Getting My Head around the new Om Album-LSD might help

Has hell frozen over?
The new Om album,Advatitic Songs,has got acoustic guitar on it!
I'll need a few days to make sense of this and bring you a review
Stay trippy my friends

Album Of The Week-Kyuss,Blues For The Red Sun

Everyone who is anyone should know why this one is album of the week.

This landmark album recently celebrated it's 20th anniversary (more on that later), and yet two decades on,it remains a milestone in the progression of heavy music.

Lets start with my favourite thing about this record-the album cover-god damn,I don't what it's supposed to be,but it looks like some dope shit's about to go down right?
And that's exactly what happens.After the disappointment of the bands first effort,Blues For The Red Sun could be considered the 'Nevermind' of stoner rock.The band fused their angry punk/metal sound with some serious psychedelic vibes,and created the foundation of 'Stoner Rock'.One of the more important elements that's really made this album came from outside of the band,producer Chris Goss stepping in,helping the band to finally nail their sound.
At a time of labels trying to milk grunge for all it was worth,Blues For The Red Sun was overshadowed by Seattle's explosion.Too different,too heavy,misunderstood music from another place,from the desert scene that had largely remained a secret.
Taking influences from hard core punk,heavy metal and whatever strange drugs you find in the desert,Blues For The Red Sun is a much more focused effort than the last,although at time,still lacks a bit of direction.The last track,Mondo Generator never really seems to get anywhere,Capsized sounds like an amazing number,cut short.
Whilst personally not my favourite Kyuss album,Blues is as good a place to start as any,for fans of Black Sabbath,Metallica and pot.
Thumb-Intimidatingly heavy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftS-zFZTSc8
Green Machine-Cars,cowboys and desert rock.What's not to love?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc-7FXzbeA0
Kyuss are bigger now than they have ever been,helped partially by Guitarist Josh Homme losing his cool and starting Queens Of The Stone Age,but two decades of influence is not hard to spot.You can catch the album being played in its entirety by Matt Sonic And The High Times,a killer live band,nexy Saturday night ath the Cherry Bar,with support from the mighty Battle Axe Howlers,(whose frontman Mike was interviewed on here recently).Expect a review.

Live Review- Hollow Everdaze @ the Evelyn Hotel 21/7

My accomplice and I headed out on a Saturday night like any other to catch a band like no other.However one thing we didn't take into account is just how easily two country boys can get lost as fuck in the CBD.Arriving several hours later than we intended,we only caught the last 'song',if you want to call it that, by openers Ghost Vein.Their brand of ambient/noise art got pretty lost on me.At the same as it was captivating and interesting,it was confusing and all over the place.With a guitarist/synth player dressed like a jedi/Sunn0))) god and some guy screaming through an echo box,I really wasn't feeling it.
The crowd at the Evelyn begin to pick up as the next band up,Apes, went through the routine of soundcheck.If you haven't been to Evelyn,I can say it's a pretty decent venue.With a nice big band room and some funky couches round the edges,it's got the essentials covered.
Apes ripped into their brand of post punk and pub rock to the delight of a few dancers,but not alot jumped out me.They weren't doing anything wrong,but I didn't feel they were really breaking the mould, my suspicious accomplice even commenting 'that chord progression is exactly the same as one of mine-note for note'.As the night warmed up,their set followed suite,feeding off the crowd.Now I don't know track names,so I'm just using the lines that stood out there most here- 'I don't wanna see your face no more' was a higher point,and 'Hell Of A Time' had some great lead guitar work.Apes Finished on a high note,however they had remained in a territory already well covered.But at least everyone was having fun,and the most important thing right?
I really wasn't sure what to expect as Amanita set up.Two keyboards,no bass and 4 mellow looking dudes.Once they kicked into it,boy oh boy-My mind was blown.With a relaxed,strongly psychedelic vibe Amanita reminded me of some of the better Pink Floyd,and the surfey jams of Yawning Man.The members exercised a great control over their instruments I thought,and a great flow.The frontman had some really expressive guitar work going on,but it was in the background,in the hands of a second guitarist that I was really amazed.One hand playing was a bass line on the organ,whilst his fretting hand plucked away at the strings,creating some wonderful textures.And this lasted throughout the whole set.Definitely a recommended band,and I'm looking forward to hearing some recordings.
By this stage the band room was getting pretty packed awaiting Hollow Everdaze,and judging by the decline in the standard of my hand writing,a large amount of beer was clouding my vision.Having been on the low down recording an album, this was their first gig in too long, and the band transfers to the live stage just aswell as they do to the proverbial 'tape'.Hollow Everdaze create dreamy,psychedelic,sheo'gaze-ey textures with a myriad of echo's/various cool shit,aswell as some fantastic vocal harmonies.Mixed with this landscape of tripper tones, Hollow Everdaze have a wilder side that can really get a crowd moving.And boy oh boy did they move.'Still Raining' was a personal highlight,an amazing song that translated well off the record and 'There Was No Choice' proved a crowd favourite,who all joined in to celebrate Guitarist Dan's  birthday.Once the set wrapped up however,there was a unanimous demand for more,on which the band delivered.From here after is a tale not meant for the internet.
Having had a sneak peak of the album,and word of a couple extra releases planned,I have high hopes for this band and what the future holds for them.They proved that they are very together as a band,and some good stuff is coming out of it.
Get along to show and stay tuned for their self titled,which will hopefully be out in the not too distant future.


