosaur?

2010-06-15T11:19:00.005-06:00

THE LIGHTS: CONFIRMED
With roots in the rolling hills of the inland west, there’s a weird ag land vibe that comes along with the Lights cold, clanky rock and roll. Like they’re from a town that wasn’t close enough to anywhere big that when they got to see shows, they were highlights of the year, and they were remembered. That they live in Seattle now doesn’t really have much bearing on anything, other than the fact that they play most of their shows there. To me, the Lights are Palouse band. Or maybe even a Boise band, which is where they moved after they left home. Not exactly a tactical move, but a move that shows who their people were and where the bands they affiliated with lived. That was back in the 90s, before the Lights, when they were called the Left Coast and when they had a fourth member, Sean Lennon.

The Lights are a band whose songs always have an instant classic kind of feel. It comes from bizarre and insanely sticky lyrics. Rhymes for days, and a cadence, or creep that rock bands just generally aren’t able to pull off. That and the fact that the Lights don’t change up what they do. Ever. They refine it. They make it seem more effortless. They add another tower on the castle.

Three LPs and a handful of EPs in, and after a decade, it doesn’t appear that the Lights are going to do anything but ripen with old age.

2010-06-15T07:55:00.005-06:00

BELT OF VAPOR TO BELT TOTAL FEST WITH ITS VAPOR.
Spokane, Washington may be the self-proclaimed capitol of the inland empire of the pacific northwest, but it's a gritty, sprawling town with a set of falls whose past has a direct link with Missoula's glacial lake. When the dam that held that lake back broke, at the end of the last ice age, millions of cubic yards of water went blasting across the broad plain of what's now eastern Washington. The water scrubbed out hollows and valleys, leaving a scabland of exposed basalt in its wake.

Speaking of leaving scablands of exposed basalt in their wake, Belt of Vapor leave plenty of exposed basalt around after they're done playing. The long-standing punk-cum-prog outfit has a sound that's as sprawling and rich as the fertile plains of the Palouse, as starkly beautiful as the scablands and as gritty as the Spokane bus terminal.

They're veterans of Total Fests past, having played first Total Fest V and the VII a few years ago. They've got the sort of three-dudes-who've-done-this-together for a long, long time vibe. It's got a propulsive, enveloping sort or plow to it. I always hear some alot of what I like about Lightning Bolt, with an octavey, played-lead style bass and a hard-hitting drummer. Add the snaking guitar of school teacher and rocker Bob Homburg and I think you've got it. Get belted.

2010-06-14T11:23:00.008-06:00

TOTAL TESTS: LAUNCHING TUESDAY JUNE 15 W. LORDS AT THE PALACE LOUNGE, MISSOULA.
This year, as a special lead-in, get-folks-stoked, build-some-momentum sort of a deal, we've got a handful of TOTAL TESTS, shows with some kind of unique Total Fest connection.

The first show is with Louisville, Kentucky's mighty Lords and it happens Tuesday, June 15 at the palace lounge on Broadway in Missoula. I did a show for Lords and Akimbo in 2007 and my jaw is still lying in the alley behind the short-lived MARS show space.

Exaggeration and hyperbole can be excessively used tools in the world of writing about bands, so let me put this as succinctly and honestly as possible: Lords play with a tightness, loudness and band dynamic that one's hard-pressed to find in 2010. It's the kind of music that leaves me with a wide grin, and total ear-ringing, what the fuck just happened kind of euphoria that bands like Karp did. Lords' stuff is a little more blocky, or start-stoppy and with shorter songs, but it's got that same kind of whoa vibe going on. So, come and party with Lords, and check out rad locals Thug Nasties and Velcro Kicks!

By the by: If you like this poster, and we sure do, write to Mathew LaRubio (theantunderground AT yahoo) o pay him to design yours.

Total Test 2010 Lead-In Shows.
-Tuesday, June 15: Lords (Louisville), Thug Nasties (Missoula), Velcro Kicks (Missoula) -the Palace Palace Lounge

-Monday, June 21st- Fugitive Kind, Goddammitboyhowdy, and Birds Mile Home (BSMT, ask around)

Sunday, June 27: Thou (Louisiana), Moloch (England), Bridgebuilder, Judgement Hammer (secret venue, ask around)

-Monday. June 28th- Raw Nerves( PORTLAND), Former Thieves(IOWA), TSMF, and The Graveyard Girlscouts(KALISPELL) -(BSMT Missoula, ask around)

-Friday July 2nd- Tacocat(SEATTLE), The Budgets(BILLINGS), and Secret Powers and Streetlight People at The Badlander

-Saturday, July 4th-Black Wine, Fag Rag, Tyson Ballew -(house show, ask around)