East Coast Rocker

Putting You in the Front Row

Get Ready for The Orwells: Chicago Band Brings Its Own Style of Punk – And Entourage – on The Road

Posted by :editor@eastcoastrocker.com On : March 31, 2017
0

Category: concerts, East Coast, East Coast Rocker, festival, punk

Tags:, , , , , , ,

By DONNA BALANCIA

When The Orwells hit the road they go in style.

More than a few people at The Regent Theater in Los Angeles last night made a mention that there seemed to be an unusually large number of young women in attendance at The Orwells show.  Maybe that’s because there were a lot of young guys on the stage, with The Orwells, The Walters and No Parents performing.

The Orwells play The Governors Ball 2017 - Photo © 2017 Donna Balancia

The Orwells will play The Governors Ball 2017 – Photo © 2017 Donna Balancia

And while he may be attractive, it’s apparent The Orwells’ frontman Mario Cuomo’s strength is his vulnerable if not compelling performance, and he has the crowd in the palm of his hand from start to finish.

The Orwells will play the East Coast in late April, May and June.  They’re set for the Governor’s Ball 2017 in NYC. Their new album, Terrible Human Beings is dynamic and you can check it out here.

 

The Orwells Tour The East Coast

After seeing the three bands, comprised of all young hipster guys, it was no surprise there were so many girls hanging on the rail. But these bands didn’t fool around and got straight to work.

The Orwells may bring an entire entourage of pals and fans, but they clearly take no prisoners.

 

Frontman Mario Cuomo of The Orwells - Photo © 2017 Donna Balancia

Frontman Mario Cuomo of The Orwells – Photo © 2017 Donna Balancia

No Parents impressed with their balls-to-the-wall punk, the frontman rocked a long skirt almost as well as George Lynch, and he was a whirling dervish, making the stage his own. It was an impressive show by No Parents.  No Parents takes punk and puts a modern twist on a solid genre.

Next up, The Walters, have something going on that is really their own. It was apparent that The Walters were a house favorite as the girls cried out for M.J., who did pushups, ran the stage, leaped into the audience a few times, and ripped off his shirt, swinging it around over his head.

The Orwells take no prisoners on tour - Photo © 2017 Donna Balancia

The Orwells take no prisoners on tour – Photo © 2017 Donna Balancia

The music by The Walters seems to take on a new life when performed live.  Hats and shirts off to them, as this is no easy feat considering their recordings are tightly mastered and mixed.  The Regent Theater has a solid sound system, but frankly it’s hard to keep your eyes off the dynamic frontman and if the music doesn’t sound the same as the album, it’s hard to notice.

The Walters put on a passionate performance - Photo © 2017 Donna Balancia

The Walters put on a passionate performance – Photo © 2017 Donna Balancia

As for headliner The Orwells, Mario Cuomo is the master of the understated as he goes from song to song, lamenting his way through each of the favorites. The crowd sings along with most of the tunes and it’s no wonder Cuomo guests on projects of veteran rockers as well as handily keeps his young fans equally entertained.

There weren’t too many variations on the set list from the last few performances, from what faithful followers said and there doesn’t need to be.

The Walters - Photo © 2017 Donna Balancia

The Walters – Photo © 2017 Donna Balancia

The Orwells’ performance is something that stays with you long afterwards, it’s good to know there’s a band out there that can keep the house rocking, entertain the faithful and take familiar sounds into the future.

The fans - Photo © 2017 Donna Balancia

The fans – Photo © 2017 Donna Balancia

 

 

Daly Review: Xombie Releases New Single, ‘Might As Well,’ Hardcore That’s Easy on the Ears

Posted by :editor@eastcoastrocker.com On : March 7, 2017
0

Category: By JOHN DALY, East Coast, Music News, punk, Reviews

Tags:, ,

By JOHN DALY

When you hear the new single, “Might As Well” by Xombie, you might just want to go jump off a stage. But you better do it before Xombie’s concerts get so packed that you don’t get a turn.

“Might As Well” is the first single from the Xombie upcoming album Super Cell, to be released June 2.  And these guys really know how to rock.

New York City Connection

Xombie is from New York City and they’re not fooling around with their style: They’re covering all the bases infusing punk, hardcore and rap. They’re the most fun since the Bad Brains. Stay tuned for the release of Super Cell and try to catch a show.

Formed in New York City in 2010, Xombie is Atom Crews on lead vocals, Roy Galvan on guitar and vocals, “Cadillac” Mike Martabano on bass and Eric Castillo on drums and vocals. Xombie will be a household name if your household likes hardcore.

Might As Well

The single, produced by Eric Castillo and John Naclerio (Nada Recording) is crisp and clear on all platforms, which in today’s world is an accomplishment in itself.

