Later on today is the start of the TPM Beerfest weekend, beginning today with a 10 in 10 post focusing on warm weather beers. Tomorrow, we’ll explore the latest offering by Troeg’s and Sunday’s beer with be Labatt’s Honey Lager. Stay tuned to get your fill of some good beer!

For now, I’d like to take a moment to promote a cause that is very near and dear for me:

20 questions for everyone’s favorite werewolf hepcats… and AWAY WE GO!

First off, let’s get this out of the way… owwwwwWWWWWW! Now that I got that out of my system, let’s start the way I start most interviews. Who are The Young Werewolves?

A band of shape shifters stalking the countryside with electric instruments, evil intentions and axes to grind. Nick Falcon on guitar, Dana Kain on bass and Jonny Wolf on drums. We all sing lead and background vocals and Jonny plays a stripped down drum kit while standing up.

How did you all get together?

We were all journeymen musicians in Philadelphia, each of us into our own versions of the local indie, punk and goth nightmare scenes. We hooked up over the internet, originally with two additional members-lead vocals and alto sax. We boiled down the unit to a lean rhythm section and started howling harmonies into the mic as a trio.

As a Philly band, you must get to play with tons of great local acts. Any favorites?

There are a lot of really good bands in Philly. Some of our favorites (in no order) are Full Blown Cherry, Thee Minks, The Sharkskins, Clashing Plaid, Mondo Topless, Jukebox Zeros, Soraia, Carfax Abbey, and Strychnine Babies.

One of my other favorite Philly bands is Mercury Radio Theater, as they too specialize in a certain brand of Horror Rock, I assume your paths have crossed. Do you know the guys?

Yes. We connected a couple of times over the years trying to organize shows but schedules, venues or other calamities got in the way of making the shows happen. I’m sure we’ll share a stage somewhere down the road.

Cool, how about on a larger level… what other bands that play Sci-Fi/Horror influenced music do you listen to and/or endorse?

Within the genre, some of the cool acts that we’re friends with and deserve more attention are PsychoCharger, Ghouls Night Out, Calabrese, Gein and the Graverobbers, The Memphis Morticians, Sasquatch and the Sickabillies.

There was a cabaret punk band I had seen back in college called World
Inferno Friendship Society used to actually play a song worshiping “The Great Pumpkin”. While as a whole I enjoyed the experience, something about them actually kinda freaked me out… but I guess that was somewhat their goal. Do you like to try to freak people out a bit or are you just more about having fun?

We are really about the music. We enjoy performing and putting on a show, but our thing is about executing the songs so they do the entertaining. That’s more our bag. If we can get asses shaking, we are doing our job. It sounds like fun but it really takes work and discipline to play and sing your parts right.

Ok, so enough about other peoples’ music, let’s get back to you. On
this last album, you got to work with B-Movie legend Sid Haig, how was
that?

Sid’s a cool cat. He’s a jazzbo from way back. He’s a talented drummer that gets pigeonholed as playing the big bad guy as an actor but he’s got mad acting and music chops.

How’d you get hooked up with him?

Sid was working on a werewolf film and heard the tunes off of our first record. He reached out to us about using our song “I Can’t Resist” for the end credits. The film fell through but Sid stayed in touch and he offered to help out with our project after he heard the early demo’s that eventually became Cheat The Devil.

I, personally, am most partial to his role as Captain Spaulding in Rob
Zombie’s films, specifically in The Devil’s Rejects, what is your
favorite Sid Haig role?

Although it doesn’t highlight his acting chops to a great degree, Sid as one of King Tut’s henchmen in the Batman television series is total fun.

While on the topic of movies, best of movie of 2009 so far? I’d say
Watchmen, but I’m expecting The Half Blood Prince to
beat it out.

If they release the re-make of The Wolfman this year, that may take top honors on any young werewolf’s list.

My favorite track on Cheat the Devil is “Tattooed Aliens”. I
love the Sci Fi lyrics. Do you have a favorite Science Fiction series? I’m
personally a big Star Wars fan and absolutely love the books
based on Bean from the Ender’s Game series.

