In 1994, underground music was dirty, stained with self-loathing and doubt. Losers ruled and the dirge of the Northwest had crept into the mainstream. It was an era that made a mark on a generation and inspired two young girls to pursue an unforgiving future in punk rock. But with a taste for underground comix, junk food and all things low brow, Philadelphia’s Slutever owe as much to Beavis and Butthead as they do to Kurt and Courtney.

The 1994 7″ is available for pre-order now via Jade Tree’s website; it will be out digitally on April 16th and will be in stores on May 21st. Crank your speakers and stream it below.

Up and coming rap artist Pusha T will be playing at Union Transfer tonight. The artist is one half of rap duo Clipse, who are responsible for six studio albums. Having been gathering more and more attention from the media for a single with Odd Future member Tyler, the Creator, Pusha T’s first studio album My Name Is My Name will be released in May of this year. Tickets and information for the 18 and up show with DJ Damage and DJ Aktive can be found here. Watch a music video for Pusha T’s “Trouble On My Mind” featuring Tyler, the Creator below.

Philadelphia hometown rock band Low Cut Connie will be playing at Johnny Brenda’s tonight. Combining elements of soul, funk, and thriving rock n’ roll, Low Cut Connie provides an aura of bouncing spirit and passion for music. Their second album Call Me Sylvia was released in September of last year. Tickets and information for the 21 and up show with DRGN KING can be found here. Below, watch the group’s hit song off the new album “Boozophilia”.

Mason Porter will be playing World Cafe Live in Wilmington tonight. The group brings together the sounds of folk, as well as rock and blues, and with that, combine an array of harmonies meant to impact a part of the listeners. The group has been relatively quiet in terms of music releases within the past three years, as their last release was their full length Story of the Rifle in 2010. Tickets and information about the all-ages show can be found here. The link below is a video of the group playing their song “Ain’t Got No Home” at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in 2012.

Dangerous Ponies | Photo by John Vettese

We had a blast catching the excellent Philly pop troupe Dangerous Ponies in Austin, Texas last week for the MilkBoy / Bonfire Philly-centric SXSW showcase. They’re lively as ever, the new tunes are sounding great, and it’s always impressive to see how they squeeze their many members onto stages of various sizes. With their new Tender Heart 7″ in heavy rotation, we’re excited for their return to Philadelphia next weekend when they play MilkBoy for an EP release show.

Equally awesome is the opening set from power duo Slutever, who were also out on tour this winter and home just in time for the gig. The duo has been working up new material since their Pretend to be Nice 7″, and in the meantime treated us to their raucous cover of Hole’s “Violet” in a free download. With inbetween sets from touring bands from Utah and NYC, it’s sure to be a solid night of Philly-centric lady-centric rock and roll, and we’ve got a pair of tickets for you. Just comment below and you’ll be entered to win; we’ll choose a winner next Thursday. To get your pumped, listen to “Sparks” from the Tender Heart EP and Slutever’s “Violet” cover.

Photo by Jody Rogac

Punk outfit Cusses come to Kung Fu Necktie tonight.  Hailing from Savannah, GA, the trio released their self-titled debut last year with a sound that ranges from an edgier Paramour to total Runaways thrash outs.  Cusses may have found a mainstream audience when they won an MTVU video contest last month for their song “Don’t Give In” thanks to their strong hometown following but at their core they are a pure rock & roll band with riot grrrl attitude.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Slutever can be found here.  Watch the video for “Don’t Give In” below.

Returned from their August tour, Philly brat-punk duo Slutever makes an appearance tonight at Kung Fu Necktie, supporting like-minded L.A. fuzz-popper Colleen Green. The 21+ show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $8. Below, listen to “R.I.P. Maple” from Slutever’s Pretend to Be Nice 7″.

The new live music series at Mt. Airy’s InFusion Coffee begins tonight with a show featuring Heyward Howkins, Kettle Pot Black, Alec Gross and Jake Hill. The free concert begins at 8 p.m. and will be recorded by Handsome Lady Records. Below, listen to “Spanish Moss” from Howkins’ Key Studio Session.

• Spanish Mossby Heyward Howkins from The Key Studio Sessions archivesDownload

The fest is Saturday, July 15th at PhilaMOCA. Tickets will be available at the door for $10. Expect lots of free food and drink. More details are available on the Facebook event page. Below, stream Bandname’s latest release, “King of Surfers,” from their split 7″.

April 20 is turning into a significant date in the world of Philly brat punk duo Slutever – and not just ‘cause of the obvious reasons for a couple of self-proclaimed “McDonalds-loving stoners.” On this date last year, we released the band’s badass Key Studio Session; today, Slutever’s Rachel Gagliardi launched her own indie label, Bratty Records. From Gagliardi’s announcement:

Heavily influenced by DIY punk, Lisa Frank stickers, leather jackets, and grrrl power, Bratty hopes to put out music by bands that get it.

