By MaryAnn Bayer

Black Helicopter are curmudgeons.  Indie Rock needs more stubborn people with unwavering ideas.  Perhaps then I would listen to more indie rock.  As it stands the genre seems filled with wimpy boys and waify chicks doing Fleetwood Mac covers who would be just as happy if they were say, modeling.  I’ll pass and reminisce about the 90’s…

Black Helicopter remind me it’s okay for me to not identify with those hip boys and girls and their boat shoes. Black Helicopter are the type of Indie Rock that older brothers everywhere need to pass on to their younger, misguided, siblings so they don’t travel down the road of family friendly alternative rock like Train or worse yet Fall out Boy.  I picked up ‘Don’t Fuck with the Apocalypse’, their third album and was struck by the album art, I totally recognized the style from Black Flag’s album covers. So, I had to know more. I got the LONG story from bass player/master of the inappropriate, Zack Lazar. After some impassioned letters from punk heroes Mike Watt and Thurston Moore on the band‘s behalf, the legendary artist Raymond Pettibon granted the band permission to use one of his works for the record, which should be endorsement enough for anyone who fancies themselves a music fan.  Unfortunately, shortly after choosing the art, which depicts a snake handed, angry Jesus, the lames at Universal/Fontana  asked the band to change or alter the artwork, album title and the song title of ‘King Shit‘.  Here’s where we get back to why  Black Helicopter are curmudgeons.  Rather than choose a less ‘offensive’ piece or change the song title, they passed on distro/mfg from a biggie label. Ecstatic Peace! agreed to put out the record and here we have it, lawyers be damned!  I mean,  After 10+ years,  what’s the point of making ANY art  if you can’t express yourself in the way you intend?

Musically, Black Helicopter remind me of bad times, and I say that in the most flattering way. Songs like ’Copout’, ’King Shit’,  and ’In the Blood’ make me think events you can’t do over, like those tense moments before you break it off with someone ‘for good’, or seeing someone you know hasn’t forgiven you, or moving outta town and never coming back.   It’s sad and heavy but those are the moments you pull from most.

Don’t Fuck With the Apocalypse is a rock record, made by men, not boys. No skinny jeans, no girl on tambourine, just four guys who do this because they love it and it’s still fun. There’s  a little bit of psych, lots of  heavy, Shellac-ian bass/drum pummeling, with a few surprising shimmers of pop here and there like on ’Golden Days’ and ‘Record Player’.  Tim Shea’s vocals evoke J. Mascis and (I know I’ll catch flack for this) a little Jonathan Richman and make me miss living in Boston for some reason.

Black Helicopter are the band that the aloof dude who works at your local record store has been into for years, it’s about time you caught on.

The Band is Black Helicopter.  The Album is “Don’t Fuck with the Apocalypse” on Ecstatic Peace records. Get it on CD, iTunes, and more importantly, available on colored vinyl for the geeks!

“Army Pup Tent” vid

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By MaryAnn Bayer

Remember the movie The Accused? Remember the scene in the beginning where Jodi Foster is running out of a bar after just having been brutally gang-raped on a pinball table?  In the scene, she is running, screaming, bloodied panties around her ankles, tank top torn wide open, face swollen, bruised and bloodied, arms out stretched grabbing for someone to save her.  Pretty disturbing visual.  Tinsel Teeth are the living, musical incarnation of that image.

