BoomBox @ Gottrocks

Last night I saw BoomBox at Gottrocks. BoomBox is a band featuring Keith and Donna Godchaux's son Zion. His music is interesting and fun. It consists of a Zion on guitar and vocals and someone else (can't remember his name) on drum machines and DJing. The highlight of the show was Shakedown Street(Grateful Dead)>I Want You(the Beatles). If these guys come to your town go and see them. It will be an all night dance party.



BoomBox Live at Wakarusa Music Festival on 2007-06-07 (June 7, 2007)
Source: 4 track post-mix: {AKG c452eb/vr-1/ck22 (~ 8' high, 3' separation, directly front of SBD) -> Apogee MiniMe @ 24bit/48khz -> AES/EBU + SBD L/R (tape outputs)} -> Busman W/T Mod. R-4 Pro @ 24bit/48khz (4x Mono)
Lineage: PowerBook G4/AudioDesk 2.04 (import tracks; set 4 track mix; Bounce to Disc w/ plug-ins on master fader: Dynamics v3.0.2 (light compression); ParaEQ v4.0.2; Trim (normalize)); split tracks; resample/dither to 16bit/44.1khz) -> .aiff -> xACT v1.58 -> FLAC (level 8)
Taped by: James Bartoli
1. Right Around 2 ->
2. After a While/Space
3. Midnight on the Run ->
4. Couldn’t Get It Right
5. intro ->
6. She’s So Heavy – Want You ->
7. Montereo ->
8. Superman

Alright now that I got the music done, let me tell you all about adventure driving. My windshield wipers have died on me recently. Well today is the first day it rained since that happened. Rainx is great but everything looked a bit mosaic to me. Thank god that my work is only 12 minutes away and I could drive on mainly back roads. This was a fun yet very uncalming drive to and fro. I would never suggest anyone to do this, at the same time it is a blast. Who needs safety?

As an added bonus to today's blog I am posting my friend JugglingZombie's review of Between the Buried and Me's album Colors.
Colors review
Here, I wrote a review of Colors :D


Between the Buried and Me - Colors

In order to give this review some context I would like to get a few quick things out of the way. First, I am not a music reviewer or even a writer. Second, I am of the opinion that this is one of the best albums ever made. Third, I understand that this is just my opinion and that others may not agree that it is as good an album as I say it is. Fourth, it is perfectly fine to have differing opinions on any form of art. Music is largely a matter of personal taste which makes it difficult to describe without making comparisons to other forms of music or art. The reason for making these comparisons is not to say that the music is the same. The reason I make comparisons to other music is because it is easier to do (as I said I am not a writer.)

Colors is one of those albums that must be listened to as a whole quite a few times before the concept settles into your brain like a warm blanket. Raging highs and slow numbing lows flow back and fourth like waves crashing on the shore. The album feels as complete as any you will ever hear in its 63 minutes. I will review each of the 8 tracks individually but I wouldn't recommend listening to any one song by itself. Colors is BTBAM's third full album of original songs although they also have "The Anatomy Of," an album of only cover songs. The Anatomy Of has covers from bands ranging from Pink Floyd and Queen to Pantera and Soundgarden. This gives you an idea of the broad range of influences that BTBAM use to create Colors. BTBAM have evolved from their hardcore and death metal roots into a style of music that defines the term "progressive" and Colors is the peak of that evolution to date.

The album starts off with "Foam Born (A) The Backtrack," a hell of an introduction only 2 minutes and 15 seconds in length making it the shortest song on the album. Keyboards and Queen style vocals immediately take you in and give you something to wrap your mind around. The lyrics are obscure but begin the theme of openness, being alone, evolution, human nature, and deep understanding that is repeated throughout the entire album. The song stays heavy on keys throughout but speeds up in tempo quickly. Distorted guitars and frantic drums slide in nearly undetected until you suddenly feel that you aren't listening to Queen and that this isn't a normal album.

The next track titled "Foam Born (B) The Decade of Statues," picks up right where the first track leaves off with no pause in between. The song starts fast and heavy and keeps it going with amazing metal and hardcore guitar work that will blow your mind over and over. The keyboard sounds stay in the background and the vocals explore both BTBAM's angry and peaceful sides in a short period of time but move back and fourth seamlessly. The track is 5 minutes and 22 seconds long, making it one of the shorter songs on the album. The song moves from the best core and metal to intricate jam style music before you can even grasp what is happening. Small guitar solos litter the song and move in and out on top of each other without being overpowering. The lyrics are hard to understand at first because they come quickly and there is alot of them as compared to the other tracks. Over time they start to form in your mind and give you a feeling of importance by themselves but work even better in context with the rest of the album.

The following track, "Informal Gluttony," is a little longer at 6 minutes 49 seconds but has less lyrics than the previous song. Like the first two there is no pause and the tracks bleed into each other. With the same theme of anger in the direction of society and the mundane this track floods the senses. The song begins with drums and bass that sound quite like a TooL intro that is complex in it's simplicity. It has a tribal feel that will peak your interest right away and builds on itself gaining momentum. The vocals start powerful and change the pace quickly to aggressive and fast. It moves from this frantic pace back to a slow chorus of "Feed me fear" that never feels the same way twice. The slower parts of the song will remind you again of Queen and TooL while the faster parts feel like Dillenger Escape Plan in their rabidness.

