Catch-up: Bridgebuilder says goodbye, Throne of Lies, Shramana has a record and Total Combined Weight

Ok. I have a lot of material but I don't really need all of the fluff. Let's get down to business, shall we?

1) Bridgebuilder
Bridgebuilder was a band. That's a weird thing to say, given that David Johnson, sole proprietor, has called every incarnation of his personal writing by that name. It's had a different line-up quite a few times, being a lovely blend of many genres. The most persistent sound that was made by the group was a post-hardcore/artsy noise rock that often bordered on metal. At times it was heavier, at times it involved taping keys down on a keyboard, modulating feedback and banging on sheet metal with a hammer. David Johnson now plays bass with Shramana, Bjorn plays with Memo to Maury and Matt plays D&D with me on Wednesdays. Here's the title track to the last BB EP being played as their last song at the VFW.

2) Throne of Lies
Holy black metal, Batman! It's been since. . .forever that a town like Missoula gets lucky enough to have a band like Throne of Lies. . .exist. Yes, it's black metal, but one could go so far as to call it blackened death metal, but I think of it as deathened-black metal. That makes sense, right? These dudes listen to Amon Amarth. Like, a lot. It's pretty apparent. I can't get enough of it. In my ear holes. They'll be around awhile. Go see them the first chance you get. Here they are performing at Zombie Tools without their singer as he was in fuckin' AFRICA.















3) Shramana
Shramana is my band, so I'm not comfortable talking about the quality of our music, etc. I'm proud of a lot of the music I write and our execution of it. We released two full length albums on June 16th and are available on our website. This is a new track, the first time we played it live. See if you can spot the multiple errors! We're playing August 4th at Zoo City Apparel with Same Sex Dictator, August 15th with JERCS at the VFW, August 18th at the Lab with TIGON and Bone Dance, September 4th at the Lab for TOTALEVICTIONFEST and more to come. Stay tuned.

4) Total Combined Weight

Some 30somethings in Missoula who liked heavy music said, "Fuck it, let's start a band." It's chronicled by their bassist quite well here . Actually, you should just read that article, it explains the band much better than I could. However, I'll say that there's something to be said for a band that combines pop sensibilities into punk without becoming a pop-punk band. I enjoy their music and apparently so do a lot of other people, that's why they had a residency at the VFW several months back. The night with the best turnout saw a night of covers, with every band playing a cover set tailored to their tastes. TCW weighed in the heaviest and played Minor Threat's discography, start to finish (the finish seemed a little hazy), including Out of Step twice. They are currently on hiatus while members enjoy the beginnings of fatherhood.

There's plenty more good music to see, what with TotalFest XI just around the corner, the Melvins are coming to town and Korpiklaani coming to Billings, I'll get as much as I can up here. In the meanwhile, I'll try to get my album reviews for my playlist adds for KBGA up here ASAP as well as the Dirty Flannel playlist. I'll be on air from 6-8pm tonight playing Melvins Lite's Freak Puke, Mares of Thrace and the New Baroness.

Gretchen is a bitchin' name for a band.

. . .and it has something to do with Nazi Germany. I don't quite remember. It's dark. Ask them (no, they're not Nazis).

It's been a really long time since I've heard a band that wasn't any specific identifiable sub-genre of a genre of rock.

Gretchen broke that stint.

Punk, but not "punk-rock;" heavy, sludgy and dirty, but not "metal" in the traditional sense; dark, sparse, loud, screamed and with alternating tempos, but not crust. Also, melodic. This = boneriffic. As in, gives me at least a half chub.

Another hard hitting local, Gretchen is another band created from the incestuous toxic sludge that is the Missoula punk/heavy music community. If you're a person who is reading this, it's unlikely you don't know who Ryan Bilunka, Josh Jacka and Joey Running-Crane are. Their combined musical track record could stretch from here to the moon, including Shramana, King Elephant, Goddammitboyhowdy!, The Holy Family mission Band, Bird's Mile Home, Suicide Victim, This Band Kills Fascists, Blue Boy Destroy, POA, JackTopTown, Heiress Pilton, Haymarket Overture, Bridgebuilder and well, you get the idea. These dudes live to play and their excellent musicianship is readily apparent.

Gretchen plays Zombie Tools on 5/26/2012 with Shramana, Throne of Lies and Mount Poverty Well Diggers

I feel fortunate to be able to state that these dudes are also good friends of mine. Ryan, the bassist and singer (and main songwriter, I believe) wanted to start a project that was a chaotic as possible. Influences such as Slayer (his life-long favorite band), Circle Takes the Square, Leftover Crack, and a never ending slew of bands that have screamed vocals and  intense, angular progressions with odd timing has helped shape his vision of what he hoped would end up being pure insanity. Josh's blazing guitar skills add an intense melodic shape to the formidable rhythmic body, winding his intricate leads over a variety of tempos, often sounding as though he is leading the very space of the song itself on its own journey through a dark psyche. Joey could be described as one of the most versatile musicians I know, playing guitar and singing/songwriting for his own personal project(s), King Elephant (for whom Ryan also plays bass) and Goddammitboyhowdy!, both of which are folk-influenced pop-punk bands, as well as drumming for local folk-punk favorites, Bird's Mile Home. I honestly had no idea he was an adept drummer until he began to play with a Missoula staple group, Bridgebuilder (who are currently undergoing format transformation). He's been hitting the skins hard these days for a number of projects, this one allows his heavy side to show.

Luckily for us, they'll be releasing their recordings before too long, and you should get out to see them the next time they play. Such incestuous bands have a tendency to be short lived in our fair city, as personal lives and schedules often become hard to juggle when other projects are involved. Pity, as Gretchen currently takes priority for which local band I'm going to see.

Here's footage from their show on 3/31/2012 with Bacon and Egg and Vera.

 

I still will post some stuff about Throne Of Lies and Bridgebuilder. I also got some footage of Total Combined Weight's Minor Threat Complete Discography set on the last night of their residency at the VFW, I'll probably talk about that for a minute or something. HO BOY!