Poison the Well

In that insufferable gap between when a band finishes up touring to go back to the studio and the impending release of the record they had been tirelessly toiling over, Poison the Well has decided to release some of their B-Sides from their previous record, Versions. They spaced out the release of six songs into three limited edition 7" vinyl records with 2 songs each. Long story short, I decided that I should purchase each of these records as they came out. I've become a bit of an annoying super-fan who pretty much refreshes the band’s myspace page on an hourly basis looking for any updates, bulletins, or tasty morsels of auditory deliciousness. Pretty much the SECOND the record presale is announced I all but throw my credit card at the band and stand anxiously by the mailbox… only to receive (in due time) my previously unheard, limited edition, special presale packaged...record...which I can't listen to...because I don’t own a record player. I've tried jamming it in the cd player, putting it in the computer, scratching it really gently with my fingernail, and rubbing it on the dog and haven't been able to pull ANY sound out of the damn thing. Thank god for technology. I bought the songs on iTunes. So on top of buying the damn record and having no other real use for the thing other than to hang it on my wall as a seven inch circle of decoration...I bought the same songs online. I paid for the same thing twice. Because I'm "that guy." Super.

Moving on.

So the second of the three Poison the Well (PTW) releases titled II/III, cleverly enough, came out this past Tuesday. This means my useless record came in the mail on Thursday and I just bought/downloaded the tracks on iTunes. So on the eve of this exercise in musical retardation, I thought it might be interesting to do a little stream of consciousness thing while listening to the two tracks I've downloaded. They are called "Shuffle" and "Bowie" and are the 3rd and 4th tracks released after “New Fast” and “Purple Sabbath.”

But first, a little background. Like I said, these tracks were recorded during the band's 2006/2007 "Versions" recording session with producers/engineers Pelle Henricsson and Eskil Loustrom (with two little dots over the o's...umlads? that what they're called? who cares, this isn't a linguistics blog). Mind you Pelle and Eskil (cuz we're on a first name basis) were the geniuses who produced and recorded the revolutionary record "The Shape of Punk to Come" by The Refused. If you haven't heard or heard of this record, do yourself a favor and give it a listen. I'll have to do a separate posting on that because I could/would go on WAY too long about it. Versions is one of my, if not THE, favorite record of 2007. Aside from the creative input from the producers that DEFINITELY provided a tighter, more purposeful song structure, they did a lot of live recording, meaning everyone was playing/recording together. This allows the guys to "vibe" off each other as the songs push and pull against the tempo. This allows for a more natural flow to the song that gets lost if every note were laid out on the grid of the metronome. On top of the recording process, the instruments were all mic'd and recorded in a very roomy setting. As much as you can hear the drums, you can hear the room they're in. Again, this makes the record sound natural and real. It's hard to describe, but if you listen to a track off this record versus, say, any Adam D mix ever ("Oncoming Storm" by Unearth, "Horizons" by Parkway Drive, "Thrill Seeker" by August Burns Red, or "The End Of Heartache" by Killswitch Engage to name a few) you can hear a natural reverb present in the Versions recordings. It comes off sounding like you were sitting in a room with the band as they played. This “room sound” comes from putting a microphone right up against the speaker of the guitar cabinet and another one deep in the room, catching the natural reverb of the live room. All this gave a very cool sonic feel to the record. What makes this tone fit music was the way in which the band progressed in their style. As a band, PTW grew away from the hardcore/punk beginnings and embraced their influences which lay heavily in blues. "Versions" has instruments like mandolins, tambourines, trumpets, Wurlitzer pianos, and banjos that, even in a heavier setting, texture the music in a very delicate way. The song "Slow Good Morning" is a GREAT example of this.

