Recent Stories
Tiger Beat
The Republic Tigers continue their torrid march up the charts
Hate if you wanna, but The Republic Tigers are still the best band in Kansas City. With the excitement of that whole “we have a lot of fountains” thing quickly rubbing off, it’s high time our sister city put that Puddle of Mudd thing to rest. Enter the Tigers: a brilliant and strikingly individualistic band that offers a beacon of hope to all Midwestern music-makers who don’t yarl.
Murderbot was the case that they gave me
Chris Shively returns to Lawrence for a bootylicious Thanksgiving
Like so many teenagers in the early ‘90s, Chris Shively was swept up in the more appealing elements of the booming rave culture – i.e. the music. When that scene came crashing to a halt, Shively held tight to his passion by acting as the electronic music director for KJHK 90.7FM and gobbling up new releases at 180 beats-per-minute. He also began honing his songwriting skills, modeling his Murderbot alias after the classic mid-‘90s jungle records that he loved so dearly.
'Attack' mode
The Noise FM releases debut album; joggers and weightlifters rejoice
It's difficult to imagine a local release in recent years that comes out of the gate stronger than The Noise FM's "Dream of the Attack." Beginning with the taut, magnetic riffs of "Simple Simon" and continuing through the gaping-mouth hooks of "Circles," the album strikes a perfect balance between musicianship and songcraft-two things that don't always come as a package.
The Lord Speaketh
Hammerlord lays down the metal/not-metal gauntlet
Tt takes about two hellraising seconds to figure out that Hammerlord is most definitely metal. Earth-scorching guitar leads, double-bass-drum blasts, guttural vocals, lyrics about spilt blood and the "Throne of Azathoth" metal like the wolf. It's even got a drum solo on it how metal is that?!!! Plenty of bands would give their first Anthrax tape to be this metal, but few succeed so quickly and convincingly.
Christmas in October
Black Christmas to spurn Santa with Halloween album release
A band with a name like Black Christmas is probably better off celebrating its CD release on Halloween. The instrumental Lawrence band is right at home with the macabre, taking inspiration from horror-film composers like Angelo Badalamenti as well as doom-and-gloom prog bands like Goblin and King Crimson.
Tighten Up
Lawrence's freshest soul DJs discuss the art of wax-stacking
Brian Sears would gladly sell his soul for a stock copy of a rare and beautiful 45rpm record, but that doesn't disqualify him from spinning choice soul sides. The host of The Breakdown a monthly dance party at the Eighth Street Taproom is in good company in Lawrence, where vintage soul records are regularly dusted off and blasted on loudspeakers by co-conspirators like Sarah Brokenleg (a.k.a. Sadie Soul) and Josh Powers (a.k.a. SceneboosterSoundsystem).
Party Like a Deadman
Lawrence's busiest string band is anything but Flat
Well I'm rolling down the highway I got nothing behind me but blue sky / I'll keep on driving this truck out west until the day that I die / Got a gun in the front seat and a bottle next to me / I got kicked out of Kansas for dealin' LSD. So begins Deadman Flats' debut album, "Antlers." The twangy collection blurs the drunken line between fact and fiction, chronicling the misadventures of everyday boogans and dudes who pick up greeters at Wal-Mart.
Stiff Upper Lip
Split Lip Rayfield rebounds from tragedy to release new album
Split Lip Rayfield started taking shape about the time Bill Clinton was getting situated in the oval office. Neither Eric Mardis, Wayne Gottstine, nor Jeff Eaton figured they'd still be going at it 14 years later, nor did they figure they'd have to persevere through something as difficult as losing their friend and collaborator Kirk Rundstrom to cancer. That tragedy nearly derailed the band, but the trio has been picking up steam and new fans ever since returning to the stage a year ago.
Livin' Large
What began as a collaboration between Nicholas Goss and Elizabeth Mead has evolved into a friendly collective of musicians, artists, filmmakers, poets and clothing designers who share a headstrong vision to craft cheery chamber-pop music and inject a little bit of sunshine into the drudgery of everyday life.
Do the Hustle
Lawrence's freshest crop of hip-hoppers spread the (free) love
The art of creating hype by releasing free music is nothing new in the world of hip-hop, where bootlegged mixtapes have kick-started the careers of everyone from Grandmaster Flash to Lil Wayne. The difference today is the sheer quantity of free releases, and the luxury of being able to make a free digital download available to anyone in the world. There's no shame or stigma attached to such a practice, as evidenced by the fact that two of Lawrence's most promising up-and-comers Skik Figa and Spence are giving away their latest releases.
