Monthly Archives: December 2011

There are certainly merits to attending concerts in large theaters, or being one in 10,000 in the pulsating hum that is the crowd of a Bonnaroo or Lollapalooza. But sometimes, you need to be tightly packed into one small room to truly feel like you are experiencing a band and their art.

Such was the experience Sunday night at Galaxy Hut, as this small restaurant/bar held a second showcase of bands from the small DC label Cricket Cemetery. With the Maximum Capacity sign on the wall of the bar stating that no more than 66 people could fit in this venue, all tables and chairs had to be cleared out of the way so that there was plenty of standing room.

Read More »

Black Cobra is one of those bands that when you hear them play you think, “There are really only two members in this band?”

Formed in 2001, Black Cobra combines doom and sludge metal with a driving base in hardcore to create a sound that incorporates both fast riffs and slow drones. Signed to the record label Southern Lord, Black Cobra is in good company with bands like Grief, Wino and Sunn O))).

With the assistance of Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou and his Massachusetts studio, the band released their 4th album, Invernal, this year. Pummelling it down the throats of all that partake, the band has been touring across the country all year in promotion of the record.

Read More »

He lives a life infused with humility. He’s a man of tradition, wise words, lives passed. He’s a musician, a poet, an entertainer. He’s a storyteller.

French-influenced West Africa calls him a griot [gree-oh]. Which denotes that his position as a storyteller in Malian society is a biologically-inherited, social obligation.

In Mali, Cheick Hamala Diabate tells me, you go to the griot when you are about to get married, have a baby, [seek advice] regarding your life direction, or when two people are fighting—“people trust the griot more than they trust the government,” says Diabate. “They say in Mali, when one griot dies, it’s like one library burned.”

Read More »

As we mentioned last week, we’re all about assisting the artists and bands who we believe in with their various and sundry Kickstarter endeavors, or as I’ve come to call them—the passing of the virtual hat.

So indeed, as their various appearances here at TVD over the years will attest, we believe in Exit Clov.

“TVD has so kindly lent us some real estate to plug Exit Clov’s current goings-on, which happens to include a brand new music video for The Hate!

We spent a weekend last year in a dark warehouse in DC. Between doughnut and bagel breaks, we spent some grueling hours taking pictures frame by frame to create the stop-motion style you see in the vid. A huge kudos to Joe Brener (who directed our MKultra video) and Matt Patton for their wacky creative vision, as well as the crew for their patience in wiring Susan up for the cloning scene. Have a look!

Read More »