This is the last person I ever expected to be “freestyling” on Sway in the Morning.

If you go way back to one of the chapters of the Rap Encyclopedia: Southern Edition, you’ll remember an interview with Project Pat conducted in the back of a van where he specifically says “I rap for the money, nothing else.” Maybe it wasn’t in those words, but the way he said it you knew for a fact Pat had been in exactly zero ciphers in his day. Whoever books for Sway in the Morning is a silly goose.

The look on Pat’s face when Sway asks him to spit a few bars is priceless. Thankfully the over indulgence of marijuana throughout the years hasn’t totally rendered the guy incapable of quick thinking. He casually dips into his mental rhyme book to spit 14 (I counted) bars of the usual Project Pat tomfoolery: money, killing you, and money waiting to be earned through killing you.

Well done, Pat. You showed Sway.

I took to twitter, and befriended every metal head who’s ever made me laugh, think, or want to throw acid on their finger tips. It took some prodding, and payola, but eventually everyone I originally wanted to meet up with accepted my prestigious MARYLAND DEATHFEST 2013 group invite on FACEBOOK. Amongst some of the miscreants that I harassed are: Grim Kim Kelly (Catharsis PR, Road warrior), Aaron Lariviere (former editor-in-chief Invisible Oranges, Beer aficionado), Dave Schalek (About.com, Heavy Chicago accent), Andy O’Connor (Crustcake, Pitchfork, Magic City), and Zena Tsarfin (Clear Channel, that time she called Baroness ‘blokes’ on TV) to name a few. I’d name the rest, but I don’t want to brag. They’re all smart, and sexy, and successful people. Trust me.

I’m looking forward to seeing Pig Destroyer, Abigail, SLEEP, Bolt Thrower, Speedwolf etc. amongst others  – but I’ll be posting a day-by-day breakdown. Maybe some other band will surprise me. Or eat me alive before spitting me back into the pit. I can’t wait.

Does it count as ‘getting murdered on your own shit’ if you don’t even rap on your own shit? I bought (yes, bought) the “All Gold Everything” remix from iTunes waiting to hear what kind of fuckery Trinidad James would come up with for part 2 of his only song, which featured T.I., Young Jeezy Louis Mane, and 2 Chainz. I had a beef over the $1.29 iTunes charged me, though. Trinidad James doesn’t rap on it. Instead, he resorts to 10 seconds of adlibs at the beginning of the song that go something like “…I ain’t rapping, I already killed it. I’ll let these legends holler at you…” We also get the unaltered hook of the original “All Gold Everything” at the end of everyone’s verse.

Oh. This is clearly not Diddy’s definition of a remix. Those had more opportunities for you to dance. This is more of a mixtape cut than anything, which got the conspiracy theorist in me to form a half-assed theory as to why there’s no Trinidad James on his own shit. Basically, it’s this: whatever he wrote was never green lighted by Def Jam, or other parties involved. In other words, the verse(s) he came up with was hot garbage. It’s no secret the guy has been rapping for about a year or less, so I can’t really diss him. However, I can certainly do my best Nelson Muntz impression and “Ha-Ha!” at Def Jam, who paid the guy 7 figures for his services. I don’t know the specifics of the contractual agreement, but after the hype around this “remix” is done, they’re going to wish Hakeem Olajuwon taught rap lessons along with that 2 week post-game program he’s been charging JaVale McGee for.

To show that I’m not a complete hater, I will admit T.I., Young Jeezy, and 2 Chainz did a great job of extending this bum’s hype at least until the Summer. I wonder how much help he’s going to have for that major label debut. Also, I wonder what kind of fucked up shit that white guy, named White, did to earn his spot in CTE/Goon Squad. He’s probably very intelligent.