From Providence R.I., the birthplace of all that is good in noisy, art-damaged, fucked-up-ness comes this brutal four-piece who go by the names Ice Pick, Gun Rack, Meat Hooks and Gurney.  The bands Myspace warns the listener “we want to fuck your ears on the first date”.  I would call it more akin to sodomy after being roofied!  The singer is a ‘I do not give a fuck’ punk chick that would make GG Allin’s heart skip a beat,  channeling Lisa Suckdog and David Yow, this force of  nature summons the most guttural, non-feminine sounding vocals that you have ever heard, period.  Let me put it to you this way, her voice SOUNDS like what a Cannibal Corpse album LOOKS like. The sounds of suffering and torment .   Like a few Providence bands before them, Lightning Bolt &  Drop Dead, Tinsel Teeth put on a real ‘hands on’ live show.  Typically performing on the floor rather than a stage.   The band is in your face, sitting on your chest, and probably covering you in what you hope is FAKE blood and has you tripping over what you think may have been a dildo that had just flown off the singers’ mostly nude body.  It is a rarity to see a female perform with such abandon, no fear, no hang-ups, just going for it. Haters be fucked.  The band’s music is full-on sludgy, noise, evoking comparisons to Jesus Lizard, The Birthday Party,  Rapeman, and Shellac but with an element of fright that these male fronted bands lack.  I don’t know why, but  the sight of a young, attractive woman seemingly abusing herself with no shame or self awareness  is so much more jarring and affecting.  A search on You tube turned up some live performances that I’m sure left the audience members feeling both molested and exhilarated at the same time.

Tinsel Teeth have 2 albums out.  ‘Pink Eye’ on Nail in the Coffin records and ’Trash as the Trophy’ on Load records.  I put on ’Trash as the Trophy’ last night for some friends after a nice, classy-style dinner party.   Immediately my guests wanted to know who “ is the dude singing lead vocals“, I had to produce photographic evidence( and some shocking video) to quiet their assumptions.  The album confronts you right off the top, pulls the front of your t-shirt, and spits in your face. And you do not mind at all.

I like to think of myself as an old-school ‘cool’ kid.  I’ve seen it all, heard all the bands, seen all the shows…but I can tell you this, I have never seen anything like Tinsel Teeth…   If you think you can take it, if you think you are ready… please, enjoy your new favorite band.

2 Live performances below

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Live at WMBR

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The band is called Tinsel Teeth, The Album is called ‘Trash as the Trophy’. Get it… and then somebody who books bands, PLEASE get them to upstate NY.

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By MaryAnn Bayer

I was just about to write this weeks Band of the Week, when my husband called me to tell me that our car was broken into while we slept and some skidder, D-bag ripped us off for a bunch of cd’s and whatever else they could scrounge out of a Subaru.  Needless to say, as I write this I am seething with rage. I want to throw something at something damn it!!!

Still, I must push on, so I get in the car, throw Buzzards self-titled album into the cd player and ahhhh… I am instantly sated.  I feel like my pissed off-ness has found a mate.  Buzzard’s album, from start to finish is exactly what the irrational, angry, disillusioned teenager in me (and you) needs right now.  Thrashy in the vein of all the great 3 letter skate punk bands, D.R.I., JFA, and RKL, Buzzard play abrasive, snotty, drunken odes to what is most important to your teen sub-conscious: weed, booze, douche bags,  shitty cars and everything else  ‘the man’  has  created to keep you down. This is the kind of music that makes me wish I still had my denim jean vest, from high school,  I would totally wear a Buzzard back patch on that bitch!   Each of the albums 14 tracks hovers around 2 minutes or less, simple, perfect, little blasts of misanthropy.  Don’t look to Buzzard for ditties about romance or songs of hope, these guys aren’t playing you and your girlfriends ’song’, unless of course, your girlfriend is a hooker.

Formed in 2005, and playing pretty steadily since, Buzzard are local fixtures. Guitar player George DeMers is a walking encyclopedia of all that is metallic, thrashy, and heavy, one-half of the ’Full Metal Racket’ Skidmore College radio show, he is O.G. people, No new-school posing’ here.  The album was produced by punk/hardcore legend  Don Fury, so, it sounds blistering and majestic.  Artist Jeremy Fish, former Saratogian, and forever Silly Pink Bunny (Google it) lent his talents for the album artwork, so, it looks better than most major label releases.   The album is out now.  If you are local, please stop by DiVinyl Revolution in Saratoga Springs to buy the record, support DIY and local merchants.

Delusional Thoughts vid

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For Booking/Contact:  @myspace.com/buzzardcore   or Facebook ‘em for more info.

Let’s recap: We’ve  learned that  Buzzard are the soundtrack to your next and my current temper tantrum and,  Oh, yeah, lock your car doors people!!

