Friday, February 28, 2014

Outlaw Saint on "Live From Studio Five!"

By Brian P. Rubin



Outlaw Saint came by KFAI this past Wednesday to play a raunchy rock’n’roll set on “Live From Studio Five!” The five-piece played tunes inspired by Guns’n’Roses, Motley Crue, Aerosmith, and Velvet Revolver, and chatted with hosts Doug the Thug, Dewglass, and Cher Dial about how the main priority at an Outlaw Saint show is basically just having a good time.




“Outlaw Saint is all about getting out there and putting on the best show that we can, man,” explained lead singer and songwriter Tank. “It’s all about releasing aggression, releasing tension in a positive manner. It’s all about having a good time.”



In addition to Tank, Outlaw Saint consists of Dave and Ed on guitar, with Hardy on drums, and Ricky filling in on the bass. They played songs like “Raise Some Hell,” “Writing’s on the Wall,” and “Cell Number 9,” along with a couple covers like the Beatles’ “Come Together” and Ted Nugent’s “Cat Scratch Fever,” but with their own unique twist.



Outlaw Saint has a bunch of shows coming up. On March 15, they’re playing at the Crooked Pint Ale House in downtown Minneapolis, and on March 22 they’ll be at Lily’s Bar & Grill in Big Lake, Minnesota. Then on April 23, Outlaw Saint will hit POV’s 65 in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, so be sure to hit those up if you pick up what the band is putting down.





And if you want to keep up with Outlaw Saint in the digital world, head over to their homepage, not to mention the many other places they’ve left their collective digital footprint: Facebook, MySpaceReverb NationSoundClick, and YouTube.


Click here to listen to this show at ANY time from ANYWHERE on the planet on our PERMANENT archives:  https://archive.org/details/192OutlawSaint
Check out the video on our You Tube page here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLVkEYGMP6k
You can see the Flickr pix from that show here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/kfai-fm/sets/72157641614079955/

Sound Engineer Orrin S. Pratt
Mike Cushing & Orrin
Wyatt Sarber


Friday, February 21, 2014

Breed on “Live From Studio Five!

By Brian P. Rubin


Just before the Thundersnow storm rocked the Twin Cities, the rock band Breed swung by “Live From Studio Five!” at KFAI and played a great set of heavy, kludgy guitar-rock tunes. Doug the Thug and Dewglass were joined, as ever, by Cher Dial.



Led by the eponymous Raymond Breed on guitar and vocals, the band is primarily a power-trio, rounded out this past Wednesday by Jordan Swanson on bass and Alex Smith, also of the band Mommy Sez No, on the drums.



It’s not hard to spot the influences that shaped the musical sensibilities of Raymond Breed, who used to play and tour with lots of different bands, like Black Flood Diesel, Apocalypse Theater, and All the Pretty Horses. The music of Breed (both the guy and the band) is very reminiscent of groups like Kyuss, Queens of the Stoneage, and even Morphine when joined by saxophone player (and guest in the studio) Fuzzy. The band was also joined on background vocals by Felicia from the band Metal Ships.



Breed played songs like “Up to You,” “When You Run,” “Rest of Me,” and “Wheelhööse” (pronounced “wheel-hoose”). Some of the song the band played are going to be on Breed’s upcoming EP Aim Low, a preview of which can be heard at their Bandcamp site. Mr. Breed also took things down a notch for a few songs, playing and singing solo on the acoustic guitar.




Breed is playing this weekend in Burlington, Iowa with the band Hong Kong Sleepover, a gig on March 15 at Club Underground with Seattle-band Antique Scream, at Foodstock on March 28, and March 29 at Palmers. To keep up with Breed online, check out their Facebook and ReverbNation pages.



Friday, February 14, 2014

Bear on “Live From Studio Five!”

By Brian P. Rubin




Indie rock quartet Bear made their way to Cedar-Riverside on Wednesday night to appear on “Live From Studio Five!” The foursome played a great set filled with melodious tunes, solid and sophisticated rhythms, and an overall great vibe. Bear was joined, as ever, by Doug the Thug, Dewglass, and Cher Dial.




All four members hail from Eberly, MN, and Mike Behrends led the band on lead vocals and guitar, while Jon Klocek, Jordan Skophammer, and Matt Wulff rounded out the group on guitar/keys, bass, and drums, respectively. The band channeled elements of groups like Sebadoh and the Mountain Goats, particularly with Behrends’ singing style that was reminiscent of that of Goats’ front man John Darnielle. They played songs like “Texas Romance,” “Palms,” “Tuning,” “Wolf,” and “Trapp.”




Cher Dial asked the group about the inspirations for their songs, and Behrends explained how he conceived of a whole fictional town based on an art show he attended in Northeast Minneapolis. Because of this inspiration for the songs’ subject matter, Bear’s songs are a lot more focused.



“If they’re not rooted somewhere,” he explained, “it can sound more like a compilation of songs on a record rather than a collection of songs.”




Bear has a 7-inch vinyl record called Out-of-Doors for sale, and they’re working on a new record at the moment. The band also has a gig scheduled for March 4 at the Kitty Cat Klub along with the band Broken Bicycles. To keep up with all the band’s business, as well as to listen to and buy a copy of Out-of-Doors, head over to their website. Based on their performance on “Live From Studio Five!” don’t be surprised to hear about more big things from Bear.


Friday, February 7, 2014

Lazy Panda on "Live From Studio 5!"

By Brian P. Rubin

The five-piece band Lazy Panda lumbered its way into KFAI’s “Live From Studio Five!” this past Wednesday, and played a great set of ‘90s-styled alternative rock. Lazy Panda—consisting of Bryan Peterson on vocals, Dillin O’Dell on Bass, Youssef Rddad and Ray Van Lith on Guitar, and Justin Formico on drums—were joined by the usual cast of characters: Doug the Thug, Dewglass, and Cher Dial.





From the start, Lazy Panda went right for the jugular, playing loud and tight, sounding almost like a cross between punk and rock-a-billy. If “punk-a-billy” wasn’t a genre before, it probably is now. They played songs like “Chasing Cotton,” a boom-bopper named “Too Much for the Room,” “I Got A Year,” the fan-favorite “Inferno Walkin’,” and a brand new tune called “Noose.”




 The band also talked about how they got their name, which Peterson said isn’t a very interesting story. The group used to be called Lazy Parade. Then they changed it: “We knew we wanted to be lazy,” said Peterson, “we just didn’t know about the panda.”




Lazy Panda is playing tonight (Friday) at the Skyway Theater on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis at 9:30, and you can check them out on Facebook and Reverb Nation for more of their sounds.