]]> http://lahaadcore.com/2013/03/01/all-gold-everything-remix/feed/ 0 http://lahaadcore.com/2012/10/31/not-so-exclusive-audio-axeslasher-gucci-gucci/ http://lahaadcore.com/2012/10/31/not-so-exclusive-audio-axeslasher-gucci-gucci/#comments Wed, 31 Oct 2012 18:13:53 +0000 admin http://lahaadcore.com/?p=1288 Less than 12 hours ago Axeslasher dropped their Death Metal cover of Kreayshawn’s “Gucci Gucci”, one of the most legendary examples of bastardization of the Rap culture. Certainly baffling, but an interesting listen nonetheless. I’ve never heard lyrics about taking…]]> Less than 12 hours ago Axeslasher dropped their Death Metal cover of Kreayshawn’s “Gucci Gucci”, one of the most legendary examples of bastardization of the Rap culture. Certainly baffling, but an interesting listen nonetheless. I’ve never heard lyrics about taking dicks, and buying purses executed in death metal-like growls before, but it worked out… I think. Give “Gucci Gucci” a listen in the player below, then go tell Kreayshawn she has some competition here.

The line to get in was long, and moving very slowly. Friends were frantically informing me via text that I missed Witchaven, which is okay because they perform every 38 minutes in Los Angeles. Impatient crusties, and thrash kids alike began to irritate me with their “I’m 38 cents short, can I bum some change?” spiel. Thankfully, I got to will call before wasting my breath, telling them all to get a pair of khakis and join the workforce. As I approached the window, a hilarious sign caught my attention. Behold!

…and the award for most disliked venue in Los Angeles goes to The Key Club. After trolling away on various social networks about this new policy, I finally made my way inside to catch The Mentors, who were already a couple of songs into their set. I’m not sure what I was expecting from an El Duce-less performance, but it wasn’t great. Sickie Wifebeater, and Dr. Heathen Scum just kinda stood around, while Mad Dog gave a half-hearted vocal performance, or maybe he’s just a big fat guy playing drums, and singing at the same time. Stamina is a motherfucker when you’re overweight. There’s not much else to say. Mad Dog told dirty jokes in between songs, and they played some classics like “When You’re Horny, You’re Horny”, and “Going Through Your Purse” which the 40-somethings in attendance very happily ate up.

Uh, I never listened to Beowulf in my life, but I thought they had to be special if they had higher billing than The Mentors Lite. I was wrong. I was getting very bored at this point, choosing to watch from the balcony, making fun of their lead singer because he was clearly celebrating Halloween early by dressing like Mike Muir. Basic ass crossover doesn’t do it for me, but the pit was getting crazy. After what seemed like an eternity of the same fucking song being played, Dr. Know took the stage to a turnt up audience ready to show these Nardcore legends some moshpit props.

Dr. Know momentarily cured my boredom, then they played for about 45 minutes longer than I wanted them to. They absolutely blew all of the other openers away though. Their energy was unparalleled, and folks were receptive of their brand of crossover/hardcore, but I still think that hardly anyone knows who they are in 2012. Kudos to them if they’re gaining some popularity this far into their career. The moshing was as intense as I had ever seen at any show in Los Angeles, which was making me nervous because I planned to get turnt during GHOUL’s set.

Finally! GHOUL took the stage to a rabid bunch of hooligans ready to knock some teeth in. I promptly put my glasses in my pocket just as “The Lunatic Hour” began, because there was no way I’d be able to drive home with shattered lenses. It didn’t take long for things to get messy. Beers were being tossed, and people were slipping and sliding all over the fucking place while trying to make some elbow-to-face contact in the pit. I myself ate shit 3 or 4 times during the first two songs, which was nothing compared to what I had to endure for the rest of the night. It was truly the roughest mosh pit I’ve ever been a part of, and it only got more intense as GHOUL continued to play. Just when I thought I’d hear the loudest pop of the night for “Splatterthrash”, the crowd would easily outdo themselves during “Bury the Hatchet”, or “Rise Killbot Rise!” As far as the show aspect goes, GHOUL might be the most entertaining band I’ve ever seen. From the costumes, to the in-between-songs banter delivered with a thick Eastern European-ish accent about “Gangnam Style”, and subtle diss at Sunn O))) being as ‘heavy metal as it gets’, it was all fun, and worth the previous 4 hours of being bored. My favorite parts of GHOUL’s set were definitely when Killbot came out during “Rise Killbot Rise!”, and when the ghoulish Pope came out to spray us all with fake blood as we were trying to beat each other to a pulp.