Alright, enough of that...on with Shuffle (1st) and Bowie (2nd)...aaaaaaand play:

a weird swing feel to the drums
grainy bass
Jeff’s voice always surprises me in its clarity at times
ooo! slide guitar
they're really riding the swung rhythm
more slide!
I think this is in a weird minor key that makes the swing feel dark...it's like an evil nursery rhyme
there's an organ in the background I think...fills out/opens up the sound
drums for a second sounded like "Hitching A Ride" by Green Day
kick drum is lost in the mix a little bit, I wonder if this song was mixed/mastered at the same time as Versions
cool ending

loose guitar playing
slooooow song
more clear vocals...more sing-song-y
whoa...big floor tom
harmonizing with a lower octave vocally, sounds dark
snare drum sounds awesome...perfect amount of "crack" and "rattle" (snare head and snare chain)
sounds like the song wants to build into an epic end/chorus
big tom again
there's a really cool slow drum beat with lots of ghost notes that
oo, chick back-up harmonizing? that's new
I hope the chick comes back...that was cool...different texture I haven't heard in PTW
slide guitar with a rotating speaker (like used for organs...)
huh...song stayed slow.

So that was that...interesting. Maybe you thought so too.

Title. Expanded.

wlfbkr = wolfbiker

I might decide to mention this in the next couple postings in hopes that it might stick. But that has yet to be determined. Both if it will stick and if I remember to reiterate this point to you.

Either way, lets not stray too far.

I wanted to title this blog (or at least make the web address) "Wolfbiker" (dot blogspot dot com) but it was taken. To get around this I used the same word but took out the vowels. Easy enough. Wolfbiker. No vowels. Wlfbkr. If you look at it and try to prounounce it, it still sort of sounds like my intended word. My favorite word. Probably. I hope that sticks for you like its sticking for me.

Wlfbkr.

Being as this is going to be a blog about music, let me explain my title.

I listen to a lot of music. It may not be a particularly wide variety, but I know what I like, and for the most part I think I know why I like it. Strangely enough, I'm pretty confident in saying that this word, "wolfbiker", pretty much embodies a lot of what I like in the music I listen to.

"Wolfbiker" is actually the title of the most recent record by a band I really enjoy called Evergreen Terrace (named for the street the Simpsons live on). This band, if you were to listen to them, would probably sound about as raucous as...something really raucous. (I haven't quite decided how explicit to make this blog, but the analogy I was thinking of going for involved a cheese grater and something that would make a horrible sound when said kitchen appliance would be used on it...) I think I would classify this band as some mix between hardcore punk, metal, and metalcore. A blend of fast paced, screamed verses, occasionally melodically sung choruses with more screaming in them, and crunching, percussive breakdowns...probably with more screaming. To the layman's ear, it would probably sound terrible. And I don't blame you, layman. But I've been listening to this "garbage" for a little while and have moved past the "noise" of it all and revel in all it's musical glory. There are complex rhythms based around straighforward time signatures that give the music a simultaneous simple and intreguing feeling. There are feelings behind the screaming that speak to me. There's a really awesome duality to the music that presents itself when the clarity of the singer's voice cuts through the distortion. There is a very tangible energy of sorts that's translated through to me. It's in the tone of the guitars, it's in the way the eq on the kick drum mic cuts through the mix, its in the balance of the singing and screaming, it's in the way the bass guitar is barely audible but it's grain beefs up the sound. When you hear can it, you feel it.

Beyond the musical aspect of this word, the record, the song, and the band, there's a whole other attitude that "wolfbiker" has. This band, Evergreen Terrace, described the meaning of this word in the following way:

Say theres this girl/guy youve been crushing on. You like em, but are hesitant to approach them to ask them out on a rollerskating date, or out for some mini golf and a John Cusack movie.

Then your bff looks at you dead in the eye and says, "Wolfbiker, bitch."

At that moment, you reply "You're right. Wolfbiker."

It's ridiculous. By the sound of it, "wolfbiker" is really just the combination of two of the hardest, most metal, ridiculous things they could think of: wolves and bikers. Then combined it. It's funny. You watch these guys on stage and what you're watching is a tight-knit group of buddies having the time of their lives playing music they love to make. The make jokes between songs, goof around while playing, title their tracks silly things like Bad Energy Troll, Rip This!, New Friend Request, and No Donnie These Men Are Nihilists (a quote from The Big Labowski). They're just normal dudes having a blast. And I can dig that.

So that's what "Wolfbiker" really means to me. It's the melding of really really stupidly heavy things with the profound understanding that what its being heard is not serious at all. It's fun(ny).

I hope that clarifies why I chose this word as the representation of the things I'll be writing.

Dude, bro...Wolfbiker!