The label will deal in limited run cassette singles, beginning with the latest from Slutever itself: the Runaways-channeling “Pussycat.” The video for the song – directed by Philly photographer and videographer, XPN2 DJ and cassette enthusiast Eddie Austin – totally looks like something out of a high school TV lab circa 1994, exactly like it should.

Islands

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
Islands‘ fans were shown some love on Valentine’s Day with the release of the Canadian indie-rock band’s latest full-length album, A Sleep & A Forgetting. Yet blissful romance is hardly the album’s focal point: it was written following the end of frontman Nick Thorburn’s thorny relationship. One of the album’s earlier tracks, “This Is Not A Song,” is a somber telling of the past, and is indicative of most of the album’s tone. Not much has changed, however; we’re still graced with the same enchanting vocal harmonies and dreamy piano-pop feel. Due to popular demand, a second Philadelphia performance was added to the tour—and, with both shows now sold out, the men of Islands should be feeling plenty of love. Islands performs with Idiot Glee at 7:30 & 9:30 p.m. at First Unitarian Church; tickets to the all-ages shows are SOLD OUT. —Lisa Henderson

Also Playing: 1964 The Tribute at Keswick Theatre (8 p.m., all ages, $35-$40); Galactic + The Soul Rebels Brass Band at Union Transfer (9 p.m., all ages, $25); Zee Avi + Geology at Milkboy Philly (9:30 p .m., 21+, $12–$14)

NOTE: The The Twilight Sad + Forest Fire and Micah P. Hinson show at Johnny Brenda’s has been CANCELED.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25th
Buried Beds is no stranger to the local music scene. In fact, the band has been around for quite a while, having received recognition as “Best Band” in Philadelphia Magazine’s “Best of Philly” issue all the way back in 2004. The band has always had a knack for switching things up, whether it’s alternating male and female leads on vocals or adding a whopping six members to its live orchestral ensemble (complete with piano and strings). More recently, the band has made guest appearances on albums by other local artists such as mewithoutYou and Dr. Dog. Perhaps, as Buried Beds continues to slowly but surely gain the recognition it deserves in Philly, it will eventually start turning some heads outside of its hometown. Buried Beds performs with The Spinto Band and The Building at 9:15 p.m. at Johnny Brenda’s; tickets to the 21+ show are $10. —Lisa Henderson

Slutever, Little Big League, Dear Althea, and Mannequin Pussy: four bands on the same bill at Kung Fu Necktie, all of which are rooted in the Riot Grrrl and punk scenes. The noisy punk duo Slutever sounds like it was directly transported here from the early ’90s. The recently formed Little Big League, meanwhile, finds itself on the mellower end of the angst spectrum—which is to be expected from a group composed of Michelle Zauner and Kevin O’Halloran of Post Post, punk rocker Ian Dykstra of Titus Andronicus, and Deven Craige of Strand Of Oaks. It wouldn’t be a local Grrrl Punk showcase without the Sleater-Kinney-inspired Dear Althea. (Listen to John Vettese’s recent Philly Local Philes featuring Little Big League and Dear Althea.) Rounding out the show with the most rage is Mannequin Pussy, which brands itself as “childhood pals turned degenerates,” and sounds exactly like that. Slutever, Little Big League, Dear Althea, and Mannequin Pussy perform at 8 p.m. at Kung Fu Necktie; tickets to the 21+ show are $8. —Naomi Shavin

Also Playing: 1964 The Tribute at Keswick Theatre (8 p.m., all ages, $35-$40); Blayer Pointdujour + The Reckless Dodgers, Faux Slang at The Level Room (9:15 p.m., 21+, $10); Heartless Bastards + Hacienda, Devin Therriault at Union Transfer (8:30 p.m., all ages, $16–$18); The Pink Floyd Experience at Electric Factory (8:30 p.m., all ages, $26); Laura Mann And The Lifeboys at Tin Angel (21+, $10)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25th
John Condron + Mickey Harte at Tin Angel (7 p.m., 21+, $10); Modern Inventors + Boom Chick, The Best Westerns at Kung Fu Necktie (8 p.m., 21+, $8)

Bleeding Rainbow performs at The Level Room on Dec. 31st

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30th
Gandalf Murphy And The Slambovian Circus of Dreams at World Cafe Live (7:30 p.m., $30–$40); Mock Suns + Music Box Dynamo, Phantasm, Man The Fire at Milkboy Philly (9:30 p.m., 21+, $8–$10); Orbit to Leslie + The Circadian Rhythms, Your Children Is Beautiful (9:15 p.m., 21+, $10); Thursday + mewithoutYou, Screaming Females, Make Do And Mend at Theatre Of Living Arts (6 p.m., SOLD OUT)

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31st

Phonographic Arts presents Bleeding Rainbow with Eternal Summers + Creepoid, Arc In Round, Pink Skull, Slutever, Fire In The Hearts And Mind, and Exploding World at 8 p.m. at The Level Room; tickets to the 21+ show are 8 p.m.