Even though I took a beating for most of GHOUL’s set, I managed to slip out of the pit to enjoy a few songs without getting knocked upside the head. It was a really cool site to see pretty much everyone in the venue having a fucking great time. If people weren’t moshing, they were dancing, jumping, throwing the horns etc. I waited 2 years to witness this, and it more than exceeded my expectations. Bands like GHOUL are the reason why I love this culture, and why I keep this blog. Now, lets just hope I don’t have to wait another 2 years to see them play.

]]> http://lahaadcore.com/2012/10/15/10-12-12-ghoul-x-dr-know-x-beowulf-x-the-mentors-x-witchaven/feed/ 0 http://lahaadcore.com/2012/09/21/interview-the-witch-was-right/ http://lahaadcore.com/2012/09/21/interview-the-witch-was-right/#comments Fri, 21 Sep 2012 19:30:34 +0000 admin http://lahaadcore.com/?p=1197 A new band has formed from the worlds of Metal, Industrial, House and Techno called The Witch Was Right. The band is comprised of Trevor Friedrich on Vocals (formerly of Eighteen Vision, Combichrist, Imperative Reaction, Suffer Well, Monkeys Are Machineguns),…]]> A new band has formed from the worlds of Metal, Industrial, House and Techno called The Witch Was Right. The band is comprised of Trevor Friedrich on Vocals (formerly of Eighteen Vision, Combichrist, Imperative Reaction, Suffer Well, Monkeys Are Machineguns), Bobby Schubenski on Bass (formerly of Surfer Well, Monkeys Are Machineguns), Brandon Richter on Drums, and Abbey Nex on Guitar (formerly of Chombichrist, Imperative Reaction, Suffer Well) and they give off a dark and twisted vibe that you can’t help but nod your head to. The band contains an undeniable sense of passion and oozes their desire to play good music. While this band may be new, and are just starting to get noticed, their ultimate goal is to please their number one fan, themselves.

I caught up with the band at their second show ever and what was the first stop of the tour with Wes Borland’s Black Light Burns.

Internal Arts Photography: You guys have exploded out of nowhere! With the history of all the bands you have been in, working with Good Fight Entertainment, landed a big tour right off the bat. How did you form?

The Witch Was Right: With our previous band connections and knowing the right people and it will lead you down the right path to bring in the right people.

IAP: The new songs are great. You see influences from your past bands and you can hear Metal, Industrial, Hardcore, House and Trance. How did you come up with the sound?

TWWR: I always wanted a band that was a combination of all those sounds. Bobby and I were on a Combichrist tour and wanted to start a grindcore band which ended up being called Monkeys Are Machineguns, we needed someone to scream like a retard, and I never sang before, so I did it as loud as I could and decided to make a real band.

IAP: You guys have been getting a lot of love. Members of previous bands, Wes Borland invited you to do this tour, and you grew so quickly. You have over 1,000 followers on Twitter after being on there for only two months and tonight being your second show. How does it feel to get so much support from fellow musicians and fans so quickly?

TWWR: The best part about it is that I didn’t give a shit whether or not we were liked. I have so much love for the band itself, that anyone who does like it is a bonus. I feel like the right people are going to like the band and those are the people I am going to care about. I feel like there are a lot of bands out there who are very popular, who shouldn’t be. And I also feel like there are a lot of bands that should be more popular. We are stoked that we are getting so much positive feedback. But I would still be here anyway if no one liked us.

IAP: You guys have a lot of outside involvement. Tim Sköld played with you at your first show two days ago at Slidebar in Fullerton and you have Davey Havok singing on the song “S.K.Y.”,  how did this come about?

TWWR: Davey Havok has been a lifelong hero and became friends with him over the years. He wanted to come over and hear some of the music we’ve been making, and that made me nervous because he’s like some of the bands I’ve played in, and I wanted him to have a good opinion of the sound. He liked it and I asked him if he would help me figure out how to sing the chorus, and our producer, Nick Kenny, asked him if he would sing it on the record. I freaked out because he totally imposed on Davey, and he’s such a straight shooter that he will outright say no if he doesn’t want to or like the song. The fact that he was willing to do that was a big deal to me because I bought Tiger Army II in high school and Davey was a feature on one of the tracks and now he’s a feature on one of mine. We also have an unreleased song with John Pettibone from Himsa singing as well that we haven’t really told anyone about.

