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The
Independents "Back From The Grave"
(Reviewed By Joe Grimm)
A while back at 'The Ghouls Night Out Fest' I got the latest
Independents album "Back From the Grave". It is one
hell of a CD. The Independents are a ska-punk band from South
Carolina. Their sound is very unique. It's like listening to
the Misfits and Elvis Presley with a little ska thrown into
the group. Their music comes in a poppy and energizing style.
If you ever have the chance to see them in concert, I strongly
recommend you go see them and you would know what I am talking
about. Now back to their new CD, "Back From the Grave".
This CD contains 16 tracks, including a special guest such as
the late Joey Ramone (god rest his soul). Joey Ramone was their
manager. This CD is a little more upbeat than all the other
CD's but it is still a fucking good album. It includes great
songs like: Bloody night, Beer song, Left for Dead, Insane (a
personal favorite), and Succubus. These are some of my favorite
songs, even though I like all the tracks. The Independents are
the first and still the best of horror punk-ska. |
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The
Independents - "Live From Murder Beach"
(Reviewed By Danny Dreams )
Ever since the Misfits graced us with their horror punk sound
back in 1977, there has been a huge spawn of bands that have
taken that path in Vincent Price meets the Sex Pistols. One
band that I think that has captured the horror punk sound
so completely is The Independents. Not only have they installed
that style to their music but have changed it around and given
it a fresh sound mixing in Ska beats and Ramones-ish pop to
it. What the fuck, I love this band and been listening to
them since 1995 and will continue to rock out to these guys.
So at last they have finally released a live album called
"Live From Murder Beach". This was recoreded live
at Murder (Myrtle) Beach, SC of 2003. If you have not seen
this band live than you really are missing out and should
check them out. But if they have yet to come to a town near
you then this album will be the closest thing you will get
toseeing them live (or hearing them I should say). "Live
From Murder Beach" contains 22 energy filled songs from
these masters of the macabe and features all they're best
songs. "Succubus", "Love Sux", "Beer
Song", and my personal favorite "Bloody Night, Blooy
Knife" are all on this and are all in exellent live recorded
quality. The crowd is energetic and the band gives the audience
a fantastic show. One of the best parts of this little gem
is the covers they do. "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis
Presley is done very well by the band. Also covered is Danzig's
"Mother" and The Ramones' "Blitzkreig Bop"
and done perfectly. Now I can go on and on about this album
but if your already a fan of The Independents then you must
own this one. |
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The Independents - "In
For The Kill"
(Reviewed By Chris Gorman)
When people think of "horror-punk", usually the
Misfits come to mind. When the genre of "horror-ska"
comes to mind (I can't believe there is a genre called "horror-ska"),
people tend to think of Leftover Crack or Mephiskapheles.
Basically, the Independents are a mixture of the two styles,
and while their image may be ridiculous, their music is brilliant.
I first heard the Independents on a local college
ska show back in 1997. The song was called "Buried Alive"
and it changed the way I look at 3rd wave ska music. My fave
ska-punk bands at the time were RBF, Save Ferris, Mustard
Plug and Buck-O-9. It never occured to me that ska-punk didnt
have to be about parties and girls, and that it could be played
without horns. Here was a band using the ska upbeat, but sans
horns and with very different lyrical content. Specifically,
the song was about a man burying his lover alive, coffin and
all. This is ska?
Well this is a kind of ska, a freaky blend of
ska, punk and pure evil. As corny as it sounds, the mix works
really well. While my favorite song is still "Buried
Alive", almost every song is a winner. "Lost In
Space", "They Accuse Me", "Succubus",
"Sad Man" and "New In Town" are all great
tunes. The music is a mixture of ska upbeats, Ramones/Misfits
style punk (Joey Ramone was the bands manager) and a vocalist
who does a dead-on Elvis impression. The band members all
have aliases, among them vocalist Evil Presley, Willy B and
Blackie Lavey. To look at them, its hard to keep a straight
face as they look like a biker gang gone wrong. Try your best
to ignore the cheese-ball image, and just listen to the tunes.
This is one band that
truly has mastered the horror-punk sound. While the Misfits
are only a remnant of what they once were, and Leftover Crack
are trying to hard to be edgy and satantic, The Independents
are ska-punk bliss. Buy this, and all their subsequent releases
if you can find them.
