La Mi Vida Violenta "We Are Ghosts" cd (22 Over 7/ 2004) + bonus tracks

Up until a few minutes ago I was not aware that this awesome band released anything other than the cd which I am uploading you for now. So in addition to sharing their two song ep We Are Ghosts I shall also add two songs I found courtesy of the band's old website. La Mi Vida Violenta were a band from Massachusetts that became aware of when my band Yes Sensei and our comrades Empty Silos Echo War made a stop at the wonderful Pirate's Cove in Allentown, PA and happened to play a show with them. La Mi Vida Violenta were a great, fun and sonically diverse band that played grooving post punk  that can best be described as a cross between A Certain Ratio, The Pop Group, !!!, and Boces era Mercury Rev. There is also a clear influence of free jazz, fusion era Miles Davis, soul and early hip hop as well various Latin music. Honestly, this is a band I wish I would've known more of and seen again. And know confirming how little the band's output was I can also certainly wish that they there more releases. In addition to this cd We Are Ghosts they released a split ep with the band Sentai, and La Mi Vida Violenta contributed five tracks-one of which I have added here as a bonus. I also wish there was more to say in this post. Regardless, just download this as it is excellent.

La Mi Vida Violenta We Are Ghosts track listing:
1. Down Tiger
2. Mash Note

Bonus tracks:
1. Blanks
2. Oh Asbestos


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The Migration Trap "Songs From the Number Fifteen" CD (Random Noise Records/2000)

Holy shit this band rules and I wish I knew more about them! Lame beginning to a blog entry I know... My only knowledge of the band and their output is very limited but it doesn't change the fact that this ep Songs From the Number Fifteen rules. How I came to know of The Migration Trap was sometime in early 2000 when my band Yes Sensei was just getting started I got a call from our bassist Paul who was like "holy shit. I just saw the best band. We HAVE to get them to come to Long Island for some shows". Immediately I took note because quite frankly Paul never said that. And so it went The Migration Trap came to Long Island for show that was a part of a two day bash that Paul was doing at The Spot on Stony Brook University Campus. And Paul was right, The Migration Trap smoked just about everyone off the stage that night with a energetic, visceral post punk onslaught. It was tight yet discordant but the music had a groove to it. Not a dancing groove mind you but the songs just plod around nor was it just noise. It reminded of a amalgamation of sounds that included bands like The Last Crime, Unwound, Drive Like Jehu, lowercase and in retrospect I'd have say that at times they remind me of Off Minor. Not the fast, screaming Off Minor moments but the more introspective pulled back moments of the band. That night I picked up copies of a two song cassette for myself and the distro. I have long since misplaced that tape but I do know that the two songs would be later be on Songs From the Number Fifteen though I can't recall which songs exactly. I do recall weeks later thanks to the fact that in demo tapes bands used to include their phone numbers I ended up calling guitarist/vocalist Victor Servello and chewing his ear off trying to get Migration Trap to contribute a track to a compilation I was doing. That never happened which bummed me out but hey...

The Migration Trap came to Long Island one more time to play a show with Yes Sensei at the Village Pub, we picked up copies of Songs From the Number Fifteen (which I gave a glowing review of in Under the Volcano) and that was the last anyone heard from them, which was rather unfortunate. I have no idea if they did any other releases or what not. They just went off the radar as far as I can tell and I can't find anything on the good 'ole internet to tell me other wise. The only other bit of info I do know is that Random Noise Records, who released Songs From the Number Fifteen, also released the first album by Officer May. If anyone knows anymore info about The Migration Trap and if they had any other releases please let me know.

The Migration Trap Songs From the Number Fifteen track listing
1. Cracking and Packing
2. Grudge Fuck
3. It Could Go Either Way
4. Panic Attack
5. Sunday Neurosis

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The Good Good "The Wants and The Want Nots" CD (self released/2005)