IAP: With the evolution of how bands are connecting and interacting with fans, how are you going to do this differently than you did in your past bands?

TWWR: In the nicest way possible, we’re not too concerned about exploiting ourselves according to the fan’s desires. We’ve had to do that in ways we didn’t necessarily agree with in the past due to label involvement. We feel it’s imperative to solely do what we as a band want to do and not be influenced by outside people. Some bands need it to survive, we are lucky that we have history with other bands that we can do it how we want to. We feel like it’s our time, and we deserve to do it our way. We want to go back to high school days where you do what you want to do.

IAP: It’s tough when you get jaded by the industry.

TWWR: (Trevor) Absolutely, some of my favorite times, when I look back, are with my high school bands.

(Bobby) What also helps is that all of us have toured long enough to know what works and what doesn’t, so we know how to do it right.

IAP: It’s interesting because there seems to be a shift where bands feel like you have to at the service of your fans all the time, otherwise you will get backlash for not obeying.

TWWR: Yeah, I know what you mean. I had a girl in the UK come up to me once, demanding my shoes. They were my only pair of shoes and she told me to fuck off.

IAP: There is a new trend with Kickstarter. Are you guys thinking about going this route, go with Topspin, or another DIY method?

TWWR: We just caught wind of Kickstarter, but we are still all trying to figure it out if we are going to do the DIY thing or otherwise. With Kickstarter, there’s a real fine line you walk when you use something like that. You don’t want to panhandle people and look desperate. Some people can do it and look great and some people can’t. Josh Freese did it right with his project where you get to hang out with him and Maynard and trip out on acid. But, there are a lot of bands out there who are broke, plead for the money, then don’t disperse the money properly. But as far as a label goes, just the right situation would have to come along that allows me the same creative freedom that I have now for me to agree to it.

IAP: What would be the more obscure influences on the band?

TWWR: IMX, XX, old New Wave like Depeche Mode, The Cure, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran appears in the record, A Perfect Circle, AFI, Himsa, my previous bands, and the fact that I was a fan of the bands before I joined helps with it too.

IAP: With the recent entrance of electronic music into the mainstream, like Dubstep and EDM being added to Pop songs, are you guys glad that the genre is finally getting noticed or are you guys not too crazy about it and hope to bring some creditability to the genre?

TWWR: So many sides to answer this question, where do I start? I knew Skrillex back when he was Sonny Moore, great dude and very talented. However, I don’t understand how in his first year he wins a bunch of Grammys. Granted, my issue is probably more with the Grammy award process, it just doesn’t make sense to me how a new act can win an award when there are people who are legends and perform in this industry for years and still not get a Grammy or have Life Time Achievement Grammys and tell them that this new act is on the same level or caliber as they are. I feel like there should be a minimum time put into the industry or something before you can get a Grammy. I just see stuff like that as a life time achievement thing or a higher level than what they are right now

Going back to the rise of electronic music, yea it’s great that it’s getting noticed. Well, as long as it’s good. The whole DJ trend is great for the underground and the people who have been doing it for years, but there is a new group of DJs (not Skrillex) entering the game right now who go up there, push a button, and get paid a bunch of money. They don’t deserve that kind of recognition or money when there are truly talented people out there trying to break through. Like Nero, he’s super talented and totally deserves the notice he’s getting now.

IAP: What’s next for the band?

TWWR: The record has been completed for a while, but we may not put out any more songs until it gets an official release whether it’s done on our own or through a label. Our main focus right now is to get a really great live show together, and have fun.