Ian

Album Of The Week- Underground Lovers,Leaves Me Blind

Something like the Church playing shoegaze with a touch of electronica

Spawning out of Melbourne in the early 90's, The Underground Lovers play a version of Alternative rock (a term too easily thrown around) that makes heavy use of electronic drums and synth with some ethereal/noise guitar to create a huge diversity across the album.Leaves Me Blind was released in 1992 and brought the band considerable success overseas with their ability to use popular elements from multiple genres. From the extensive electronic drones,across upbeat,guitar driven tracks through to the calm,introspective 'Ladies Choice', there's a bit in here for everyone. Recommended for fans of The Church,Splashdown and Ride.And on that note,the band are joining former Ride frontman,Mark Gardner for a national tour in early August.With a new album in the pipeline,the first since 1999,there's never been a better time to give them a listen
Eastside Stories- A ripping opener that drops into the abyss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGUMcyDvpJc
Ladies Choice- Calm and dreamy with some disjointed puncuations
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHhCY-S46zI

On another note,I will be piecing together my half drunk scrawlings from Hollow Everdaze's gig at the Evelyn last night to bring you a live review in a few days.
Doomers- Om's Advaitic Songs is just a few days a way.That gives you time to listen to two tracks of their before it's out.

10 Minutes with Mike 'Diesel' Doleman- Battle Axe Howlers

The Battle Axe Howlers are what bands are all about.5 mates,playing the music they love,not for money,not for fame,but simply because god damn it's a good way to spend a Friday night.5 days a week these boys are productive and useful to society,with those things called 'jobs',but come 5:00 P.M,the piles of orange amps are stacked,the fuzz kicks in and they off in the riff filled land.The Battle Axe Howlers sit more on the more punk side of stoner rock, with a vibe similar to Dozer,Unida and Rollerball.
While you're reading this,chuck on their E.P and give their page a like
http://www.facebook.com/battleaxehowlers/app_2405167945
Today I caught up with vocalist Mike 'Diesel' Doleman:

 

I: Hey
M: Yo,how ya doing?
I: Not bad man,thank fuck it's Friday
M: Yeah I hear ya
*Some random banter ensued,just musician shit- nothing that interesting*
I: Alright lets get into it.Tell us a little bit about the band,how did it all start?
M: Well for the past 15 years or so,me and my mate Pauly (Guitarist) had been meaning to get some kind of band together,but isn't until about 2 years ago that we actually got it together.There was a bit of an alignment of the starts,the 5 of us mates (Deano,Cogsy and Mikey) had the time to make music and so we did.We had a jam one day at jam hut in Preston and it just kinda fell into place.
I: Sweet,the way it should be.Now a couple weeks ago you guys put out your debut,self titled E.P,tell us a little bit about that
M: Well,about a year we hit Woodstock studios in Melbourne with Simon Aarons (Drummer for My Dynamite-Give em a suss) behind the desk and belted out 4 tracks over 2 days of tracking,and then another 2 days of mixing.The mixing part I could have done without,but the tracking part was fun.
I: Are there any plans to do any more recordings in the near future?
M: Yeah definitely.Because that E.P took us about a year to bring almost,we recorded it and then things just happened,so it took a while,but we've a hpea of new material that we wanna get down.Not to sure where,or when or who with, but definitely on the cards.
I: Yeah,some of those tracks are killer.What kind of thing can people expect from a Battle Axe Howlers gig? 
M: Ummm...fuck...loud...Drop-D...Heaven. We wanna sound like a drop-d freight train powered by Melbourne bitter fed muscle cars on their way into the Californian desert.
Alot of our songs are a bit of a journey,nice changes and stuff.
I: Now what kind of influences have you got going into this stuff?
M:Well we've all got pretty similiar tastes in music,especially the stoner rock kinda thing.I get into the folks and blues kinda stuff a bit (Mike can shred the mando),while the rest of the boys get into some of the harder stuff,like Metallica
I: Bit of thrash/metal kind of thing?
Yeah,and back into the old punk rock days,Cogsy loves his old school punk,nofx,the bronx, then there's some QOTSA,Tool and Turbo Negro thrown in too.
*Long pause*
I: Uummm...fuck...I was gonna right some questions,but I never got round to it,so I'm just kinda making shit up off the top of my head
What's one of the best gigs you've done so far? 
M: Well,there's a couple come to mind.The E.P launch at the Cherry bar was rad,we did not expect that many people
I: Yeah,I can vouch for that one
M: and that espy show was good
I: fuck,that was a vague night
M: and that show we did with you guys at the Brunswick hotel was great.What was it like 40 degrees,the stage was small,everyone was sweaty.Managed to tip a beer on myself.
I: Classic Mike.Now you guys are more of a Melbourne band even though a few of you live a little far,and it's always helpful to know some local bands,who are some of your favourites at the moment?
M: We played a gig with a band called Budd they're great,and System Of Venus.And your band (I'm not putting this in myself,he did say it).I really wished I had have seen Rollerball,pretty major influence for us.
I: Oh cheers man.Your a bit of a big kid at times,front man for a rock band and you've got a bit of a history with snow boarding?
M: Yeah,that pretty much ruled my life for about 20 years,which led into some sponsorships with D.C,Oakley,some local shops and stuff.Nothing serious,just a bit of fun.Ended up president of the Hotham snow boarders group,a bunch of rat bags that just like shreddin round the hill and havin fun and boozin up.
I: Sounds like the way to do it.Anyway,better lat you go,I'm sure the pubs calling
Thanks for having a chat and I'll catch ya soon
M: Yeah,cheers man,catch ya.