The old school Outer Limits show is really off the hook. Even the Friday the 13th series that Fox had in the late 1980’s was pretty good, better than The X Files. We dig Dr. Who and appreciate the low fi production and especially the theme music (better than Star Trek). I don’t know if you’d consider it Sci-Fi, Sigmund and the Seamonsters was dope too.

Also, would you mind if I began referring to myself as a “tattooed
alien from the Planet 13″?

You won’t be the first!

As I’m typing up the questions for this review, I am listening to TI. Do you like any hip hop?

Early hip hop is cool. Especially what was coming out of Philly. Acts like Schoolly D, 3xDope, Hilltop Hustlers. Also, the New York white boys 3rd Base and Beastie Boys. Our first manager worked at Ruffhouse Records and played handclaps on the big Kriss Kross hit, Jump Around. So Young Werewolves have some hip hop cred, not to mention that Nick was one of the top graffiti writers in Philly during the early eighties.

Actually, I found this rapper named Mob Zombie recently that raps about zombies and stuff. I totally am trying to get through to him and he won’t return my emails, tweets, or anything. Maybe it’s because he’s dead.

That’s always the thing with rapping Zombies. Don’t you hate it when hot MC’s go cold?

Sorry, I guess that last one didn’t even include a question… let’s get back on track. I usually like to ask a few questions related to something outside of music and the band’s focus. I’ll start with one I ask a lot: While not a religious person, per se, I consider myself a man of faith, specifically I’m a Christian who isn’t really into the church but am into Jesus. If you wouldn’t mind sharing, what are your beliefs about God or a higher power or whatever?

Faith and religion can be healthy if ingested in moderation. It’s important to believe and have faith in oneself. Not in the ego-centric interest of selfishness but in the interest of creating an imprint that resonates. We are the gods of our creations, like it or not. If belief and faith in a higher power keeps you disciplined and out of trouble than that’s a good thing.

Do you think the music you make is in any way influenced by those beliefs, or on the other hand does it in any way conflict with those beliefs? That is to say, many Christians found it completely heinous when Jerry Only of The Misfits first discussed his being a Christian because of the lyrics and subject matter of many of his songs, but he’d contest to this day that his Christianity is a big influence on what he does as a member of the band.

There are themes we explore in our music that have religious implications, such as redemption, regret and reformation. The monster myth is in itself a reaction to the mysteries of religion. In essence, the monster (either man-made or released by man) symbolizes the Pandora’s Box that religion unchecked can cause. How many wars has man fought in the name of the devil?

Do you think an artist can have beliefs and lives outside of their art that in no way is reflected or influenced in that art?

Absolutely. Art is usually an interpretation, reaction or provocation. An artist is free to explore ideas that are in complete contradiction to their beliefs, in complete accord or anywhere in between. How you judge the person should be separate from how you judge their art. The nicest people sometimes make the shittiest art.

Thank you for indulging me with these questions. Since I’m running dangerously close to 20 questions here, I’d like to steer back to the subject on hand, the music of The Young Werewolves. I am hoping to come out and see you when you hit my home area of Reading, PA. What can I
expect when I come to see you?

There’s usually swing dancing and beer drinking, rock-a-billies and rock-a-betties trying to outdo each other and looking good while doing it. Every once in a while there’s a fight at the bar. Some gigs we play mostly rockabilly versions of covers from the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. Other times we get the groove going with our original songs. Often times it’s a mix.

Where is a great brewery just south of Reading, in Adamstown, called
Stoudt’s Brewery. If you have the chance while you are out this way and want a great meal with some amazing beer, head down. You just strike me as
beer drinkers. Would this be an accurate assessment?

Beer and wine are great loves. Dana definitely appreciates a good wine and both Jonny and Nick like the bubbly suds, although they will pause to lift their snouts from the stout to taste the good grape too.

Okay, so we’ve discussed beer, music, movies, faith, and Sid Haig… seems like a logical time to move on. Let’s wrap this up with a final word from you. What would you like to leave as your final words to the readers?

Stay tuned for a new recording. We are putting together a collection of fun, cool tunes and also some hot new merch too. More mayhem and music is on the way.

thepaintedman rates this:

Assuming all movies start out in my head somewhere around 6 or 7 stars (I try to go in optimistically), this one went in with 8. The concept was hilarious and my expectations about production value and plot were low, thus allowing me to grade on a nice steep curve. Unfortunately, it didn’t even live up to the low standard I was to be grading it on and by the mid point of the movie, my wife and I had it on but weren’t really paying too much attention.

