Here is yet another option for this Friday, May 19th taking place at The Firebird. Hallow Point is releasing a
new EP entitled, "Beyond Our Name". They are kicking off a seven date tour including five states with this show. The album was recorded and produced in early 2017 by Andrew Wade (A Day to Remember, A Ghost Inside, Wage War). Also appearing live are their friends in Final Drive, Outcome Of Betrayal, Compelled To Destroy and Wrecklamation. Visit HERE to RSVP and for more info. Tickets are $8 in advance or $10 at the door. This show is all-ages. $2 minor surcharge. There is still time to get tickets on the cheap from the bands. Below is a video feature focusing on either an official video or live video by each group. Enjoy.
Hallow Point is a hard hitting heavy metal band who have been forging their way into the Midwest music scene since 2013. They have crafted a unique blend of heavy, melodic music by fusing aspects of classic heavy metal with many exciting elements from the modern era. Several of their most notable influences include Metallica, Pantera, Lamb of God, Disturbed, Trivium, and Avenged Sevenfold among many others.
Another show option for this Friday, May 19th happens at Fubar featuring Romero from Wisconsin and sharing the stage with them are St. Louis area acts MotherFather and also QueenLotus. Visit HERE for more details on the show. Now let's see what these bands are all about and what they sound like.
Colossally heavy, genre-bending stoner rockers, ROMERO, have begun their tour of 2017 stretching across 9 US heartland states in just under 2 weeks.
The band is realistic in their approach to their touring; “We do this, essentially, because we love to…not because anyone is paying us a ton of money or as an obligation to sell a product.” says, Romero singer / guitarist, Jeffrey Mundt.
“This band is 100% self-financed”, Mundt continues, “so we can only do what we can afford to do…or what we can afford to eventually pay off. (grins) We work very hard and time is definitely an issue. By no means is Romero a group of careless, invincible 20 somethings living under the same roof. Those days are long gone. All four of us have separate lives, families, responsibilities & interests. It’s really tough for any of us to leave home, so we try to find a balance.”
ABOUT:
"Opener “Compliments and Cocktails” sounds like what The Sword wish they sounded like, and the title track sounds like a blazed Helmet covering Zeppelin."
-Metal Sucks
"with its Torche inspired catchiness, balls-out riffage and drizzles of Hammond for good measure, ROMERO show from the outset that they are no noobz to the stoner metal game."
-Heavy Planet
"If you’re a fan of Baroness and Mastodon, I’d definitely recommend checking these guys out."
-Bloody Disgusting
MOTHERFATHER - "An Instrumental post-rock group that has taken forever to release their upcoming record." So, there fan page states. They were nominated "Best Hard Rock" in the River Front Times in 2013.
The band consists of Eli Hindman (Guitars, Piano) Nelson Jones (Guitars, Synth) Dave Lowell/Perry West/Brian Shaeffer (Bass) Tim Hardy (Drums, Piano, Synth).
QUEENLOTUS - This is all the description you need:
"Kick ass rock band. Driven by lust for great music, along with talent as musicians, QueenLotus is truly one of the most entertaining bands in a long time"
- Curt Rajchart, Music is Life-
"Its like classic rock had sex with 90s rock and made a modern metal lovechild"
-Alex Whitman, Life in Chains-
This Friday at Off Broadway comes an event that is surely a big day for Ha Ha Tonka. It is their Record Release show with Trapper Schoepp (Milwaukee, WI.) touring in support of the Ozark, MO. rock, folk, Americana style band that is Ha Ha Tonka. Visit HERE for more details on the show or to RSVP on Facebook. Here is the story behind Ha Ha Tonka as posted on their fan page:
Over their history, Ha Ha Tonka has recorded four critically acclaimed albums, toured the world, played Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits, and appeared on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. Through it all, these Ozarks natives have made friends, found love, started familes, and grown and matured together. Heart-Shaped Mountain is a reflection of that development and maturity. Once aptly summed as "Indie-Americana, where Alabama meets Arcade Fire, " Ha Ha Tonka has expanded their sonic palette, unveiling balanced, sublime, pop radio accessible heights and an emotionally broader, post-punk songwriting range, a la Apache Relay or a less enigmatic Jonsi, while keeping their trademark harmonizing vocals, jangly Southern revelry and crunchy hooks fully in tact. At it's core, Heart-Shaped Mountain is an album about love and growth. At a time when divisiveness fills the headlines, Ha Ha Tonka is fighting the good fight, building narrative-tributes to friends and loved ones, memories past and prospects of the future.
