May 24 Playlist

No.1 Party Anthem - Arctic Monkeys Bleak - Littlefoot Ode to Victory - Mac DeMarco California Sun - The Ramones Children of the Night - SaraLee What Condition Am I In? - Miles Kane All the Garden Birds - Palma Violets Tom the Drum - Palma Violets Nobody Asked Me (If I Was Okay) - Sky Ferrira Oh Yeah, That Deep Breath - Free Pizza Everlong - Foo Fighters Be the Breeder - Guerilla Toss Radical or Pro-Parental - Kathleen Hanna Saddest Summer- The Drums Strange Magic - Electric Light Orchestra Wonderwall - Oasis Philadelphia Freedom - Elton John

May 16 Playlist

Kathy Cross - Jim Leonard SUn Theme - Sun Young Kiss Me Again - The Drums Sesso in Futro - Tredici Bacci Schemers - Skaters Wild One - Colleen Green Holy Toledo - Vundabar 700 Parts - Fat Creeps Heart Eyes - Peach Kelli Pop A Pig Who Feeds - Guerilla Toss Even After You're Gone - Secret Lover Pray to God - Calvin Harris ft Haim Time To Go Home - Chasity Belt Ice Cream Cigarette - Size Queen Falling Down - Tall Juan Net Babes - Free Pizza FOMO - Fleabite Rebel Girl - Bikini Kill

Guerilla Toss

             Guerilla Toss is the voice of underground music in Boston. Since 2012 they’ve had nine releases, toured relentlessly, and had lineup changes.  Founded at NEC, Gtoss set out to rebel against the current music trends and investigate musical improvisation. They consciously avoided harmonies and melodies. They have buzz, like they can’t play house shows anymore, too many people wanna come out, so they have to play the bigger DIY places. They’ve gotten pretty big in Boston, a lot of people really like them. But they are not going to be a local band anymore, they are moving to New York.

I think the reason the younger or new-to-Boston crowd is so drawn to Guerilla Toss is because when to come to Boston and get exposed to this scene, Gtoss is one of the first bands brought up. And then when you hear that psych-noise you are just like “Oh my god. What!?” It’s over stimulating. I can’t classify them or give them a genre, and some bands are like that, unlabeled-able. They’ve made sense of all the noise, garage, and experimental jargon Boston has to offer.  Their jams are so good that I can’t even comprehend how they were able to make them, it’s raw and funky.

               

Their more recent stuff sounds more fine-tuned, but not like becoming boring, but almost more organized in a way, like they’re learning about what they sound like and how they wanna progress. It’s more experienced.

              

Guerilla Toss is notorious for their abrasive, physical, and piercing live performances. They are very much live act. You need to see them, or even just YouTube them. Back when Simon Hanes was the bassist, he would just go nuts, like he would get naked and flail around. It was somatic. Kassie Carlson’s energy and screams pierce right through you and you can feel yourself being sacrificed to the music. It’s like they’re completely disconnected but more lucid in the moment than anyone else in the room.  I asked Kassie what it’s like to perform, and she said “In order to be like that you got to disassociate from the people. But when we’re on stage the only thing that matters is the other people.” You can see the band using the performance as a physical release, and so the audience gets physical and let’s go of whatever is inside them too.

             

The members of Guerilla Toss seem to breathe Gtoss. The three longest running members, Kassie, Arian, and Pete, provide a strong core is good which is good for their image. They provide stability, and stability is important to people, like even when others leave you know those three will be there. You can tell they are close by the way they look so strong and confident together.

             

I think about when they tour, and when they get city where no one knows them and they perform, what the audience that doesn’t know them thinks. They must think “What just happened. Who are those people? What did they just do?” Because people in Boston know. And I think the move to New York is good, because now more people will know. There is probably more shows to play in New York, so hopefully that means more well-deserved money to make. They’ve gotten as big as a band can get in the Boston underground and have been crushing it for years. So a new scene to change and develop in can’t be bad.

               

They are going to be releasing new music soon, so you know they will probably tour, so I am sure it won’t be a lifetime before Guerilla Toss plays in Boston again. I can’t even imagine how flipping nuts a Boston Gtoss show will be when they don’t live here anymore.

Back again this sunday!!!

Sunday May 11th's Playlist

Hello. The very first Fanatic of the summer was last night, and I worked very hard on the playlist because I have a years worth of stuff that I wanted to play, so I got to play some of my new favs, but I still have a lot to get through. Here was last night's playlist:

"Sweet Teeth" by Leggy
"JJ's House" by The Lemons
"If You're Crying" by IAN
"Why'd You Call Me" by Colleen Green
"Roses from Peru" by Samuel Boat
"Gay Disco" by Guerilla Toss
"Heaven Sent" by Best Coast
"Horoscope" by Fat Creeps
"Blue" by Tomboy
"An Infinite Loop" by Hutch & Kathy
"Lizzy Come Back to Life" by TV Girl
"Superlove" by Charli XCX
"Hot Topic" by Le Tigre
"86'd in 03" by Bent Shapes
"livin in america" by Jane La Onda
"Handsome" by The Vaccines
"Baby Girl" by Free Pizza
"So sorry" by SaraLee
"IN TH FLESH" Bong Wish
"Diplomat's Son" by Vampire Weekend

SWEETIE - TOMBOY

L-R: Ali, Madeline, Meghan, and Hanna

Without a doubt one of my favorite bands, Tomboy has finally released their full-length EP. It is called Sweetie, and it features the title track which has been on their bandcamp since November of 2013, and a killer re-recording of the most powerful and classic "I'm In the Fucking Band" off of their other January 2013 6 song release of the same name. Everyone has been patiently awaiting another Tomboy release since the success and general love of their first EP. It was probably hard to get together, because even though Boston is Tomboy's home, these ladies live in Boston, D.C, and Canada. And these girls are busy, they all play in other bands and Madeline is an actress. 

