FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
Today Is The Day European Tour Diary 2011, Part One
In April, Jay H. Gorania headed to Europe to flog merchandise for TODAY IS THE DAY on their tour. Now that he’s back and had time to get used to regular life again, Mr. Gorania has written a tour diary for Hellbound.ca. Here is his second entry from the tour.
So, last weekend’s Sled Island festival was pretty solid. Sleep, The Sword, Dead Meadow, Bison B.C., Red Fang–I really can’t complain. Well, not about the lineup, anyways. But after defending Calgary as an affordable city to live in, I found out otherwise during my trip there last weekend…
Today’s staff interview is with our Toronto based stoner rock superfan Gruesome Greg
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the trad-metal gallop of tunes like “Ice Worm” and “Iron Hammer,” but the new, slower TGOS on display on this album is right up my alley.
“It was SXSW in Austin, so hell, we just decided to party. While hanging out on 6th Street, we were encountered by a rapper pushing his product. It’s normal for independent artists to either talk up, give away or sell their music at SXSW, but this chap obviously lacked common sense by trying to interest us in his rap project. Granted, people like all kinds of music nowadays, but did it really make sense for a rapper to approach a group full of dirty long-haired or head-shaven guys wearing metal shirts? I suppose my friend unintentionally baited him by somewhat loudly talking about Watain, the satanic Swedish black metal band. But that’s not what rap dude overheard. “Wu-Tang? Did somebody say Wu-Tang?”
Watain. Not Wu-Tang. We tried to correct him, but he interrupted us. “If y’all like Wu-Tang, you’re gonna love this!” I have his promo copy somewhere, and I’m sure it’ll make for a great coffee coaster once I find it.”
The second and final installment of Jay H. Gorania’s recap of the 2011 edition of the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas
Don’t get me wrong, there are parts of Cleveland where I’d be dead if I set foot in. I’m told that the local nickname for East Cleveland is “Mad Max,” which says it all, really. But when you’re busing it into town with the sole purpose of seeing a metal gig, it’s the best place I can think of within a seven-hour drive.
“I never in a million years thought we’d be talking about Saint Vitus now but here we are on the move again. It’s all looking pretty good, and it’s unusual. But it’s o.k. with me. When I turned 50 I realized it was time to loosen up. I decided not to worry as much and realized I’d be o.k. if I had a few beers. I had an attitude change. I’m not as uptight anymore.”
Justin M. Norton in conversation with the one and only Scott “Wino” Weinrich
Don’t get me wrong, the days of Time Heals Nothing and the self-titled are long gone, but if Sever the Wicked Hand sparks a Crowbar revival, I’m all for it.
Although I’ve got no grading scale or any reference points when it comes to acoustic folk, I will say that if you worship Wino, you’ll want this.
I like free things. I especially like them when they give me the chance to see a bunch of bands I dig for, well, nothing. So, after passing on going to the initial Scion Rock Festival with Kevin Stewart-Panko last year when it happened in Atlanta, I made up my mind I wouldn’t miss this year’s edition. When it was announced in early February that this year’s edition would be happening in a much closer location – Columbus, Ohio to be exact – we made plans to go.
Sean Palmerston recaps the 2010 Scion Rock Festival in Columbus OH for Hellbound.ca.