Also Playing: Johnny Brenda’s and Philebrity present The Second Annual New Year’s Eve Snowflake Ball featuring DJ sets by Nick Krill (The Spinto Band) + Chris Powell (Man Man), Eric Slick (Dr. Dog), John Barthmus (Sun Airway), Schoolly D at Johnny Brenda’s (8 p.m., 21+, $5); Nico’s Gun + Lady, Greg D, Black Stars at The Fire (9 p.m., 21+, $10); Prowler + Busses, Hott Tubb at Kung Fu Necktie (8 p.m., 21+, $5)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 1st
Beth Hart + Christine Santelli, Gina Sicilla, Aster Phoenix at The Blockley ($45)

As we mentioned earlier this month, RJD2 and singer-songwriter Aaron Livingston are collaborating together as Icebird and released their debut album, The Abandoned Lullaby, on October 11th. You can download the first single, “Going And Going. And Going” here. RJD2 performs with Icebird and Lushlife at 8 p.m. at Union Transfer; tickets to the all-ages show are $15-$17.

Meanwhile, the members of Arrah And The Ferns—whom John Vettese highlighted in yesterday’s Philly Local Philes—will celebrate the release of their latest EP, Soldier Ghost, at Phila MOCA. Arrah And The Ferns performs with Univox and Conversations With Enemies at 9 p.m. at at Phila MOCA.

Also Playing: Illinois + Carousel, A Victim To Good Times at Milkboy Philly (9 p.m., 21+, $8–$10); Esperanza Spalding + Chamber Music Society at Merriam Theater (8 p.m., $35–$45)

Break It Up

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15
Two of The Key’s favorite local acts, Slutever and Break It Up, perform together (alongside L.A.’s Bleached) at Kung Fu Necktie tonight. Back in April, we featured Slutever in our Key Studio Sessions; a month later, we interviewed guitarist/drummer Rachel Gagliardi about her children’s music side project, The Weenies. Over the summer, we interviewed all three members of Break It Up and featured them in our Key Studio Sessions as well. You can listen to a track from each session below; click on the above links for the full sessions. Slutever performs with Bleached and Break It Up at 7:30 p.m. at Kung Fu Necktie; tickets to the 21+ show are $10. 

• I Can Dream The Rest Awayby Slutever from The Key Studio SessionsDownload

• Excavateby Break It Up from The Key Studio SessionsDownload

Also Playing: Blocktoberfest featuring The Walkmen + Cozy Galaxies, Kuf Knotz, Toy Soldiers, Suzie Brown, New Pony, Reckless Amateurs, Paper Monster, Parsnip Revolt, Andy Dalzell on South Street between Broad and 17th Sts. (noon–8 p.m., all ages, free); Minus the Bear + The Velvet Teen at Electric Factory (8:30 p.m., all ages, $27); Dick Dale + The Levee Drivers at North Star Bar (9 p.m., 21+, $20–$25)

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16
Southern Culture On The Skids + Pokey LaFarge And The South City Three at World Cafe Live (7 p.m., $21–$39); Richard Thompson at Keswick Theatre (7:30 p.m., $29–$39)

We get it: All-female punk bands from the riot-grrrl era will forever own the genre, and anything that comes after will be a mere shadow of Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. No one’s going to argue that Kathleen Hanna is a damn hard frontwoman to best. (Anyone who would say differently should probably check out the Le Tigre tour documentary Who Took the Bomp? LE TIGRE on Tour, which was recently released on DVD.) But wouldn’t it have been incredibly sad if those angry, we’re-not-taking-your-crap feminist punk genes had died off in the late ’90s? Someone needed to carry the torch, and while many younger acts try, few do it with the same sass (and success) as The Coathangers. With punch-in-the-gut guitar riffs and drums, shrieking and yelping at all vocal ranges, and attitude-laden songs like “Don’t Touch My Shit” and “Shut the F*!k Up”, the quartet from Atlanta deserves credit for getting so much mileage out of a band that started as a joke among friends, while still managing to rep the riot grrrls as well as they do. The Coathangers perform with the Tough Shits, Slutever, and Mean Streets at The Barbary at 6 p.m.; tickets to the all-ages show are $10. —Danielle Wayda

Kickstarter campaigns can be a wonderful means of fundraising, especially when your target donor audience is on the functioning half of the digital divide. In preparation for their first coast-to-coast U.S. tour, the punk duo Slutever has just launched a Kickstarter campaign in the hopes of raising a minimum of $2,000 to help them fund their venture. Unlike other bands that would promise to reward donors with the standard t-shirt or record, Slutever offers an extensive and creative variety of gifts for pretty much every donation level imaginable (in addition to digital copies and 7” of their latest release, Pretend To Be Nice).

Among the most intriguing offers are:

• Personalized SLUTEVER rolling papers, with a mandatory $4.20 donation.
• For a mere $50, the band offers anyone in the tri-state area a scandalous night of bowling and nachos.
• Postcard updates from various cities with tales of crazy tour antics for $75 donations
• A seventh-grade style mall-cruising date in the city of your choice (for those non-tri-state people) at the $100 level

As the ladies plea on Slutever’s website: “WE KNOW YOU ARE JUST AS POOR AS US, BUT WE REALLY NEED YOUR HELP!!!! Any donation is tremendously appreciated. TELL ALL YOUR RICH FRIENDS ABOUT IT.”

