Philadelphia Bands

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i think that problem is called "INDEPENDENT ROCK MUSIC", not unique to philly, but to any culture that plays to and for itself

hu, Saturday, 17 December 2005 21:20 (eighteen years ago) link

Well yeah, and it also comes out of a bullshit "punk" aesthetic of not being able to play well (except that most of the relatively few good punk bands really played much better than people say they did). To make things worse, the angst of punk is replaced with lethargy and boredom -- only the inability to play remains. Practicing is stupid, dude.

Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Saturday, 17 December 2005 21:50 (eighteen years ago) link

i haven't sampled enough of the bands, lots of thier stuff, etc to have strong insight on this, but the mazarin records do sound sort of thrown togeter and lazy, especially this recent one. but that's what i really like about them, too. really good songs with a loose and breezy feeling. the espers records so far are really top notch in terms of musicianship, playing, skill. they are so together and precise, but not falling into any boring math rocky or over-technical stuff. they seem to be the most complete band i have heard from the area. i do like that moving insects stuff a lot, though it sounds like a lot of other bands. still really great.

peter x (bucksbreeze), Saturday, 17 December 2005 21:58 (eighteen years ago) link

LMI is definitely a skilled, tight band. Sometimes I don't think they play to their strengths enough because they do so many of those slow, weepy songs that sound like lots of other bands. When they do mid and up-tempo stuff it usually sounds great.

Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Saturday, 17 December 2005 22:28 (eighteen years ago) link

really good songs played lackadasically /= lazy

hjkjhkhkj, Sunday, 18 December 2005 07:44 (eighteen years ago) link

just saw this on the british folk thread. philadelphia again represented at all tomorrow's parties:

DEVENDRA BANHART DAY -- BANDS CONFIRMED SO FAR
DEVENDRA BANHART
VASHTI BUNYAN
VETIVER
ESPERS
BAT FOR LASHES
JANA HUNTER
THE METALLIC FALCONS
DANIELLE STECH-HOMSY
BERT JANSCH

peter x (bucksbreeze), Sunday, 18 December 2005 18:11 (eighteen years ago) link

three weeks pass...
Anybody remember King Carcass?

Edward III (edward iii), Thursday, 12 January 2006 21:28 (eighteen years ago) link

one month passes...
Reviving this *not* because it's a Philadelphia band but it is a Philadelphia incident and folks there might be able to help -- this is from the band Film School:

Sorry for the multiple bulletins, but we're just about ready lose our minds.

To recap, our van was stolen this morning around 8am from the Comfort Inn on Delaware Ave in Philadelphia. It was a white, 2003 Ford E-350, California license plates. ALL of our gear was taken. Here's a list of what's missing:

- 1966 Ludwig drum kit, blue sparkle
- 23" Paiste ride cymbal
- 1976 Fender P-bass, no finish, beat down, Bartolini pick-up
- 1993 Gibson SG, black
- 1973 Fender Telecaster Deluxe, cream, with marble pickguard, humbuckers
- Fender Twin Reverb amp, 70's silverface, master volume
- Fender Deville guitar amp
- early 70's Ampeg SVT bass head with 2 massive metal handles on the sides
- Ampeg SVT 410HLF bass cabinet
- Peavey keyboard amp
- 3 boxes of effects: 2 Line 6 delay pedals, Memory Man Deluxe, Big Muff, SansAmp Bass DI, Rat, MXR distortion, Cry Baby wah, 2 Boss EQ pedals, Boss Digital Delay, 2 Boss Tuners. These were in 3 different suitcases.
- Kurzweil K2000 keyboard
- Boss Dr. Sample

If anyone in the Philadelphia area has any info where this stuff might surface we'd really appreciate it. Or, if you find our van or our gear we can pay you handsome reward. Seriously.

As for the rest of the tour, here's what's happening:

Wed-DC - cancelled
Thur-Providence - cancelled
Friday-Wellesely College - cancelled
Sat-Mercury Lounge - still on
Sun-Mercury Lounge - still on
Monday- Memphis - ???
all SXSW shows are still on.

If anything changes or the equipment fairy makes a special delivery I'll post a bulletin here to let everyone know. Thanks to everyone who wrote to us. It really means a lot. Thanks again.