So, we’ll do this review a bit differently, seeing as how my attention was in and out. Rather than a simple review, I’ll show you how I came up with my 3 star rating.

Starting Point: 8 stars.

-3 for Jesus having glued on facial hair (5)
+2 for Jesus in spandex superhero costume (7)
-4 for the annoying angels (3)
+2 for having the Antichrist be the NYC Parks Commissioner (5)
+2 for involvement of Vlad the Impaler (7)
-3 for involvement of Jim Morrison (4)
-1 for Richard Nixon being a supervillian (3)
+1 for Richard Nixon being a guy in a crappy Nixon mask (4)
-4 for the hideously annoying Klezmer soundtrack (0)
+3 for the following quote (3)

The crucifix is the symbol of Christianity? I HATED the crucifix! OUCH!

-2 for Jesus’s erectile stigmata (1)
+1 for Jesus destroying Adolf Hitler (2)
+2 for Jesus decreeing sex no longer a sin (4)
-1 for the sex decree thing going over the top (3)
+3 for being compared to JCVH (6)
-3 for not being nearly as cool as JCVH (3)

So there you have it, folks. Ultrachrist!… 3 stars. Bad, but not quite Freddie Got Fingered bad.

If you happened to see it, why not tell me what you think?

thepaintedman rates this:

With 9 tracks, the UUVVWWZ debut is not exactly a full length and not exactly an EP. What it is, however, is something different and interesting. Out on Saddle Creek Records yesterday, the album is a rare example of music that truly cannot be pigeonholed into any genre, or even combination of genres. If Bjork and Karen O joined forces with Captain Beefheart and Deerhoof, you’d begin to get an idea of what UUVVWWZ sounds like.

Vocalist Teal Gardner evokes a young, wailing Karen O at times, while at others her voice is syrupy sweet. Her vocal stylings seem quite prone to spontaneous freakouts that are accompanied by the sometimes frantic or improv-like Jazz solos within the tunes.

Screechy guitars, drumming that ranges from a traditional jazz style to the backbeat of a punk rock song, and driving, sometimes groovy bass lines are thrown together to create a sound that is both beautifully flowing and somewhat disjointed at the same time. This seeming contraction appropriate as the band almost sounds like a contradiction itself.

Every song has it’s own identity, some with multiple identities. However, my favorite track is “Green Starred Sleeve”. The track evokes a circus-like gypsy sound, while having an oddly technical math-rock feel. The vocals range in the track from simple and pretty to raucous and powerful. The song seems to build up and break down throughout. My only gripe with the song is that it sounds like it needs a stronger finish. Then again, it flows right into the next track, “Trapezeus”, which opens up quite aggressively. Perhaps the final build up in “Green Starred Sleeve” is a lead in to the aggression of “Trapezeus”. Either way, one of 9 solid tracks.

While this album is not something I’d typically consider my style, it does remind me of some music that I was into at different points in my life, The Blood Brothers and Danielson to be exact. And, I’d make the claim that if a band can remind you of The Blood Brothers and a totally different type of band like Danielson, they are certainly a band that cannot be defined… such is UUVVWWZ. Obscure, different, fresh, exciting, and well worth a listen. Who knows, you may finds yourself willing to branch into new territories.

This is undoubtedly going to be a critical success. As far as the average listener, they probably won’t get it… but those will likely become the cult of UUVVWWZ. A small, hardcore fanbase and critical support should expose this band to many discerning music fans. Where they go from there is anybody’s guess, but one thing is for sure… the talent and creativity of UUVVWWZ poises the band to becomes something special.

A few updates from everyone’s favorite indie label, Velvet Blue Music.

There are a few new releases to check out:

-Kissing Cousins “Pillar of Salt” (Check out the TPM review here)

-$0.99 6 Song CD (featuring Doug Burr, Kissing Cousins, Frank Lenz, Ronald of Orange, Gary Murray, and LN)

-Frank Lenz “Strictly Background” (Check out the TPM review here)

-Ronald of Orange “Brush Away the Cobwebs”

Other news from VBM:

-Map just finished recording their new album. It’s set to release in August and it’s entitled Speechless.