To help Slutever out and get some really personal thank you’s in return, visit their Kickstarter here. The SLUTEVER DO AMERICA tour lasts from July 1 through August 19. Slutever will also be performing at The Barbary with the Coathangers on June 23. —Danielle Wayda

The local punk band Slutever is many things: For starters, it’s an all-female duo that writes riff-heavy rock more powerful than most four- or five-piece acts. It’s also one of The Key’s favorite bands in Philadelphia (which is why we brought them into the XPN studio for a recent Key Studio Session). But one thing Slutever clearly is not is a band for children. So, when guitarist/drummer Rachel Gagliardi—a student in Drexel University’s Music Industry Program—decided to make her senior project a children’s-music-oriented endeavor, her side project The Weenies was born. Saturday night’s show featuring The Weenies is a benefit for VH1′s “Save The Music” Foundation, “a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in America’s public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of each child’s complete education.” (To date, the Foundation has provided more than $47 million in new musical instruments to 1,750 public schools in more than 100 cities around the country, impacting the lives of over 1.6 million children.) Prior to the show, we spoke to Gagliardi about pursuing a career in the music industry, why children are inherently punk rock, and what “selling out” actually means anymore—if it still means anything at all.

The Key: In your senior project proposal for The Weenies, you said that you were lucky enough to have influential music teachers throughout your life that shaped you into the music lover you are today. Who were those music teachers, and how did they shape your perspective of music?

Rachel Gagliardi: The high school that I went to was just a public high school in the suburbs, but it had a really good music program. Our chorus program went to Europe when I was in the 10th grade. So I got to go to Europe, which was awesome. We had a music theory program that was amazing—it was, like, four different years that you could take. I took three years of that. And we had a music mentors’ program, which is probably why I got interested in teaching kids. But yeah, my music theory teacher’s name was Ms. Schmidt, and she was awesome. In that program, we actually got to create our own musical. They do it every year, and my year we did Hey Arnold!. We wrote all the songs ourselves and wrote the play. Nicole [Snyder, of Slutever] was in it, too—that’s kind of where we became friends. It was cool, and she was pretty much the teacher who got me really into music. She went to college for music, and when I told her I thought that I wanted to do that, too, she was really encouraging. I guess if it wasn’t for my music program in high school I probably never would have gone to college for music. I definitely owe her.

TK: You also mentioned that, through your high school’s music program, you were “able to realize that music can be more than a hobby—it can be a sustainable career.” Are you interested in pursuing a career in music, given the state of the industry?

RG: Absolutely. Even though it’s kind of crappy, yeah. I don’t really have anything else that I’m this passionate about. And going to college for music taught me about a lot of careers that I would never have thought about, like publishing, or teaching. I never really thought I would go to school and want to be a teacher. But all of my teachers are full-time music professionals as well. They have stuff outside of school. In a way, they kind of do school on the side. I think I could really do well with that. Obviously for now I just want to be in a band and see where that takes me, and just do something else on the side for money.

TK: As far as potential future careers in music go, are you more interested in the performing and writing side, or the industry side?

RG: Oh, definitely performing. If I could just be in a band, that’s all I would do for the rest of my life. But it doesn’t really pay the bills, yet. I don’t think I’ll ever want to be an actual industry person, unless I had already tried to be a performer and gotten burned out on it. So probably not for…a few years?

TK: Some people might tell you that few things will burn you out on music more than pursuing a career in the industry.

RG: [Laughs.] Yeah.

TK: As far as a career as a performer goes, though, how does one make such a career sustainable?

RG: You kind of have to think about performance as not your only outlet. You have to think about merchandising, and definitely publishing. More opportunities are coming up in strange revenue streams. It’s not the traditional, “you go out, you play shows, you sell CDs” thing anymore. So I think you have to have really innovative ideas based on marketing your music besides just playing shows. You know, like, movie soundtracks and television licensing opportunities.

TK: You definitely hear more “big indie” bands—and, in some cases, smaller indie bands, the kind of stuff that would have been way under the radar a few years ago—in television commercials lately. That seems to be an approach more bands are taking now.

RG: Yeah, I definitely think that licensing is the number one way for small bands to make money. Because you can do one licensing deal and make $50,000, and that’s more money than you’re going to make on tour. Sometimes if it’s a big company, you can make enough where you don’t have to play shows for a year. You’re set for an entire year. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does happen, you’re set. Or you do smaller stuff and get a few thousand dollars, and you tour in addition to all that. You do merchandising, you do whatever you can. But licensing is definitely where the money is. So hopefully we can get some licensing deals, I guess.

TK: A lot of this relates to one of the most cliched punk conversations of yesteryear, which was about the notion of selling out. Going commercial versus staying independent, all of that stuff. That conversation has changed pretty dramatically in the last decade, as the process of recording, releasing, and distributing music has shifted for everyone. What is your opinion on then versus now?