-Justin
Film School

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 18:58 (eighteen years ago) link

thanks ned. word is out and about already. philly folks should contact local pawn shops & music stores with info.

mts (theoreticalgirl), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 19:16 (eighteen years ago) link

fuckin electric love muffin, man!

i always think of that sharpling and wurster sketch with philly boy roy where he names off about 800 philly bands.

corey c (shock of daylight), Thursday, 9 March 2006 07:04 (eighteen years ago) link

That totally sucks. Gear should never be left in the van at the hotel though.

Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Thursday, 9 March 2006 07:36 (eighteen years ago) link

things you can do to prevent horrible situations such as this, especially if you're uninsured:

- bring your guitars with you whereever you're crashing
- make one bandmate sleep in the van [extra blankets in the winter!]

mts (theoreticalgirl), Thursday, 9 March 2006 17:24 (eighteen years ago) link

What's the deal with Pissed Jeans?

peter x (bucksbreeze), Thursday, 9 March 2006 17:31 (eighteen years ago) link

Film School just posted an update:

Hello. As many of you have already heard, our van, the van we bought two days before we left for tour, was stolen with all our equipment in Philadelphia. Our van was parked in a 24-hour attended secured lot with bright lighting and a club on the steering wheel. Even though we did everything we could to keep this van safe and secured, the thieves sawed through the club, hotwired the van and drove it through the parking lot checkout fence. Pretty unbelievable. Unfortunately our van insurance does not cover theft and while some of our insurance might cover some of the gear, it will most likely be minimal.

Thanks so much to all the support we've been getting from our fans. Emails, myspace posts and articles, it's wonderful to feel like we're not alone in this. Also, because we'll be the ones getting hit with these costs we've set up a PayPal account for donations. If you are able to donate anything at all, we'd be extremely appreciative. Everything and anything at this point helps. Please head over to our website http://www.filmschoolmusic.com to make a donation.

Here are the dates we'll still be able to play:

3/10: Massachusetts, Welleseley College w/ Cloud Room
3/11: New York, Mercury Lounge w/ Cloud Room
3/12: New York, Mercury Lounge (second show added!)
3/14: Memphis, Hi Tone w/ Cloud Room
3/16: Austin, SXSW Beggars Banquet showcase at Club Deville (6th & Red River), 9pm
3/17: Austin, SXSW Jane magazine party at Beauty Bar (7th & Red River), time TBA w/Nada Surf, Mates of State, Of Montreal, Film School, The M's, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Tiny Steps
3/18: Austin, SXSW Hi Dive party at Gallery Lombardi (910 3rd at N.Lamar), 3:45pm w/Dressy Bessy, the M's, Ester Drang, Paul Jenkins (of Black Heart Procession), Bright Channel and more
3/31: San Francisco, Noise Pop Festival at Slim's
4/1: Los Angeles, The Troubadour w/Cloud Room

Again, thanks for your support and we hope to see you at the shows.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 9 March 2006 17:32 (eighteen years ago) link

pissed jeans = teh awesome

mts (theoreticalgirl), Thursday, 9 March 2006 17:41 (eighteen years ago) link

I'd like to hear them. Are they recent Sub Pop signees?

peter x (bucksbreeze), Thursday, 9 March 2006 17:42 (eighteen years ago) link

Some (but only some) good news!

Hi. Sorry for the multiple bulletins, but I wanted to let everyone know the Philadelphia PD just located our van. YESSSSS! They couldn't tell us anything about the condition other than that "it looks fine". Unfortunately, none of our gear was still inside. NOOOO!