By MaryAnn Bayer

Just so ya know, the kids in Asia are the masters of taking something uniquely ‘American’, lovingly perfecting,  then showing us how its REALLY done, and I love it!  Be it graffiti, food, toys, or  cartoons, I have been in love with all that Asia (mostly Japan, but anyway…) has to export for years as a vinyl toy collector, but only recently have I discovered all this amazing punk/metal and hardcore coming from this huge,  mysterious, awesome continent!  Malaysia’s Restraint are no exception, playing raw hardcore as if  CBGB’s hardcore matinees were still every weekend.  This 5 piece pound out NYHC the way it is meant to be: circle pit inducing/floor punching PURE CHAOS reminiscent of  all your favorites, Madball, Hatebreed, a lil’ bit of Slayer (of course, gotta have a lil Slayer at all times)  with copious helpings of Agnostic Front  and Warzone.  These guys (who all look about 16 from their press photos!) aren’t re-inventing the wheel here, but they sure did hook it up with some nice, shiny,  rims

Restraint have 1 full length album out 2007‘s “Pure From Blood” on Dyslexia records as well as a couple of out of print/sold out demo’s and 7”s which would be worth seeking out.  Check out a couple of performances on YouTube below.  Totally punishing! And I must say, I totally enjoy the ‘Fugazi’ style instructions to the crowd about picking up a fellow mosher in the pit!  Restraint seem to have a better grasp on the English language than most American Hardcore bands if their between song banter is any indicator, but , I digress…

Restraint have shared the stage with all the Hardcore scene’s biggest and receive quite a bit of  press in “legitimate” Asian music magazines for a band of this genre, which really is just further proof that Asia is just a little bit cooler than the rest of us..  MYHC!! Get into it!

“Until The End” live

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“Pure From Blood”  teaser

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By MaryAnn Bayer

This week SkinPoison is gonna flip the script a little bit, normally the bands featured here have a heavier feel, but who wants to paint with the same brush all the time?  Let’s explore some softer sounds, let’s try something locally made, something DIY, and something all together different than what your ears may be used to.  Saratoga Springs, NY brings us Firefighter Font.  An indie-rock 3 piece formed in 2006 by Greg Tebbano (Guitar/vocals), Damon Cook (Bass), and Adiro Patten (drums). Firefighter Font have been compared to Broken Social Scene, and early, (pre-alienating and weird ) Radiohead, this Font enthusiast likes to compare them to “Pink Album” (era Sunny Day Real Estate) and even a lil’ bit o’ Spoon for good measure.  What Firefighter Font may lack in “chugga chugga” is wholly made up for with soulful vocals, smart lyrics, and just the right amount of  tension.  Firefighter Font brings back the unabashed, dreamy, shoe-gazer rock that has been missing from the self-conscious ‘hipster’ indie scene for too long.   Firefighter Font has released their first full length album entitled ‘Crash Tender’ on local label Sub-Bombin’ records and is now available on iTunes..  Check out a live performance at Saratoga NY’s King’s Tavern.

“Choose Your Own Adventure”

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I started tattooing in 1996. I’m self taught with no formal apprenticeship (not  recommended!) I also opened my first studio in 96′. After a long, slow learning curve I feel I’ve finally reached some sort of acceptable level of professional tattooing.

At this point in my career I try to focus on larger custom pieces. I work by appointment only. My style tends to lean towards realism, though I don’t restrict myself to that genre. I always try to put a little something in my work to identify it as my own. I don’t try to emulate one artist, instead just trying to do my best on every piece and let the tattoo take on a life of it’s own.

Along with myself, my fiancee’ runs the studio and my other artist, Chris Chubbuck, handles just as many clients as I do, also focusing on custom design. We will be looking for another artist soon and I’m hoping to open a second studio in the future. Please check out our website and look us up on Facebook.

I want to thank Steve for the opportunity of this brief write up and the chance to show all of you a little bit of my work. Thanks to all my customers who give me the opportunity to create artwork on their flesh. It’s the ultimate compliment.

Chad Chase

Venom Ink Tattoo

www.venomink.com