http://www.alibi.com Music from the Alibi en-us http://www.alibi.com/rss PHP webmonkeys@alibi.com http://alibi.com/index.php?story=30979&scn=music Do you love bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet and ZZ Top as much as you love a fine woman with a towering perm who wears jeans cut so high the fabric reaches past that perm? Would you rather drink a six-pack of Bud on a lawn chair in the bed of your truck than sip wine at one of those fancy Olive Gardens? Does your arm bear the symbol of freedom that is an eagle sheathed in the American flag? If you answered any of these with a spirited “Shit Yeah!,” then read on, y'all. Formed around 2002, Trainwreck was sired by Kyle Gass of metal/comedy rock band Tenacious D and features Gass’ alter ego Klip Calhoun. The band is heavily influenced by the sound and lifestyle of Southern and classic rock from the '70s. Last week we spoke on the phone with John Konesky, otherwise known as John Bartholomew Shredman, Trainwreck's fierce electric guitar player. What does Trainwreck stand for? We stand for quality rock 'n' roll and good times. Fun and excitement. I think what we actually do is cherish and embrace all of the wonderful music that we love, while at the same time parodying it with the utmost respect. How do other musicians receive you? I like to imagine in my head that they're blown away by our musicianship and talent—and also laugh hysterically at the same time—but I don't know if that's actually what's happening. Are any of you from the South? No, but I like to think we have the spirit of the South. Three of us are from the Midwest—we're from the Heartland —a very similar aesthetic and mentality. So you earnestly love Skynyrd and Grand Funk and other '70s classic rock bands? I have about a 1,000 vinyl LPs in my closet proving that I very much love old '70s rock 'n' roll, and that's all of us, too—it's definitely an obsession. In all of that vinyl do you prefer, say, Boston or ELO? I think in any situation where one thing is weighed against the other, be it music or musical entities, you could say I prefer Boston. But yeah, I love it all. There are weird rabbit holes too ... of, like, the weird guy who really never did too much, but played with Deep Purple a little bit, and had this sweet band that put out a record in ’72. It's like the record that Led Zeppelin never wrote, but it's amazing. There’s an endless well of amazing music, and I think generations keep rediscovering but also unearthing these artifacts of amazing rock 'n' roll. What's a good example of that? Specifically, the one I was referencing is this band Trapeze. And then there's a million other ones—without boring people and going through my knowledge base of obscure rock 'n' roll and sounding like an elitist douchebag. Do you perform in costumes? It's not so much costumes as what we wear every day. It's all real. Do you have mullets? Our singer does. And that's more of a modern term for just good hair —I don't really understand it. But our singer [Darryl Lee Donald, stage name of Jason Reed] has really good hair, and it's longer in the back than it is on top. It's good for styling if you don't want hair in your face. I just have long hair and an equally long mustache. And then the other fellows have hair of varying lengths. What would you be doing if you weren't playing in Trainwreck? I'd probably work construction. Do you think it’s amusing that when you search “Trainwreck” on the web, you get images of actual train wrecks? It's hard to beat the popularity of an actual train wreck, so we won't even try. There are some other Trainwreck bands out there, and we've been systematically beating them down, one after the other, as they pop their heads up. So fortunately we've climbed to the top of the Google search realm in Trainwreck bands . But we will never be more popular than a full-on, actual train wreck with casualties. Jessica Cassyle Carr 35.0846580 -106.6548300 http://alibi.com/index.php?story=30987&scn=music A skull-crushing, band-by-local band preview of Friday’s headbangers ball: Roñoso In a rare stage performance (these guys prefer to be on ground level at all-ages shows, where the crowd shares blood and sweat and you can get clocked in the head with someone’s guitar pegs) Roñoso delivers fine crustcore without the prevalent aborted fetus imagery. Plenty of metal bands can get downright emo, lyrically-speaking, and not that you can understand Roñoso’s vocals but the band sings about “patriotic” aggression, social justice and turning off the damn television. If Greg (bass /vocals), Miles (guitar/vocals) and Mike (drums) were walking down the street, mothers would yank their babies away to safety, never knowing that they’re some of the nicest guys around. Be sure to get to the club early because being the nice guys they are, Roñoso usually volunteers for the sacrificial opening slot. Black Maria Me, I can’t tell Slayer from Ratt. If one doesn’t know better, you might tag Black Maria as heavy metal or doom rock. But the more you listen—I mean actually listen without getting swept up in the pulse-pounding splendor of the aural assault—the band is more rock and roll than immediately apparent. Black Maria is notably distinct and unmuddled for a five-man setup. Although the songs are as tight as a well-built stone wall (and make you feel like you’re pounding your head against it, enjoying it all the while) each instrument can be heard distinctly. It may be a tad buried, but there’s melody lurking beneath the tumult. Translation: You could even dance to Black Maria if so inclined. That is, if you can keep from head-banging and hair-whipping along with the boys on stage. Think Blue Cheer covering Fu Manchu with a bit of Ten Pound Hammer’s Blaine Cartwright riffs and Lemmy of Motorhead egging them on. Suspended Mimo (throat wrenching vocals and treacherous bass), Mandy (roving riffage) and Chan (tough-as-nails double-kick drums) are the iron maidens of Suspended who wail, rock and thrash all over the place. These gals had plenty of practice since they began shredding in high school. Suspended definitely aren’t the girls you would’ve asked to the Senior Prom … unless you wanted to slam cans of beer in the parking lot with Megadeth on the radio and leave the sappy sentiment to your classmates waltzing around in the gym. End to End Tonight’s local band sonic assault wouldn’t be complete without some straight-up death metal. End to End take a classic thundercore sound and mix it up with the agonizing screams found deep within its self-proclaimed “inner beast.” Piercing power chords, relentless drums and tortured vocals deliver a solid wall of clamor. Don’t plan on getting to bed too early tonight. Even if you leave the club before closing you’ll be too amped to sleep anytime soon. Captain America 35.0837570 -106.6512810 http://alibi.com/index.php?story=30973&scn=music We’re not so sure what’s pictured in this flyer, but we’re guessing it’s some kind of Eastern European art car. Except everyone knows they don’t have cars in Eastern Europe—just vampires and Yugos. On Wednesday, March 10, Zoltan Szekely and Josh English celebrate their birthdays. Beginning at 6 p.m., Black Market Goods (114 Morningside NE) hosts the music of Le Chat Lunatique, Totem. This all-ages show is $5. Happy birthday, lads. (Jessica Cassyle Carr) http://alibi.com/index.php?story=30942&scn=music Few things (the Hope Diamond, a Picasso, cans of sardines) are better than a stray 7-inch record finding its way into your possession. The other day, Free Pop’s black, marbleized EP, “In Cool Time,” materialized on the Fisher Price record player that lives in the Alibi offices. The recording is strange with vibrato, ambient sound, heavy ukulele, tender ballads and some high-pitched singing reminiscent of creepy, mid-century children’s music. Behind this weird excellence are locals Matt Galindo, Zak Modell and Malinda Tryba. Track down Free Pop at the group’s next show and get this record. (JCC) http://alibi.com/index.php?story=30980&scn=music Returning from a hiatus, Song Roulette sought out the random selections of Ms. Jill McArthur—former drummer extraordinaire for a handful of lauded local bands including The Foxx, The Grave of Nobody’s Darling and The Mindy Set. (She’s also a stylist responsible for many beautiful haircuts, and she’s a snappy dresser, too.) At the end of this month Jill picks up and moves to New York City. We bid her a fond farewell and wish her the best of luck in the big city. Jessica Cassyle Carr