1. Here is a band I really miss a lot as they were the most fun, energetic band I have ever seen. They were around since 2001 but I never heard of  them until 2004. As far as I can tell they disbanded in 2007. I was first exposed to them when I went to go see my buddies band United States play their first show, and The Good Good happened to play later that night. I was blown away. Their music grooved and they were capable of being very experimental while at the core writing just really smart pop music. To me it was a cross between Mt Gigantic, The Delta 5, Half Japanese, Sonic Youth, lullabies and songs that children would sing playing hopscotch or some other school yard activity. They mixed frantic rhythms with a strong sense of melody and harmony that was propelled by discordant guitars, hypnotic bass lines, driving drums and miasma of sounds including keyboard, triangle, megaphone, field recordings, etc.  The Good Good displayed a high level of musicianship and inventiveness but never  taking themselves too seriously. I was fortunate enough to see them a few times, and even one of my short lived bands ( Birds of Prey a Swans/GSYBE esque band that me and few dudes from Guadalupe, Empty Silos Echo War, Yes Sensei, and Latterman did briefly) played our one and and only show with them in a basement in Northport. For a spell I was even trading letters and music back and forth with Good Good guitarist/vocalist Natalja Kent. 

This is one of the releases, the band's 2005 self released cdep The Wants and The Want Nots, that Natalja sent my way. The packaging and artwork is so striking that the picture I have provided doesn't even doesn't even come close to serving it justice. The cd is housed in a quad folded circular like piece of construction paper that has intricate printed artwork on both sides and there is stencil image around the edges while the hand image is painted in metallic gold paint. And pretty much every Good Good record I own (which now in looking at the complete discography courtesy of Harlan Records isn't as many as I thought I had) has incredible artwork/packaging, particularly their lp A Fem Era. I am gonna wrap this post up so I can go adjust my record want list with more Good Good releases!

The Good Good discography:

6 Song Demo cd-r (2001)

10 song Demo cd-r (2001)

Demo Mini cd-r (2002)

split 12 inch w/ Cha Cha Cha (2003)

Giver cd-r (2004)

A Fem Era 12 inch/cassette (Harlan/self released,2005)

The Wants and The Want Nots cdep (2005)

All the Days Are Numbered So comp CD (Harlan, 2005)

split 12 inch w/ Chocolat Billy (2006)

split 7 inch w/ Querent (2006)

split 12 inch w/ Api Uiz (2006)

Furrows cd (Menlo Park, 2006)

Nerds, Birds, Turds Live D.U.M.B.O cd-r (2006)

split 7 inch w/ Japanther (Altin Village, 2006)

The Good Good The Wants and The Want Nots track listing

1. Silhouette

2. Clouds

3. All the Voices

4. Paper, Metal, Marble

5. Flies

6. Three Voices

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Five Stars for Failure "Tour cd" cd-r (self released/1999)

Sometime in 1999 I went to see what I believe was the only show ever at the Power Play Dek Hockey rink. Not only was it weird that a show was being held on the actual hockey rink but it was also where I played on a few teams at the time so it was a meeting of both my worlds if you will. Regardless I went down to go see my buddies Prescott C and With Every Idle Hour play and in the process I witnessed this incredible band from out of town called Five Stars for Failure absolutely knock me out of  my socks. They were on tour from somewhere in Pennsylvania and still to this day of the many out of town bands that came to Long Island to play Five Stars for Failure remain one of my favorites. Sonically speaking they played driving yet discordant post punk/emo stuff that was a mix of Drive Like Jehu, early Unwound and Honeywell. In fact when you compare their sound to the first Unwound album the resemblance is absolutely uncanny. The funny thing is when I told them after the show how much I dug the set and wholesaled some stuff for my distro I remarked at how much they reminded me of Unwound, and they said they never heard of them. Today that is hard to imagine but back then I was so used to not knowing anyone that liked Unwound so big deal right? Bottom line  is they were playing the type of high energy, loud music that I saw in a lot of bands coming from the Pacific Northwest region at the time that I wished bands on Long Island would've channeled.

So I picked up a copy of their 7 inch on One Day Records (which I will upload at a later date) and this cd-r tour demo of which only 50 copies were made and it contains four songs; two re-recorded demo tracks, a compilation track and a previously unreleased tune. Four songs that left me wanting more. Even with the four songs on the 7 inch I was still left wanting more. And to be honest with you I am not entirely sure there was more. I tried to get them to come back to Long Island like once or twice when booking shows but that never happened and I guess any trace of what came of Five Stars for Failure or if there was any further output has remained a mystery to me. I do know that folks from Five Stars for Failure went on to be in rather good screamo band called Fighter Hayabusa who released one lone cdep called Can Kill a Shark With Their Bare Hands on Appliance Records.

Five Stars for Failure  Tour CD track listing
1. East Monument
2. Fired
3. Stuffing
4. Break, Eye

Download Here