From there the album moves to the 11 minute track "Sun of Nothing." Again no pause and the album switches quickly to angry with lyrics reminding you that you are alone in the world with people all around you. The song has a good amount of lyrics but they repeat often. Grinding through, the song slows down and speeds up a few times as with most BTBAM songs. The guitar work in this song and the amazing vocals make this one of my favorite songs of all time. Near the middle of the song it gets a little silly with a keyboard heavy breakdown and then comes right back in with some amazing 2 guitar and bass work with off-time drumming. The music at this point reminds me of Dream Theater. After a few more slow-downs and speed-ups the Queen influence shows itself again and its momentum begins going backward for a good chunk of the song. At points it has an almost Phish style with soothing vocals and happy guitar and keyboard sounds. The lyrics "A spaceman, thats what they say I am" stick out in your mind, and there is a very slow and peaceful build that makes you happy to be alive. "I am floating torwards the sun, the sun of nothing" reprises a few times and the music gives you just that feeling. Then it builds and builds until the song ends on a fast pace.

At this point the album has filled out and in only three songs explored what seems to be every kind of music possible for a North Carolina "hardcore" band to play. But then you have the 13 minute and 12 second "Ants of the Sky." This song seems to criticize you for judging the music and moves you into a Metallica style 2 guitar solo that in its short life makes you turn your head. This leads into a keyboard heavy section of the song that uses an organ style effect that has a Doors sound (at least the keys do). Breakdown after breakdown keep you on your toes, and just when you think you have a feel for what is happening it goes somewhere else. All of the sudden you find yourself hearing a soulful guitar solo that seems to come straight from a Pink Floyd concert. The keys never let up and merge with the rest of the music so much that you almost forget to listen to them. More 2 guitar mini-solos keep you guessing until you seem to near the end of the song when suddenly it breaks into something you would never expect, what can only be described as a jam session with more Floyd style soul followed by a short bluegrass style section that emerges with the sound of a redneck bar in the background throws you for a loop. The song ends on more amazing guitar work and you are not sure if you just heard one song or fifteen.

After that epic track the last thing you would expect is another super complex mega-track so that is what you get. The 8 minute and 38 second "Prequel to the Sequel" has some fantastic bass lines that really stand out over time. The song is at times so complex that you have to hear it many times to appreciate what each instrument is doing. BTBAM keep the flow going from some of the softest lullabies to some of the heaviest death metal and merge it while you are left trying to take it all in. Keeping with the rest of the album there are lots of little 1 and 2 guitar and bass solos, double bass drumming with off-time beats, keys that burst fourth only when you don't expect it. About three quarters of the way through you get thrown into a slow breakdown with a polka sound, yes POLKA thats right POLKA. A guest vocalist (Adam Fisher of Fear Before the March of Flames) blends perfectly and the song gets as heavy as anything you will ever hear. Then as with most of the song on the album it goes back and fourth and ends where the next track begins.

"Viridian" isn't so much of a song but an opener for the last track. By itself it is an extremely mellow bass heavy solo with a soulful feeling. Any bass player should listen to this 2 minute 53 second song to hear some amazing technique. It works perfectly to pace the album and get you ready for one of the most mind blowing tracks you will ever hear. In the spirit of TooL's Parabol and Parabola Viridian goes into White Walls as a single unit.

Ahhh "White Walls"... In any given day, this 14 minute 13 second EPIC song will be the best part of that day. Beginning with a TooLesque intro it moves into spastic "mathcore" section that you will hear different parts of even if you listen to the track fifty times in a row. Extreme drumming keeps the pace jumping all over the place and the vocals fit perfectly. The music at this point becomes as complicated as any I have heard. This particular song makes me wonder how much jazz BTBAM's members listen to. The song stays pretty intense for a few minutes beating your eardrums to a pulp while you love every second of it. Then like the rest of the album it softens up at just the breaking point and you start to relax. Every instrument slows down and creates a peaceful atmosphere that you forgot existed during the past few minutes of badass metal you just heard. Some ambient sounds keep you listening as you don't know what to expect. The lyrics "This is all we have, when we die, it's what left of us when we die, we will be remembered for this," are true for the song and the album as a whole. Interviews with the band members show that it is as simple as it sounds, and that this song is about the music itself. It is about being human, making mistakes, and about exploration. The music "jams out" as well as any I have ever heard with some of the best guitar sweeps ever recorded. The 2 guitar work will literally melt your face. As it chugs along you get the meaning of the word "progressive" displayed for you on a silver platter. This is what progressive music should be, true brilliance. The song makes you feel every emotion possible and makes you understand that you are special. It moves around like a living being and you feel scared that you know it has to end. BTBAM could easily turn this 14 minute long song into a 60 minute long one and they let you know it. But, as they always do, they take you where you don't expect to go but you are glad they did. The piano outro leads you right back into the first track of the album, and if you are anything like me you are ready to listen again.

Now for yet another added bonus Colors performed live.












And for more BTBAM here is something to throw you off after watching the previous videos.
BTBAM-Bicycle Race

BTBAM- Us and Them