For those of you in the Philadelphia/Trenton area please keep spreading the word about our gear. If anybody needs pictures of our guitars, amps, serial numbers, etc. please get in touch. Here's the list of what's missing again:

Amps:

Fender Deville guitar amp
1970's Fender Twin Reverb silverface, master volume
1970's Ampeg SVT Bass amplifier head
Ampeg SVT 410HLF cabinet

Guitars:

1993 Gibson SG guitar black
1973 Fender Telecaster Deluxe w/humbuckers white w/marble pickguard
1976 Fender Precision Bass Serial ..629010 no finish/natural

Effects Pedals:

2 Line 6 Delay DL-4 pedals
Electro-Harmonix Memory Man Deluxe pedal
MXR Distortion pedal
Cry Baby Wah-wah pedal
2 Boss GE-7 Equalizer pedal
1 Boss TU-2 tuner pedal
Electro-Harmonix Big Muff fuzz pedal
Boss TU-12 tuner
Pro-Co Rat distortion pedal
SansAmp Bass DI box
Core One Pedal board
Pedal Pad pedal board

Keyboards:

Kurzweil K2VX keyboard w/sampling option
Boss SP-303 sampler w/power adapter
ART powermix 4 minimixer
Yamaha sustain pedal

Drums:

1966 Ludwig blue sparkle 13", 16", 22"
1964 Ludwig supralite snare 14"
14" Zildjan A series hi-hats
20" Zildjan A series crash
24" Paiste 2002 Dark ride
1 SKB 22" bass drum case
1 SKB 16" floor tom case
1 SKB 14" snare drum case
1 SKB 13" tom case
22" SKB cymbal case
2 Pearl stronglight stands
1 Pearl hi-hat stand
1 Pearl Bass drum pedal

Thanks again to everyone coming together to help us out like this. We really touched.

I'll post another update if/when we get any new info.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 9 March 2006 20:06 (eighteen years ago) link

Was it the work of the Limoseenz crew?

Apparently no one remembers King Carcass, but at least this guy does:
http://www.richius.com/mp3.html

Edward III (edward iii), Thursday, 9 March 2006 21:14 (eighteen years ago) link

philly folks need to start calling every pawn shop in town.

mts (theoreticalgirl), Thursday, 9 March 2006 23:31 (eighteen years ago) link

one month passes...
Laughing Masters:

skankin to the hit-hard
body in the pulse beat
quivered in the been told
i'm a broke lump o' meat
no this aint no mismatch
i ain't got no death wish
one thing bout this white trash
what i gots a thrash wish

Okay, can I finally throw this flyer out now and why have I kept it for so long (aside from the fact that I had a couple classes with the guy in the band who probably wrote those lines)?

Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Friday, 5 May 2006 22:52 (eighteen years ago) link

you can download both uptown bones records here:

http://uptownbones.com/

mts (theoreticalgirl), Saturday, 6 May 2006 03:04 (eighteen years ago) link

I booked king carcass when they went on tour with unsane in 1992, right before charlie ondras passed.

no one here mentioned Schooley D - tch tch.

Jesus, glad film school got their van back. looks like im not the only to get gear raped this year.

Uncle Tom (Uncle Tom), Saturday, 6 May 2006 03:46 (eighteen years ago) link

"no one here mentioned Schooley D - tch tch."


Schooly D! The Strapping Fieldhands! Mandrake Memorial!

-- scott seward (skotro...), April 22nd, 2004.

scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 6 May 2006 03:50 (eighteen years ago) link

except we both spelled his name wrong. tch tch.

(i always forget that extra L)

scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 6 May 2006 03:51 (eighteen years ago) link

[flipper, with a sense of humor]

?

Unlimited Toothpicker (eman), Saturday, 6 May 2006 03:58 (eighteen years ago) link

bands that have had incurred theft while playing in philadelphia during the last 3 months:

film school
arab strap
rosie thomas
ambulette

mts (theoreticalgirl), Saturday, 6 May 2006 12:56 (eighteen years ago) link

three years pass...

http://www.youtube.com/user/AllroyPA#play/uploads/10/hIuRLiljFQc

_Rockist__Scientist_, Saturday, 12 September 2009 20:11 (fourteen years ago) link

two months pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2b7utZwzhw

_Rudipherous_, Thursday, 26 November 2009 01:49 (fourteen years ago) link

A bit better, I'd say:

http://www.youtube.com/user/dazeystarr#p/a/u/0/-EXorsrqyTk

_Rudipherous_, Thursday, 26 November 2009 02:04 (fourteen years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EXorsrqyTk

_Rudipherous_, Thursday, 26 November 2009 02:05 (fourteen years ago) link

three months pass...

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/music/The-Wawa-Jingle-Guy.html

_Rudipherous_, Wednesday, 10 March 2010 12:19 (fourteen years ago) link

one year passes...