-Kissing Cousins just shot a video for their first single from Pillar of Salt, “Don’t Look Back”. Expect more info on that once it’s done.

-Doug Burr is just entering the studio again. Expect more news about his upcoming album soon.

-If you are in the Los Angeles area, Strictly Background is screening for free on July 17th at The Screen Actor’s Guild.

-Speaking of Frank Lenz, he’s still on tour as the drummer for Richard Swift. Swift is opening up for The Fray. For dates, click here.

No need for an intro… without further ado, here’s Heather from Kissing Cousins…

Hi Heather, thanks for doing this interview for my readers. Let’s start out simple. Can you tell us about yourself a bit?

I have lived in Los Angeles for 9 years, originally from Birmingham, AL. I also play bass in Summer Darling with my husband. I like chocolate and red lipstick.

How about the rest of the band, like who does what?

If you mean instruments then: Beth plays drums, Kara plays flute/keys/bgv, Melissa plays bass, Alexis plays glock/keys, I play guitar and sing. If you mean hobbies, then that list would be way too long.

How long have you gals been rocking together? Did you know each other before becoming a band?

We have been a band since late 2005. Beth, Rhea, Kara, and I. Alexis is an unofficial member, which basically means she plays with us when she can. Melissa joined last year after Rhea moved away. We are all very close friends. I have known Beth and Alexis the longest going on 9 years. Kara married my former bandmate of Summer Darling/Map and Rhea is his best friend. We met Melissa last year watching her band Shiloe.

I’ve reviewed all of your releases for one site or another. I have compared your sound to bands like Portishead and The Breeders at different points, as well as the obvious comparison to PJ Harvey. While I think these comparisons are of merit, I’d rather ask you where you think your sounds comes from… influences, bands you like, etc?

Well, I love all of those gals! PJ is one of my favorites and of course Blonde Redhead, Radiohead, but I really like 60’s and 70’s rock. New music faves include: Deerhunter, Tweak Bird, and Restavrant.

Your sound has been pretty consistent, but I think this newest release shows a bit more raw power and can be a bit harder than the other stuff, if I remember correctly… would you agree? And, if so, what brought on this harsher edge?

I definitely agree. We have always been a loud band live and I think it finally just seeped into the writing style. A natural progression.

Ok, so, at this point in my interview I usually veer away from music a bit, so I won’t break my trend. Besides music, what other types of things do you occupy your time doing?

Dodgers baseball and other girlie stuff.

Excited about any of the Summer movies that have come out or are on their way?

I am so stoked for Harry Potter that I have entered several contests trying to see an early screening or the IMAX premiere. Public Enemies and Moon.

I am also very stoked on the new Potter flick. Speaking of fun “kids” movies, I have a son, his name is Cash Hendrix. I also have a dog named Strummer. Do you ever find yourself naming pets or children, or anything for that matter, after favorite musicians?

My girl cat is named Polly Jean, my boy cat Marley, and my dog is named Penelope (Pinback).

Ok, so here’s where I usually bring it back into music and start to wrap up the interview. Is that ok with you?

Sure.

Well, here’s a question I haven’t had the chance to ask anyone at VBM before despite working in some manner with Jeff for some time on reviews or shows or whathaveyou: What is Jeff like?

Cloud is RAD! and tall. He loves having a good time, can talk to anyone, and is very generous. We love him!

He always comes off as super supportive of his musicians, do you find that he is always behind you with what you are trying to do in your music?

He definitely gets excited for us.

Who do you think is his favorite member of your band and why?

Me, of course! No explanation needed!

Ha. Well, I guess the wrap up starts now. Plug your new album in 10 words or less.

Shang-ri-las meets Black Sabbath with killer flute solos!

Coming out to the east coast at all? We’d love to catch a show out this way sometime.

We will get there!

Keep in touch with us here at TPM, looking forward to more from you and the other gals. How about leaving the readers with one final profound moment or perhaps some words to live by?

Tater tots.

This week, I decided not to layout what was getting published on the site when… because last week I was incredibly off. I can say that you can expect an interview with Heather from Kissing Cousins and a VBM update tomorrow. I have a whole bunch of reviews in the works, I’d expect UUVVWWZ to hit the site by the end of the week, maybe another one as well.