RG: Obviously, actual music sales are dwindling, so you can’t rely on music sales alone any more. Meanwhile, to do one licensing opportunity could pay your bills for so long that you can can afford to go out on tour. Whereas if you don’t, if you ignore those licensing opportunities—because you don’t want to be selling out, or you don’t want to be associated with a certain brand—you might not have enough money to go on tour. Then you’re just kind of stuck in your world. And it’s like, “Yeah you’re really punk rock, but you can’t even play shows because you don’t have any money.”…I also think that, lately, people don’t view small bands being in commercials as selling out as much as they see it is awesome. Like The Black Keys. I really like The Black Keys, and I think they were in the most commercials of 2010. At one point they were still really small and underground. I think that those commercials helped them, and I don’t think that means they sold out or anything. I think they were just smart. They know that their careers aren’t going to last forever, so they need to do as much as they can now.

TK: One of the strongest remaining gripes about licensing seems to be that, once you sell that song to whatever company, it’s no longer your song. You turn on the TV, and there it is. But it’s not yours anymore. It’s a ubiquitous part of commercialized pop culture, a 30-second clip designed to sell someone…whatever.

RG: I definitely agree. I think it’s hard, because some bands aren’t associated with whatever company. Like Apple. People think, “Oh, that’s the band from the Apple commercial.” It’s a company profiting off of your brand, your image, the music you’ve created. And yeah, you get compensated—but sometimes you don’t get compensated a lot. [Laughs.] Then, maybe it explodes and it’s everywhere and you’re like, “Wait, we didn’t get paid that much for it!” And they’re like, “Well, that’s not our problem.” The downside, I don’t really see a way around it. I guess more exposure is better than no exposure? But it does have its dark aspects.

TK: A lot of it might depend on the relationship between the band and its music. How personal is your relationship with your own own music?

RG: With Slutever it’s definitely completely personal. I wrote all of those songs when my boyfriend broke up with me. Sometimes when I play, if he comes to the show he leaves two minutes in. Because my lyrics are really mean to him. [Laughs.] So if one of my songs was ever in an Apple commercial, it would be really ridiculous. I mean, besides the fact that the songs would be super inappropriate, it’d be weird because they are extremely personal. I’ve never been able to write songs that aren’t extremely personal. I only write when I’m very upset or very happy. Usually only when I’m very upset…Maybe our music just isn’t very good for licensing. But we are super into writing jingles, so we might try to get into that game. That would be cool.

TK: Your project proposal did mention that your regular band, Slutever, “Isn’t necessarily appropriate for children,” and that The Weenies would be a completely separate project. How concerned were you that your work with Slutever would have a negative impact on your proposal?

RG: I knew that I wanted to work with Nicole, so I wasn’t sure how we would go about doing it. I wasn’t sure if it would just be a Slutever thing that we did on the side or what. So when I talked to my advisor, she was like “You really need to do something that is completely separate from what you do now, because it’s obviously not appropriate.” So we got other people involved and took a new approach. People that like our music will probably like this music.

TK: The music obviously comes to from the same source.

RG: Yeah, it’s not like it’s this new Barney music that’s like could be on Sesame Street. It’s definitely still pretty punk. I think if people listened to it and didn’t know it was a children’s band, and didn’t listen to the words, they would maybe like it…But I don’t think they would listen to it and be like, “Oh my God, this is kids music, turn it off!” I didn’t want to go in a new direction, because the whole point is that I think most of the music out there for kids right now is really lame. Like kids bop and like Disney and stuff.

TK: You’ve described The Weenies as “a children’s punk band that is written from the perspective a preschooler.” What makes punk such an appropriate musical genre for the project?

RG: I play all of the songs for my cousin, and she jokes, like, “You could just have wrote these songs for yourself because you don’t like to take a shower and you don’t like to eat vegetables.” I’m really picky and a little kid, basically. So I feel like when I was little, I would have totally related to punk music. You know, all little kids aren’t trying to dance around to music about rainbows and sunshine. When I was little I used to throw fits and I’d roll myself out of my crib and scream all night. I was this terrible child. I think if my parents had been like, “Go into your room, and you can listen to this crazy music, and then when you get out you have to relax,” it would have been nice. Because it would have been a way to express myself that isn’t your typical way of acting out.

TK: Based on the show The Weenies performed at a Bucks County preschool a couple of weeks ago, how would you describe the average preschooler’s reaction to punk music?

RG: Well there were definitely kids that were not into it. They had their ears covered and they were like This is soooo loud!” And I was like, “I’m sorry for your little baby ears!” It’s not for all little kids. But some of them loved it. They came up to me and said, “This is my first rock concert!,” and thought they were really cool for watching music.

TK: Did you get a chance to talk to the kids after the show?

RG: After the performance we let them come up and we gave them the microphone and the drums and they stood in line and got to play a little. It was once girl’s birthday, and she was wearing her birthday hat, so I went up to her and said, “happy birthday!” I gave her the mic and she sang “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” which was adorable. I was like “Is that the only song you know? You’re so cute.” But yeah, I think the majority of them liked it. We gave them each a bag with a CD, a pin, and a zine I created. The next day, two of the girls wore the buttons to school. I thought that was really awesome.