London based independent label Xtra Mile Recordings (Frank Turner, Against Me!), in partnership with Kay Bank Recording, and Milwaukee-based singer-songwriter Trapper Schoepp are pleased to announce the Friday, June 2 release of Bay Beach Amusement Park (pre-order at iTunes, Xtra Mile), a six-song concept EP centered around the 125-year-old attraction located in Green Bay, WI on the shores of Lake Michigan. Produced by 18-year-old Minnesotan Eliot Skinner and recorded mostly live over a weekend at Pachyderm Studios, Bay Beach Amusement Park serves as Schoepp’s creative and wildly fun follow-up to Rangers & Valentines, an album Relix declared a “mini masterpiece” and named one of Billboard’s “Best of the Week.”
Perhaps the park’s most historic and notable attraction is The Zippin Pippin, a wooden rollercoaster known famously as Elvis Presley’s favorite ride. The King rented Libertyland on August 8, 1977 from 1:15 a.m. until 7 a.m. to entertain a group of guests. Decked in a blue jumpsuit with a black leather belt, huge belt buckle with turquoise studs and gold chains, the King rode the Pippin repeatedly during a two-hour period. Presley’s late night joyride was his last public appearance. He passed away eight days later.
40 years on, Schoepp celebrates the Pippin and the other classic rides with these six songs that take the listener on six different adventures, each song named for its respective ride (“Zippin Pippin,” “Bumper Cars,” “The Scat”). This musical joyride is suitable entertainment for both adults and children. “Come mothers, daughters, fathers and sons/You’ll feel a lot better after you’re done,” Schoepp sings in the first single “Bumper Cars,” where pop culture rivalries such as Jerry Seinfeld and Newman and the Jedi and Sith collide on the ride. Check out the music video for “Bumper Cars” HERE.
Additionally, Schoepp recently recorded “On, Wisconsin,” a hat-tip to both his beloved home state as well as his appreciation for Bob Dylan. Recorded for “Milwaukee Day,” “On, Wisconsin” uses the lyrics taken from a 1961 set of unpublished verses from the legendary songwriter that also incorporates mentions milk, cheese and the Dairy State, along with the state's slogan, "On Wisconsin.” Schoepp created a “mash up” by writing the music around the lyrics that were scrawled onto a piece of notebook paper by a then 20-year-old Dylan. Check out “On, Wisconsin” streaming over at SoundCloud HERE.
“My first ride was a total thrill. I got right back in line wanting to set lyrics to the rhythm of the roller coaster,” Trapper says of his first time riding The Zippin Pippin. “It reminded me of the innocence of childhood and the great escape a ride can give you.” After writing his ode to the famous ride, Schoepp listened in on kids’ humorous conversations at the park. Some utterances, hastily transcribed as iPhone notes, appear verbatim in songs. The jazziest tune on the album, “The Scat,” takes lines from a boy exclaiming a nightmarish experience on the spinning gravitron ride: “I feel weird, I feel numb, I wish that this would end,” he sings.
The lyrics merge the exciting, romantic, and surreal aspects Schoepp attributes to the park. “Ferris Wheel” is a story song of two brothers whose wildest wish comes true. After screaming “we wish this never ends” in unison, the ferris wheel becomes an anthropomorphic, unstoppable ride – despite the best efforts of the FBI and the brothers’ meddling mother to shut it down. “Tilt-A-Whirl” is about a high school senior’s crush on the ride’s operator, who’s spending her last summer in Green Bay before college.
While the scope of the six songs is specific, Trapper notes that the entertainment value amusement parks offer is universal. “In a world of derivatives, Bay Beach is an original,” Trapper says. “It’s a happy place for me to return to in song and in real life.”
Schoepp – who has already crisscrossed the country sharing stages with The Wallflowers, The Jayhawks and Old 97’s – will be back on the road throughout 2017 in support of Bay Beach Amusement Park, starting with a three-week run throughout the U.S. supporting Ha Ha Tonka. Visit HERE for places to hear Trapper Schoepp's music and purchase it.
Allow yourself the acquaintance of the hip-hop, rap artist from St. Louis that is named Akeda. He dropped his debut album and produced it almost fully himself. While his last show was a few months ago at Foam, his SoundCloud page shows he is staying hush for a bit. If you enjoy his music and want to reach out to him you can email him at: akedahosten (AT) gmail (DOT) com
Akeda has this to say to his listeners and fans on his SoundCloud account,"I wanted to give my fans something that was totally and completely me. I started learning to make beats so that I wouldn't have to rely on anyone else to make my vision a reality. I produced almost every song on this album so that I could sculpt a sound that was exactly what I wanted. This is me. This is me saying I made it. This is me saying I'm going to be one of the best. This is me saying I know what my purpose is. I put countless hours into making this project, and if you enjoy listening to it half as much as I enjoyed making it, then I consider it a success. I present: Born to Rule."