On the horizon: RAA review, The Young Werewolves interview, NSN review, JustMe review, and Culted review. Also, some great beers should hit the site, including Labatt’s Honey Lager, the newest in Troegs scratch beer series, and (per Harry “The Kid” Henderson’s request) Miller Lite.

For now, I leave you with this great joke that my father forwarded to me. It’s actually from Christianity Today’s daily joke email.

When Jerry Garcia died, he woke up and found himself on a stage on which a number of instruments were set up. A door offstage opened and in walked Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, John Lennon, Otis Redding and Buddy Holly.

Each musician picked up his favorite instrument and began tuning up.

Jerry walked up to Jimi and said, “Man, so this is what heaven is like.”

Jimi looked at him and said, “Heaven? You think this is heaven?”

At that moment, Karen Carpenter walked in, took her seat behind the drums, and called out, “Okay guys, ‘Close to You.’ One, two, three, four!”

thepaintedman rates this:

Sometimes I find it hard to put into words what I think about music. I find reviewing EPs particularly tough, in fact. I often feel like there isn’t enough music to make me decide fully what I think. While this is completely untrue for most of the EPs release by Velvet Blue (a great label that I have contested for some time is at its best when releasing EPs), it tends to be the case for most other bands and labels. The Skylife’s self-titled EP is no exception.

As I had intended on posting this review last week, I have continually pushed it back due to the fact that I have less to say about the release than I’d prefer. I’ll start with some of my basic feelings about the EP, then I will share my raw, unedited notes (originally scribble on a steno notebook at work):

Despite being an East Coast act (specifically from my home area of Philly), the band has a very West Coast sound with vocals that are hauntingly familiar, despite the fact I can’t pinpoint who the vocals remind me of exactly. The EP is very radio friendly, as it sounds like radio punk inspired alternative rock at times and emo tinged indie rock at others; fans of Panic! at the Disco, Fall Out Boy, Silversun Pickups, Anberlin, and Taking Back Sunday will all find something here they like. As a fan of Jimmy Eat World, The Juliana Theory, and Sunny Day Real State, I can hear an older emo/indie influence, as well. Overall, the sound is extremely radio friendly and far from “original” but it’s not teeny bopper garbage. It can simply be best described played and well produced alternative rock with emo and pop-punk leanings. While the EP was enjoyable, it loses a few points with me for being a bit generic. I don’t expect that it will be in heavy rotation for me, by any means… but I wouldn’t be surprised to pull it out for a listen here and there.

As far as the songs go, here are some quick thoughts I had on each track:

1 – Opening riff reminds me of an opening riff to one of my favorite tracks by Dead Poetic. Good vocal harmonies, well written lyrics.

2 – Something a bit Jimmy Eat World-ish early in the track, yet somehow something made me think of At the Drive-In, too… maybe the background yell at the open of the track. The voice is very familiar, especially during the harmonies. Good tempo change going into chorus. Overall Anberlin type feel here… only it’s not crap.

3 – First downtempo track here. Emo emo emo. I kinda hear a bit of a Snow Patrol type thing here, too.

4 – Another song that makes me think of Anberlin. Very West Coast sound (Anberlin isn’t a WC band, but they have “that” sound)

5 – I think this is my favorite track. By this 5th track, it seems like they are hitting their stride a bit. An LP should do them more justice.

Sorry for another delay on the Skylife review (which WILL finally be up tomorrow), but to hold you over, here’s a great interview with Michael of the band Culted.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with me here at TPM. I am admittedly not an expert on almost anything in the metal world, though I enjoy some bands in virtually all sub genres. And while this is true, I take a great interest in reading up on and researching metal, because your scenes seem to have some of the most intriguing stories. Let’s start out with your story. Who is Culted?