The Weenies perform with Cousin Brian, The Sniffles, and Gaston at at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 21st, at 403 N. 40th Street; the show costs $5, and is a benefit for VH1′s “Save The Music” Foundation. —Matthew Borlik

Want to hear more? Click here to listen to the full sessions by all 17 local acts. You can also download The Key Studio Sessions Compilation, Volume One in its entirety as a .zip file.

Photo by Jaclyn Hardgrove

They make it look so simple. Drums and riffs, loud amps and unbridled vocals, short and to the point. That’s not to say rock-n-roll is a cakewalk for co-drummer/guitarists Nicole Snyder and Rachel Gagliardi. When they recorded their Key Studio Session with us in March (right before hopping on the South By Southwest caravan), the ladies of Slutever were impressively adroit – excited to record in such a big room and determined to get just the right sound. The nervy, frustrated number “So Prone” caused a spot of nervous frustration in the studio when the feedback drone at the beginning wasn’t droning correctly. The band took a couple passes through the song, we did some technical troubleshooting in the control room, and on the third go-round, Snyder absolutely nailed it, making her guitar rumble and wail like a raygun firing in some cavernous outer-space realm. Other songs flowed in more of a spunky one-and-done fashion—the catchy “ooh-ooh” harmonies on “R.I.P. Maple” were perfect each time they came up, and “No Offense” was a total blast. Watching Gagliardi and Snyder work, it becomes harder to describe what they do using words like “reckless” and “sloppy.” There’s a serious amount of craft to being as punk as them. Slutever performs Thursday April 21 at The North Star Bar with The Pipettes and Dear Althea. Tickets to the 21+ show are $12.

• I Can Dream The Rest Awayfrom The Key Studio Sessions 4/20/11Download

• No Offensefrom The Key Studio Sessions 4/20/11Download

• RIP Maplefrom The Key Studio Sessions 4/20/11Download

• So Pronefrom The Key Studio Sessions 4/20/11Download

• Sun Hotfrom The Key Studio Sessions 4/20/11Download

Click on the photo for a larger, more readable version

Earlier this month, before the members of Slutever left Philadelphia for the bright lights of SXSW in Austin (which was part of the band’s first tour), we asked them if they’d be interested in documenting the experience for us. They said yes—and, when they asked what kind of stuff we’d like to get, we basically said, “Whatever seems appropriate.” So, here it is: Slutever’s SXSW experience, in pictorial form (with additional commentary from Rachel below). Personally, we can’t imagine anything more appropriate.

SXSW was insane. I have never been so sore, tired, and beaten up in my whole life. We saw more shows in the span of a week than I think most people see in their lifetime. The best showcase we attended was the Hardly Art/Sub Pop showcase—literally one of the best shows I’ve been to in my life. Hunx and his Punx almost made us quit music—the man is a genuis and his band was fucking onnnn! It was great to see so many local Philly bands be a part of the scene—the crowd loved the Extraordinaries (as they should!) and it was fun to hang out with our Philly buds in the blazing Texas heat.

In general, it was scary to be involved in something so much bigger than ourselves. We have only been a band for about a year and this was our first time experiencing anything like this. What I took away from SXSW is an even greater love for the DIY and local community scenes. It was really apparent which bands like to stick together, what scenes are killing it right now (NASHVILLE), and just how many bands there are that are trying their darndest to share their music with the world. Of course I’ve always known the music industry is saturated—but at SXSW there is no way to ignore just how many bands there actually are.

All I can hope is that as a female, two-piece punk band, what we are doing is fresh and innovative enough—not to mention EXCITING enough—that people will actually care to listen and support us. We’re doing our best, and we’ll see what the future will bring! —Rachel

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2011/03/29/a-quick-recap-of-slutevers-sxsw-experience-in-pictorial-form/feed/ 0 http://thekey.xpn.org/2011/03/16/reaching-for-the-brass-ring-philly-bands-at-south-by-southwest-part-ii/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2011/03/16/reaching-for-the-brass-ring-philly-bands-at-south-by-southwest-part-ii/#comments Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:49:50 +0000 Bruce Warren http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=9165

Reading Rainbow

One of the many good things about being a duo is the relative ease of setting up and breaking down your equipment. In an environment like SXSW, where bands are rushed on and off the stage with barely enough time to perform a five-song set, that kind of hassle-free setup can save a band a lot of aggravation. So we hope that—while five- and six-piece bands are sweating it out, trying to get all of their guitars, synthesizers, laptops, basses, and drum kits from one show to the next—local duos such as Reading Rainbow and Slutever get to take their sweet time and actually enjoy the experience. Reading Rainbow and Slutever perform at the WXPN/YVYNYL showcase on Thursday, March 17th, at the The Broken Neck. You can find both bands’ additional SXSW dates on their websites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVJWzVLG4JQ&feature=related

The electronica band Golden Ages are performing several shows in Austin (including our local showcase with YVYNYL). Last summer, the music blog universe raved over Golden Ages’ cover of Toto’s “Africa” (which you can download below), and many a blog referenced Animal Collective as a point of comparison. We, on the hand, hear a young band with a sophisticated sense of melody set to an electro-rhythmic, somewhat noisy background.