After some good laughs, The Witch Was Right and I head out to the back parking lot to do their interview. The band comprised of Trevor Friedrich on Vocals (formerly of Eighteen Vision, Combichrist, Imperative Reaction, Suffer Well), Bobby Schubenski on Bass (formerly of Surfer Well), Brandon Richter on Drums, and Abbey Nex on Guitar (formerly of Chombichrist, Imperative Reaction, Suffer Well) blends elements of Industrial, Metal, Hardcore, House, and Trance that give off a dark and twisted vibe that you can’t help but nod your head to. During the interview Wes Borland of Black Light Burns and Limp Bizkit swung by to say hi to the guys.

As the guys prepared for their set, a generic metal band does their best to entertain the crowd. The combination of old military wear and gas masks provided a post apocalyptic vibe, closing with a song with the chorus of “Oh shit! zombies!”.

The Witch Was Right took the stage and changed the entire vibe of the place. The onslaught of four on the floor, samples, raging guitars, and screams draws you in and simply mesmerizes you. Trevor’s vocals combined with his dominating and disturbed presence ensured that he will be a front man that will be grabbing the attention of many to see what he may do next. Bobby’s almost psychotic mannerism and lip licking tick adds an enticing dynamic to his bass playing (which was recently blessed by him playing one of Tim Skold’s basses). Abbey’s cheerleader, spastic, and deranged presence added a beautiful polish to great riffs that were played with such ease. Brandon’s enthusiasm behind the kit was refreshing and kept playing no matter what punishment Trevor sent his way. For being only their second show, which contained the obligatory first show of the tour power outage, they were amazing and seems like they have been in this incarnation for years. I really am looking forward to the future of this band. I can easily see them turning heads and raising some eyebrows.

Up next was the metal/comedy act Psychostick. With incomprehensible headwear like a spiked hat on the lead singer, a karate head band on the guitarist, and a giant pair of foam moose antlers on the bassist, I could tell this was going to be an interesting set. With goofy lyrics and silly stage antics, the band delivered an astonishing technical set. With songs about dentists, resulting with a giant toothbrush attacking the crowd, a slow motion circle pit, a moshing shopping cart, tunes about tacos, air guitaring on a tennis racquet, and replacing songs with sandwiches, it was hard to not have a good time. The band even had a song solely dedicated to boobs, which was magnificent to say the least.

After that was the highly anticipated performance of Black Light Burns. Based off his fame from Limp Bizkit, the guitarist’s side project formed in 2006 with his first release Cruel Melody. With the newly released The Moment You Realize You’re Going To Fall, this tour was the first for the band in three years. Wes’s stage presence is unparalleled from ranging on multiple instruments to witty banter to the twist to jumping and flipping, you were left with no choice to be amazed. They played songs off of their first record including “Mesopotamia”, “Stop A Bullet”, and “Lie” and played a large selection off of the new release. Wes’s wit resulted in laughing and saying “enjoy 2001” when someone in the crowd requested a BigDumbFace song and showed his mischievous side randomly throwing a cymbal on the ground between songs. The set overall was enticing, fun, sounded great, and was a true artistic expression.

The entire night really was a true showing of bands loving their music. Every band loved playing their songs, and show a true fun time for the bands and the fans.

–Internal Arts

The Witch Was Right

Psychostick

Black Light Burns

Friday – Agalloch offers up a  cold, atmospheric black metal experience that’s sure to remind of you of those hot Summer nights in which you stuck your pillow in the freezer hours before bedtime to combat the night sweats. Don’t fucking lie. You did that. Don’t miss your chance to witness Agalloch’s new EP Faustian Echoes performed in its entirety!! Also on the bill are psychedelic doomsters Taurus, and Oskoreien will kick things off. Be there! Buy tickets here: http://www.theecho.com/event/134711/

Saturday – Southern Lord invades both The Echo, and Echoplex to bring you the 3rd annual Power of the Riff Festival, featuring the likes of Xibalba, Eagle Twin, OFF!, Power Trip, Repulsion, and Sunn O))). Hardcore! Doom! DrO)))ne! Thrash! It’s a melting pot of sub genres, in the melting pot to end all melting pots — Los Angeles! So be quick, L.A.! These tickets are going to sell out before you can get to the door!! Buy tickets here: http://www.theecho.com/event/134713/

Party.