FINALLY, Scram's anthemic "Here Tonite" is up. Love this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mRF3Kh_yko

My favorite local Philly band during the 80s, with Ruin as a close second.

And, also huge, "Stand Up":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvbgN_yjL6g

It's sad about Scram. They reinvented their sound as they went on, digging more deeply into African music, adding percussion, and drafting saxophonist Elliot Levin, but they didn't get much support.

_Rudipherous_, Saturday, 25 June 2011 18:56 (twelve years ago) link

And you can complain about the protest lyrics (though I find them pretty palatable here) but you cannot deny the "Here Tonite" hook.

_Rudipherous_, Saturday, 25 June 2011 19:10 (twelve years ago) link

Never saw this band live (probably would've been too scared?), but I liked some of their songs on the radio. the Sadistic Exploits:

http://freedomhasnobounds.com/?cat=30

(Actually I think they were from New Jersey, but close enough.)

_Rudipherous_, Saturday, 25 June 2011 19:29 (twelve years ago) link

Oh and he's got live footage of RUIN from the 80s:

http://freedomhasnobounds.com/?cat=6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRvYu_DUrpQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiAJssHF6Bw

_Rudipherous_, Saturday, 25 June 2011 19:49 (twelve years ago) link

Thank you youtube, I'm not getting any laundry done.

_Rudipherous_, Saturday, 25 June 2011 19:53 (twelve years ago) link

This Baby Doll might be the best of the live videos I've checked out so far:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xah7WYiqJHU

_Rudipherous_, Saturday, 25 June 2011 20:07 (twelve years ago) link

four years pass...

Anyone heard of Alex G?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_G

calstars, Thursday, 27 August 2015 03:15 (eight years ago) link

Yeah! I saw him play at OK Fest this year, he is p amazing

Y Kant Max Read (Stevie D(eux)), Thursday, 27 August 2015 03:23 (eight years ago) link

There is so much amazing music in Philly right now (Pinkwash, Sheer Mag, Girlpool, Hop Along, Swearin', Waxahatchee, Cayetana, Amanda X, Chondria, +HIRS+, etc)

Y Kant Max Read (Stevie D(eux)), Thursday, 27 August 2015 03:24 (eight years ago) link

The Goats were Philadelphia weren't they? & were actually a band when they played live at least.
I love Tricks of The Shade but not No Goats No Glory so much. They lost a central member between the 2 releases though I think. Have hoped that some live material by the band might appear somewhere but think I've only got one track possibly.

I know the Arkestra did spend some time in Philadelphia but can't think what era they were based there in. What Sun Ra lps does that relate to?

Stevolende, Thursday, 27 August 2015 09:31 (eight years ago) link

one year passes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GLqs-fwDM4

_Rudipherous_, Tuesday, 4 October 2016 14:02 (seven years ago) link

Started a thread about this band, but I'm going to post it here too. These are reacreations, years later, by band member Todd Shuster, but I think the songs still come through. Late 70s Philadelphia punk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y88VGIIkTOA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bozfE4v5-MQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT5DQJiq35s

_Rudipherous_, Tuesday, 4 October 2016 14:32 (seven years ago) link

four months pass...

Sink Manhattan (mentioned upthread):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFdJeupPLlQ

_Rudipherous_, Sunday, 19 February 2017 02:06 (seven years ago) link

Ghostwriters (who I mistakenly called Ghost Riders upthread):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh1t1he4IEY

_Rudipherous_, Sunday, 19 February 2017 02:09 (seven years ago) link

no mention thus far of the great PURLING HISS? tsk tsk...

alpine static, Sunday, 19 February 2017 10:10 (seven years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Lots of grist for my false nostalgia:

http://freedomhasnobounds.com/

_Rudipherous_, Saturday, 11 March 2017 17:51 (seven years ago) link

Rudipherous, when were you in Philly?

Fluffy Saint-Bernard (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 12 March 2017 14:35 (seven years ago) link

As a child, something like 1973-1978. As an adult: 1989-2008

But also went to Temple 1983-1987, and worked and played there most of 1987-1989.

_Rudipherous_, Sunday, 12 March 2017 16:24 (seven years ago) link


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