• Africaby Golden Ages from the Africa EPDownload

We’ve been fans of Kurt Vile’s singer-songwriter stoner haze for a long time. His new album Smoke Ring For My Halo is his best yet, with Pitchfork giving the album a Best New Music award. Kurt is performing Saturday at Auditorium Shores Stage at 4:30 Central Time as part of NPR Music’s live radio broadcast on WXPN (4:30 Eastern).

12:00 – 12:20  - Nicos Gun
12:30 – 12:50 – Suede Uppers
1:00 – 1:20 – Arrah and the Ferns
1:30 – 1:50 – The Armchairs
2:00 – 2:20 – The Spinto Band
2:30 – 2:50 – Slutever
3:00 – 3:20  - Far-out Fangtooth
3:30 – 3:50 – Creepoid
4:00 – 4:20 – Golden Ages
4:30 – 4:50 – Reading Rainbow
5:00 – 5:20  - Nothing
5:30 – 5:50 – The Spooks

Also playing: Michael Showalter at Kung Fu Necktie (7:30 p.m., 21+, SOLD OUT); KFN; Revolver + Jac, When I Was 12 at Johnny Brenda’s (9 p.m., 21+, $10); Flogging Molly + Moneybrother, The Drowning Men at Electric Factory (7 p.m., SOLD OUT); Creepoid + Invisible Days, The Vandelles, Lux Perpetua at Tritone (9 p.m., 21+)

Photo by John Vettese

2-Piece Fest 4 begins at 2 p.m. Sat., 2/26, at The Ox

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26
Why put up with multiple rock-star-wannabe egos and haul around a ton of music equipment when you could keep things simple and start a duo? This year’s Two-Piece Fest features close to two dozen local-ish acts who, for whatever reason, decided two musicians was enough. The massive lineup—which features Slutever, The Joint Chiefs Of Math, Hulk Smash, Best Friends, and Peter And Craig—might feel overwhelming; when you’ve got that many bands on one fest’s bill, excessive delays seem like an inevitability. But that’s just another one of the many benefits of being in a two-piece: You’re able to set up, play your set, and break down with a minimum of time and effort. The performances begin at 2 p.m. at The Ox; tickets to the all-ages show are $8.

Anyone who’s been denied entrance to a live-music performance because they were underage doesn’t need to be reminded about the importance of all-ages shows. Whether you’re currently under 21+ and want to vent your frustrations (while discussing alternatives), or are over 21 and want to share your own experiences, tonight’s All-Ages Movement Project‘s East Coast Summit has plenty to offer. Dischord Records co-founder Ian MacKaye will be the keynote speaker at tonight’s event, which will also feature live performances by Philly’s own Slutever and SGNLS. Other confirmed speakers include R5 Productions‘ Andy Nelson, Sugar Town’s Sara Sherr, Fredericksburg All Ages‘ Adam Bray, and Girls Rock Philly!‘s Beth Warshaw-Duncan; Grace Ambrose, who organized last week’s panel discussion with Kathleen Hanna and Sara Marcus, will moderate the discussion. The event begins at 5 p.m. at The Rotunda; tickets to the all-ages event are $10-$15 (which includes a copy of AMP’s book, In Every Town: An All-Ages Music Manifesto).

Also playing: The John Byrne Band + Citizens Band Radio at World Cafe Live (9 p.m., $13-$18); Franz Nicolay + David Dondero at Kung Fu Necktie (7:30 p.m., 21+, $8); Do You Need The Service +Univox, The Better Letters at Johnny Brenda’s (9 p.m., 21+, $10)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27
WXPN Welcomes Steve Earle, who performs at Johnny Brenda’s tonight as part of a benefit for Witness To Innocence. (WTI is a national organization “founded by, led by, and composed of exonerated death row survivors” that seeks “to abolish the death penalty, to conduct self-advocacy campaigns to win just compensation for the exonerated, and to build a peer-support community of exonerated death row survivors and their loved ones; you can read more about the organization here.) Steve Earle performs at Johnny Brenda’s at 7 p.m.; tickets to the 21+ show are SOLD OUT.

Also playing: “Three-Piece Fest” at Danger Danger Gallery (7 p.m., $5-$10); Folkadelphia presents Meg Baird + Arborea at Johnny Brenda’s JB’s (1 p.m., 7 p.m.); Blood Features + The Cobbs, Dressed Like Stolen Cars at Kung Fu Necktie (8 p.m., 21+, $5)

Slutever

This news just in from the folks at Drexel University’s Bantic Media, the student-run music marketing company that is part of the school’s Music Industry Program (and overseen by Jade Tree Records co-founder Darren Walters):

On March 29 SLUTEVER returns with a new 7-inch Pretend to Be Nice – a breakthrough record with progressing instrumentation and their usual blisteringly catchy melodies. Featuring two B-Sides recorded from the Sorry I’m Not Sorry bathroom sessions, Pretend to Be Nice is a documentation of growth and maturity for Gagliardi and Snyder sonically, with the same quirky teenage anxiety. Pretend to Be Nice is available both digitally and on vinyl now, with a limited edition of 100 copies of the 7-inch available as red colored vinyl with a screen printed cover and bonus screen printed poster at www.banticmedia.com.