So sassy, so fierce. Tomboy is definitely made up of some of the coolest girls on the scene. Every song on their EP, I’m In the Fucking Band, is fantastic and catchy. Tomboy is the modern embodiment of the riot grrrls, and they are doing it right. As someone who deeply admires the riot grrls of the 90's, having someone right in front of me that has that same spirit is very inspiring. Their songs are so relevant to the challenges faced by today’s feminist. “I’m In the Fucking Band” is about their struggle of being at a show and everyone there thinking that they are just the girlfriends of some guy in a band, but Tomboy won’t take that. They are IN the FUCKING band and deserve your respect. Their garage rock has purpose. They take what makes them angry and turn it into something to dance to. 

On Sweetie they tackle and conquer cat-callers, assholes, and relationships with dominance, grace, and wit. The sound of this album is just so strong, the fierceness and determination of Madeline's vocals carries the songs messages and themes. The rowdy drums and fuzz-strong guitar give them a sound similar to all of the strong female-lead rock bands of the nineties. These feminist are inspiring. On "Sweetie" they are calling some unknown figure out for treating them like some 2-D toy object. After they call him out and say "No!!" that is not what they are or what they are there for, they assert this with wicked lyrics such as "You call me sweetie/ but that's not what you mean/ 'look pretty with that smile'/ well, I think you're fucking vile." The songs may have some anger in them, but it's an anger that makes you dance, then when you are dancing you have fun, so the joke is really on any asshole that has ever wronged Tomboy. They are sort of an angry-pop that makes you have the time of your life. Then there is "Blue", the closing track that is perfectly swift and slower paced. It's beautifully written and simple, the smooth track ends album in impeccable standing. Every girl in the world should listen to Tomboy.

Check out my interview with Tomboy: https://bostonhassle.com/2014/11/interview-tomboy/

Also check out this awesome Tomboy artwork on Le Sigh: http://www.thelesigh.com/2015/04/stream-tomboy-sweetie.html

Buy the album through Ride the Snake: http://www.ridethesnakerecords.com/bark/tomboy-lp/

I WANT TO GROW UP - COLLEEN GREEN

------------------------------------REPOST FROM BOSTONHASSLE.COM-------------------------------

Massachusetts native turned LA resident Colleen Green is my favorite singer of all time. And I am pretty sure it's because I feel like we are the same person. For years Green has been known for her fuzzy stoner-pop gems featuring her, her guitar, and a trusty drum machine.  I Want to Grow Up, recently released on Hardly Art, is an album of self-reflection, a slight turn from her previous and equally as stellar release, Sock It To Me, which primarily focuses on love and relationships. Colleen sheds her D.I.Y sound and adopts a bigger rock persona with stronger vocals, heavier guitar, a drummer instead of a drum machine, and a bassist. The most major step the punk songstress takes in growing up on this album is identifying that she needs to. Colleen recently turned 30, and many of the themes on the album probably have to do with that, but it is crazy to me that I, as an 18 year old, can completely identify with and understand someone at a much different stage in their life. Maybe it is just me projecting my own feelings onto the songs, but either way it is amazing that the songs make it so easy for me to do that.

 Colleen's realest and maybe most personal song to date, "Deeper Than Love," is an almost haunting account of her past and fears about relationships, featuring lyrics like "How can I give you my life when I know you're just going to die?" But you can hear Colleen's motivation to change and get healthy on the upbeat "Things That Are Bad for Me (Pt. I)," and her struggle to change her ways, like on "Things That Are Bad for Me (Pt. II)." The most empowering song on the album is the closing track, "Whatever I Want," where Colleen realizes that she doesn't have to be scared, her world is a design of her own, and she can truly do whatever she wants.

 Another major step in the growing-up process is Colleen's transition from home recording to studio. It does make the songs sound clearer, fresher, and more grown-up, but they are still true Colleen Green jams. This album also features some of her sweetest and most rocking guitar riffs to date (S/O to "I Want To Grow Up" and "Things That Are Bad for Me (Pt. II)") and new strides in her vocal performance. Most importantly, Colleen acknowledges that growing up cannot really be measured and it never ends. Recently in an interview with LA Record, when asked about when she will know when she is grown-up, Colleen replied: "Growing up doesn't involve another person or another entity at all. It's within you. Hopefully I will never stop growing. If you stop growing before you're dead, that isn't good. I just need to be the best Colleen I can be." And Colleen Green continues to be the best.

FANATIC is returning for the summer!!

So Fanatic has been off the air for the last 9 month. And that is a long time. I had to give it up because I went off to Boston to go to college. And this past year has been great! I really tried to push myself into Boston's vibrant music scene. I was able to meet so many cool and crazy talented musicians and attended some of the best shows I've ever been too. So, I have a TON of new-to-me music I cannot wait to play on air. I also continued to do interviews and writing for the Boston Hassle, a amazing music blog/organization that specializes in Boston's underground scene. You can check out my work for them here.  I was able to interview spectacular people and write about amazing projects.

Season 2 of Fanatic is going to be better than ever. I have a whole year's worth of music to play and only one summer to fit it in. So I want all the playlist to be solid and I also want to make this lil blog pretty cool and actually post quality material. I am also totally going to do a Ezra Koenig appreciation show and a Hutch Harris appreciation show.

SEASON 2 STARTS SUNDAY MAY 10th AT 5PM!! ON WOOL!!!!