Zeke

zé — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:44:00 GMT

I'll be moving out of my current place this week so in the past few days I've been trying to make some headway with the dreadfully boring task of organizing my stuff. Dissembling cheap Swedish furniture that isn't' worth the wood it's made of is not my idea of a good time, except maybe if done with an axe. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Since whining and complaining about it didn't seem to get any work done, a change in strategy was in order. People will seek motivation just about anywhere to overcome the lack of will to do such mundane, everyday tasks. Hard drugs, going to church, Dr Phil's audio books (I'm not here to judge), and so on. Most of the time, I turn to music for a pick-me-up, especially the hard-hitting stuff. Fast and furious will do fine. ZEKE will do better.

I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay

I rock all night and I drink all day

Here's a bunch of fellows that don't like to beat around the bush, 2 seconds in and you'll know exactly what they're aiming at: to entertain your primitive self by playing some nasty, gritty, capital letters ROCK. They sound like they've been on a steady diet of Motörhead and amphetamines for years. Vocalist/guitarrist "Blind" Marky rasps like an angry Lemmy Kilmister gone full punk, the riffs sound like they were spewed out by the Dwarves and the rhythm section of Jeff "The Kid" Matz (bass) and Donny "Paycheck" (drums) would make Discharge proud. Even their aliases cry out Rock n' Roll. Music nowadays needs bands like ZEKE, who remind us of the urgency that defined the early stages of punk and hardcore and that should have never gone out of style (thanks a lot, Green Day). Their booze-drenched tunes pack enough punch to make you want to hit the road, this stuff reeks of cheap fuel and burned rubber. Kings of the road indeed.

Hell yeah.

So, the next time you're in the mood for some "Ace of Spades", tune in some Zeke. If all the name-dropping made you the least curious, chances are you're going to like it. Go grab their latest output, Till The Living End, play it loud and antagonize your neighbours. Next time a cup of joe just isn't enough to get you through the day, you know where to turn to.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Boredoms

zé — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:20:00 GMT

Introducing Japan, land of karaoke madness, weird porn fetishes and ludicrously violent movies. I'm guessing Japanese culture has a lot more to offer other than this triad of seemingly ill-conceived concepts but as far as personal experience goes, I really don't know any better. Nevertheless, the extravagant nature of these is evidence enough of the cultural distance between us, civilized keep-it-on-the-safe-side-of-things westerners and those crazy what-the-fuck-were-they-thinking Japanese.

So, having developed over the years a taste for, let's say, eccentric music (because weird just sounds mean), Japan seemed like a good place to turn to, because, you know, they're freaky like that.

Pictured above: freaky.

The photo was taken during a concert (if you can call it that) of Hanatarash, an early project of Yamatanka Eye who specialized in spreading terror-inducing noise while putting at risk the lives of those brave enough to attend their shows. In one particular gig, he actually ran a bulldozer into the audience. It just goes to show the fine line between art and attempted murder.

Eye then founded Boredoms, an ever-mutating musical outfit that has suffered several line-up changes and that has been renovating its sound since their early stages. From noise-rock to full blown psychedelia and back to tribal drumming, they have tampered with many sounds, leaving a long and confusing discography along the way. Their music is hard to digest and not something to take on a whim.

I'm at a loss for words to describe their sound (should have thought of it before you started writing this, eh champ?). It's all so massive and schizophrenic, bearing no ties to any distinctive style of music. You'll be confused, perhaps even aggravated by all those shrieks and blips and inane riffs but there's a chance that somehow, at some point, it starts making sense. When that happens, you're in for a treat.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

PS: Hope you enjoy this first article. Don't expect many of these though.