…and…

WHEN I WAS 12’s eponymous debut EP is a fully realized Drexel University project, student Eric Sanderson recorded the songs on campus in one of Drexel’s five professional recording studios. It was then mixed by Clark Connor, and mastered by Maniac Mansion’s Ryan Schwabe. The resulting 7-inch will be released on April 16, at Record Store Day (www.recordstoreday.com). Bantic Media will release 300 limited edition pieces of random colored 7-inch vinyl with full color custom sleeves designed by the band and friends. Fifty copies of the colored 7-inch will be available with a t-shirt.

Congrats to Slutever and When I Was 12—both of which are performing this weekend. Slutever has a pair of shows on Saturday, February 26th: the AMP It Up! East Coast All-Ages Music Summit at The Rotunda (with guest speaker Ian MacKaye) and 2-Piece Fest 4 at The Ox. When I Was 12, meanwhile, will perform Friday, February 25th, at Johnny Brenda’s.

SLUTEVER – No Offense by BANTIC MEDIA

When I Was 12 – Tree Trunk of My Heart by BANTIC MEDIA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBdZBRKbzjk&feature=player_embedded

Slutever performs 1/15 at Kung Fu Necktie

If you hadn’t noticed by the header, this weekend is more than packed with good shows. And you can’t attend them all, which means you’ve got some decisions to make.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 14
Philadelphia reverb-rock trio Moon Women opens (alongside Roanoke, VA’s Eternal Summers) for Detroit’s Tyvek in a No Wavelength show at 8 p.m. at Cha-cha’razzi. Given that the majority of tonight’s other shows feature local headliners (who’ll likely be playing again in the area much sooner than Tyvek or Eternal Summers will), it’s a good night to catch these two out-of-town acts. Also playing: Ladies Auxiliary at Kung Fu Necktie (8 p.m., 21+, $5); Power Animal + Hello Shark, Taco Kitty, Snow Caps at Danger Danger Gallery (9 p.m., all ages, $5-$10); Grimace Federation + Caveman, Somata at North Star Bar (9 p.m., 21+, $10).

SATURDAY, JANUARY 15
Two of The Key’s favorites, Slutever (with Omar + Easter Vomit at Kung Fu Necktie; 7:30 p.m., $21, $5) and Grandchildren (with We Are Hex  + Fake Babies, TRTL at The Ox; 8 p.m., $5) perform in relatively close proximity to each other on Saturday night. Meaning, if you plan your night accordingly, you can probably catch both. (Which we’d recommend.)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 16
Local ’60s-pop-inspired quartet The Armchairs perform with Horse’s Mouth + Virtual Virgin, Paper Masques at Kung Fu Necktie (8 p.m., 21+, $5).

It takes some serious cojones to name your new local band after the hockey squad that just beat the home team in the Stanley Cup Finals. Then again, Philly’s Blackhawks did drop their first single, “Sunday Morning,” back in early April—a few days prior to the Philadelphia Flyers barely squeaking into the 2009-2010 playoffs (via a shootout victory in the last game of the regular season), and well before the Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane ended the Flyers’ run by scoring the most anticlimactic, series-winning overtime goal in NHL history. So, you know, we’ll try to look past the band’s name. The local psych-pop trio—which features members of Nude Beach and Bananas Symphony—doesn’t make much of an effort to hide its love of Spaceman 3; in fact, the first recorded material the band released was a cover of Spacemen 3’s “More Rainbows (Come Down Softly).” But the plucky guitar work and rolling percussion of “Sunday Morning”—a train-hopping, bindle-toting, on-the-road track if ever there was one (available below, via Transparent)—has us looking forward to hearing more of the young band’s new material. Blackhawks performs tonight as part of North Star Bar‘s “New Music Series”; recent Philly Local Philes band Slutever and New Jersey’s Second Floor Stories open. (8 p.m., $21+, $7)

• Sunday Morningby BlackhawksDownload

Philly noisepunk duo Slutever embodies all the reckless fun and relentless frustration of post-adolescence, in tight two-minute blasts. Drums, guitar, a vocal moan feeding back through a practice amp, members Nicole Snyder and Rachel Gagliardi working to make sense out of a point in their lives that seems nonsensical. They’re debauched, but disapproving; unapologetic, yet insecure. The title of Slutever’s deut EP is apt: Sorry I’m Not Sorry. They’re honest. Check out “So Prone” below; if you’re picking up what they’re laying down, catch them at The North Star Bar’s New Music Series next Monday, November 29th, at 8 p.m.

• So Pronefrom Sorry I’m Not Sorry by SluteverDownload