The guys are pretty stoked about their success. Xombie has supported acts like He is Legend, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, Butcher Babies, Rittz, (Hed)PE, Like Moths to Flame, Otep, Dope, Bobaflex, Psychostick, Wu-Tang Clan’s Cappadonna, Apathy.

The group got almost 100,000 streams on Spotify last year. Their “Excuse Me Miss” video premiered on MTV-U in 2012.

How do they do it in such a tough genre? They raised $11,000 on Kickstarter in 2012.

Malcolm McLaren’s Son Torches Rare Sex Pistols Record, He’s ‘Disgusted’ With Punk’s Evolution

Posted by :editor@eastcoastrocker.com On : November 23, 2016
0

Category: News, Old School Music, punk

Tags:, , ,

Virgin Promo Pic - Denmark Street rehearsal room, London, March 1977 Photo: Janette Beckman

Virgin Promo Pic – Denmark Street rehearsal room, London, March 1977 Photo: Janette Beckman

Sex Pistols heir Joe Corre —  the son of legendary band manager Malcolm McLaren — burnt his original acetate of Anarchy in the UK on Tuesday evening after it failed to sell on eBay as an attempt to save it and raise money for charity. Rising to pressure from cultural critics who have slammed his plans to burn his £5 million collection, attempts were made to flog it on eBay rather than it facing the flames.

Sex Pistols on eBay

Over a week ago bidding started on ebay at £6,000 rising to a high of £62,500 on Sunday, Nov. 17 before Corre took it down for failing to reach the reserve price of £1,000,000.

Instead it went up in flames including the turntable he was playing it on. “It might be culturally significant to certain punk hangers on and freeloaders, but not to me anymore” he says. “The whole lot is going.”

Disgusted With Punk ‘Freeloaders’

Corre is disgusted with how punk has been appropriated by the commercial sector and the state. At 3:45 PM on Saturday, Nov. 26 at a secret central London location, Corre is torching everything he has collected, many of which belonged to Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren.

Recently, the Sex Pistols‘ original bassist Glen Matlock said the punk rockers might reunite again. Matlock played bass in the band from 1975 to 1977. He left and was replaced by Sid Vicious. He was part of the group’s first reunion in 1996 and the brief reunions that followed in 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2008.

Check out the Sex Pistols official website here.

Video courtesy Universal Music Operations Ltd.

The Human Darts Score a Bullseye With Surf Punk, Zombie Songs on New EP ‘Explicit Thoughts’

Posted by :editor@eastcoastrocker.com On : November 13, 2016
0

Category: By JOHN DALY, punk, Reviews

Tags:, , ,

By JOHN DALY

Better strap yourself in for a wild ride — The Human Darts have released a new EP called Explicit Thoughts and it’s amazing.

The Human Darts have a pretty weird story that we still can’t figure out but we don’t care because the music is excellent.

The songs are fun, stuff you would expect to hear while you’re at a beach party or surfer stomp.  No surprise as these guys are from Tampa and apparently have spent a lot of time at the beach.

Cool Songs, Fast Darts

The EP consists of four original songs, “Tell My Sister,” “Zombie Man Chant,” and “Stitches.” We even like their cover of the oldie “Hey Good Lookin.'” These guys are slightly sarcastic, they’re way off-center, and they put out in-you-face music, keeping it rocking at a brisk pace.

If you like punk-alternative, these guys take it to a modern level, blending fun songwriting with excellent performances — at least on the record.  We’d like to see these guys perform live because right now all we can picture is Beach Boys on acid.

The Human Darts have released the new EP, Explicit Thoughts - Photo courtesy of the Human Darts

The Human Darts have released the new EP, Explicit Thoughts – Photo courtesy of the Human Darts

The Story of The Human Darts

So the story goes something like this: There was a Darts band back in the 1970s that put out a coveted underground single and toured around. Apparently one of them was named Mr. Zelk.  It was a fractious band, with continual splits and with some underground punk success.

Years passed and Zelk found Shane Close, the son of one of the original members and he also found John Arduser, the Darts original guitarist.  So they went into Parsonage Studio in Tampa and engineer Jeff Knauf went to work, and voila, the Human Darts are back on the tracks.

What we really like is, as if in keeping with the times, the band threw a zombie-themed song, “Zombie Man Chant,” into the new EP — almost as if they knew The Walking Dead is in full swing again. It’s an amusing piece much in the same tone as “The Monster Mash,” and designed to sound like it’s from the same era.

All the tunes on the EP Explicit Thoughts are rockin. It’s a pretty wild ride overall, and the band plans to continue doing it’s thing apparently, as they say there’s a full album coming in 2017.

This is full-on reckless rock n roll, the way it’s supposed to be.  Bring on the Human Darts!

East Coast Rocker Rating: ★★★★