Culted is Daniel Jansson (voice, words, ambience) who resides in Gothenburg, Sweden, Matthew Friesen and Michael Klassen (guitars, bass, noise, percussion) live in Winnipeg Canada and Kevin Stevenson (drums) lives in rural Manitoba just outside Winnipeg. I (Michael) asked Daniel to contribute some sounds for an Of Human Bondage release a few years back. He agreed and we continued discussing music and personal interests over the next few months. Daniel suggested we record some slow doomy metal and see what came out of the sessions. We exchanged words via email and sounds via wave files and built on each others ideas as they went back and forth. We’ve never met, nor spoken to one another. Communication has been entirely digital. Although, this may very well change for the next release, Daniel is planning on recording the vocals in our studio. We’re looking forward to this next stage of Culted.

And where did you get your name? What exactly does it mean?

Many names were suggested and dismissed as quickly. Culted was the first name that seemed to encompass our intent and sound. Culted may or may not be defined as a social group or individual that operates within the larger culture and practices different norms, behaviours, beliefs, heritage. These groups or individuals may have irrational belief systems, which they have been conditioned to regard as not only possible, but as the truth, the only truth. These beliefs often dismiss critical thinking and the results blind our curiosity. That being said, most of the populace is culted to some degree even if we are aware of our oppressors. To participate in society suggests that one has been culted by its rules and expectations. Many levels of subjugation and submission can be found in our every day rituals.

I have been re-reading the book, Lords of Chaos, about the rise of Black Metal in Europe, notably Scandanavia. It seems like the Norwegian Black Metal scene was/is the most notorious and extreme. What are your impressions of the Black Metal scene that emerged in the Black Circle days as a member of the metal community?

The Scandinavian Black Metal scene had a huge impact on me and I believe Daniel as well. Burzum, Darkthrone, Ulver, Mayhem and Emperor recorded some timeless albums during the early nineties, their influence continues to come across in our sound and countless other bands.

Culted is more of a Doom Metal band from my estimation? Would you agree? And, as a metal novice, could you enlighten me a bit about what Doom Metal is? I think I recall reading that Doom’s roots are with bands like Black Sabbath.

Doom would be a fair somewhat accurate description of our sound, although many purist would disagree. Doom metal seems to have its roots in Black Sabbath, slow tempos and loud amps, and we too owe much of our sound to the records of Black Sabbath, slow tempos and loud amps.

So, who are your musical influences and what do you like to listen to?

Musical influences would be early nineties Black and Death metal, Swans, Godflesh, Eyehategod, The Melvins, Neurosis etc. Outside of metal I listen to Swans, Killing Joke, Miles Davis, Pink Floyd, Gnaw Their Tongues, Sunno))), Radiohead, and various soundtracks and Industrial/Noise artists.

While TPM is not a religious website by any means, I am a Christian and I often wonder about the beliefs of those I work with. Would you be willing to share with my readers a little bit about your beliefs?

Well, depending whose definition we’re using I might be classified as an atheist or even a Satanist by certain fundamentalists, but the reality is I am an individual who believes in nothing absolutely and remains excited by all that is unknown. I am a student of esoteric disciplines, critical thinking, logic, reasoning and the will to power. Religiosity seems like a primitive explanation of creation and morality, one that self-respecting individuals will dismiss after reasonable consideration.

Thanks, I always find it interesting to find out about the beliefs behind music and other art. How do you think your beliefs impact the music you write?

It’s possible that we are the conduit of these alien sounds we hear. Our muse, or Daemon as Socrates described it, began with a communication and was deciphered and interpreted as sound, and the result is our cd Below The Thunders Of The Upper Deep.

As I noted before, I am no metal expert. Can you give me any tips for my forray into your new album?

Loud, slow, down tuned, psychedelic, blackened metal. Some might even say experimental.

Good stuff. I’ll make you to let you know once my review of the album is up. I believe it’s due out in late July. Besides it’s release date, what else should the readers know about it?

Sunno))) say it best, maximum volume yields maximum results.

Well, I believe I’ve taken up enough of your time. One last question… are you a beer drinker? I am somewhat of a beer snob so deciding on a favorite is tough. I guess I’d have to choose Newcastle, as I always find a way back to it smooth taste. Do you have a favorite beer?

We all enjoy alcohol, Newcastle is tasty, I prefer lager, but a stout or an ale like Kilkenny are all good. Personally, I’m a chronic wine drinker who self-medicates by habitually using Cannabis.

Thanks for giving me the chance to dive into different musical realms. Thank you for all your time and sharing with my readers. Any departing words for those checking out this interview?

Cheers