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The
QUEERS and THE INDEPENDENTS
06/15/2002 The Ascot Room - Minneapolis, MN
by Christine 'Krusty' Ullrich
OK, so the room has a fountain with stagnant water in the
middle of it. And we won't even begin to talk about the trees
that litter the room. Things like that do nothing more than
get in the way.
The Recipe: 1 part Ramones,
1 part punk, 1 part ska, and a whole lot of Elvis. The result:
The Independents. One of the truly unique bands that exist
in today's world of conformity. After a five year absence
from the Minneapolis area, The Independents returned. With
all of the music, but none of the visual show. The stage was
just too small for all of the props and the small location
left no room for pyros. But, none of that stopped the Independents
from putting on a show. Fast paced and fun. There really seems
to be nothing else that can describe them. The singer seems
to be a reincarnation of Elvis Presley and Joey Ramone all
rolled into one. When I say fun, did you ever think in a million
years you would hear 'C Is For Cookie' anywhere but at Sesame
Street Live? Even Cookie Monster couldn't make learning your
letters more fun than these guys. On a bittersweet note, they
also performed 'Cretin Hop' and 'Blitzkrieg Bop' (both by
the Ramones for the two of you that do not know). This was
quite fitting as Dee Dee Ramone was found dead just eleven
days earlier. I can't think of a band that gets the room jumping
better than these guys. PLEASE come back soon.
The Queers are The Queers. There
should be no introduction needed. The Queers have been going
strong for years. There have been lineup changes, but they
don't seem to change the band. Fast and furious, they unleashed
their repertoire with all the energy they had. This was the
last stop on their tour, so they gave it more than their all.
That was completely obvious. With their songs being a wonderful
blend of the Beach Boys and the Ramones, you just cannot help
but fall in love with them. The song that made the night most
special for me was S.L.U.G., an obscure song by the Ramones.
I don't even think the Ramones could play it half as fast
as the Queers did.
Anyway you look at it, these
two bands were phenomenal. I think seeing them at the same
show added a little magic. Who can think of a better way to
celebrate the life of Dee Dee? |
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SoundPhile
- The Independents
The Continental 03/11/02
by Tristan Trout
What could possibly
draw me out on a Monday night? Monday's a school night, isn't
it? I should have been in bed, thinking of all the work waiting
for me in the office on Tuesday, right? At worst, I should have
been up watching that escapee from Jim Henson's creature shop
called David Letterman make his bland little jokes on the idiot
box. So what the heck were spinne and Bea and I doing in the
Continental?
Well, as I warned y'all in the gig listings, it was a hell
of a show. Even for the ridiculous day and time, the Cont
was fairly packed, and no one went home sorry‹and if
you don't believe me, you can ask Brett. Brett read my editorial.
Brett came to the show. Brett bought me drinks. You should
all be more like Brett.
The Independents are, to put it bluntly, indescribable. Were,
however, some character from a Quentin Tarantino film to put
a gun to my head and force me to put my feelings into words,
I would have to say that they're kinda like what would have
happened if Sha Na Na was made up entirely of members of Genghis
Khan's Mongol horde. Oh, and if they had Bob Marley as their
backstage guru somewhere. They play an infectious '50s-influenced
melodic punk rock, with some ska mixed in and a sort of Misfits
horror-punk vibe.
I would say that singer Evil Presly has terrific stage presence,
except that he wasn't actually on the stage for most of the
show. Rather, he took sort of a walk around the club, crooning
'50s hits like "Suspicious Minds" to young women
and insisting that guys sing along with faster songs we couldn't
really make out the lyrics to. We did our best to play along
anyway for fear he'd kill us, a notion reinforced by the fact
that he'd occasionally headbutt members of the audience. After
he stuck his tongue in my ear, I knew I was in love.
I first saw these guys at Joey Ramone's
Birthday Bash, but you can't get to know a band when they're
all the way up on stage at a big concert hall like Roseland.
No, you have to have the singer get right next to you in his
leather pants and grab your ass. In tribute to Joey, their
late mentor and manager, the Independents closed their set
with "Blitzkrieg Bop," and damned if it didn't bring
a tear to my eye. Punk lives, after all. |
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