You can catch the Battle Axe Howlers on the 4th of August at the Cherry Bar,supporting Matt Sonic and the High Times,who are playing the cornerstone of Desert rock,Blues for the Red Sun from start to finish to celebrate it's 20th anniversary.Expect a review,I'mnot missing that one 

Photographers-sorry,I couldn't find any details about the photos- If you've taken some and want a credit,just get in touch and I'll be more than happy to make it happen.

A bit of house keeping

The number 1 thing I've heard about this blog since I launched it yesterday is 'can you run a mirrored version on tumblr for us?'
Well,Tumblr is the home of hip,and not something I thought I would ever do,but if that's what people want,it's not that hard to achieve.
You can now find Small Town Disease mirrored in hipster-vision here http://smalltowndisease.tumblr.com/
The content of the two will be exactly the same,one just wears glasses with out lenses because it looks cool

Album of the week- Witchcraft (self titled)

The closest thing I've heard to Sabbath since Sabbath itself















Sweden- they make cool cider and cool music,and Witchcraft's 2004 debut is proof of that. With a heavy,70's vibe, Witchcraft sounds like a record spun out of a time machine.
Originally formed as a tribute to American band Pentagram, this album could be mis-labeled 1974 no one would suspect a thing!
First of all the sound- Recorded in a basement with vintage analogue gear,the band gets a very warm,dry,straight forward sound.Lo fi vocals,heavy guitars with a touch of fur to them and that kind of vintage sound to the rhythm section works well for the band.
The band touches on some of that early heavy/satanic jazz that bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath took to the next level,with quick rhythm changes and some monster riffs that channel a bit of  satan himself. With occasional hints of folk and fairy tale, Witchcraft bring a Swedish touch to a path well trodden.
Till you find the album somewhere *cough,files tube,cough* ,get around these to keep you satisfied
You Bury Your Head- Heavy and evil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU3p-uFZJzg
Please Don't Forget Me-Pentagram cover
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72wyL9EjQRA

Thanks for reading the first Album Of The Week

Welcome to Small Town Disease-A Blog For All Things Musical,

Welcome
I love music.I love listening to music,I love making music,I love reading about music,I love writing about and I love sharing music.Anyone who knows me well enough will be aware that once I get onto the topic of music,I'll be talking for a while.
So for this reason,I have started this blog.
Here you will find all manner of things.Live reviews,album reviews,news,interviews,articles,etc.
Every week I hope to bring you an 'Album of the week'.Old,new,mainstream,underground,whatever.
Obviously this blog is likely to reflect my own personal taste and surroundings.
For the record,that's predominantly heavy/psychedelic/stoner rock and nearby Geelong/Melbourne musical happenings,but I'll try to mix it up and make it relevant to everyone.
This whole blog thing may take me a little while to get my head around,but bear with and we'll see what happens!
Enjoy