HOT CROSS: RIP

I'd be happy to credit this photographer if I knew who. sorry, someone fill me in.

“It is with a dream and a heart that we proceed; not a thought to leave behind not another lifetime we need”- Consonants

All the fans know already, that HOT CROSS is indefinetly inactive. They thank their fans for 7 years of support and say that they need to spend time on the rest of their lives outside of the band. 7 years is a long time. longer than Joy Division was around. Hot Cross have left a good amount of recordings behind them. all of them on the relatively non-mainstream, Level-Plane, besides the latest. The run-on sentences of Billy’s lyrics provoke thought. The music creates an overwhelming mood which is pleasurable to us. They also challenged themselves musically and didn’t get stuck. That should command the utmost respect for an artist(s)

“and so we’re aimless caught behind and left without, it’s worse than morbid and less than funny the way it turned out” - Between Minutes and Miles

Thank you Josh, Billy, Greg, Matt, and Casey

best wishes:)

LEVEL-PLANE.COM/HOTCROSS

MYSPACE.COM/HOTCROSS

Their Level-Plane releases can be found at 29north records HERE

The best shirts they have are available from Shirt Killer HERE

order their latest, Risk Revival from MERCH NOW or Equal Vision.

I only got to see them twice, damnit. and they were right under my nose:(

:)-r KG!

WE SLEEP ON FLOORS + SHOWS...

First of all,
the Kid Ginseng track "We Sleep On Floors" is mixed and mastered. The whole track went through Neve eq's from the 1970's for a warm-as-hell sound quality. you can listen to it HERE




Kid Ginseng, Den Haag '06 w/Chicks on speed

no, I'm not in a metalcore band:) I make electro influenced by the west coast of holland sound (BUNKER RECORDS). also electrofunk from new york and california 1982-1989. some italo disco. and the way Suicide was recorded. recent influences include MAGAS from ADULT.'s old label, Ersatz Audio. a few years ago I found out about DJs like Stel-R. he holds down the entire Bruxhell electro/punk scene is Belgium. other influences of mine include a few types of hardcore. my favorite bands right now are SIGNS OF HOPE, DEAR TONIGHT, MODERN LIFE IS WAR, and Im about to order the new RUINER record from Bridge Nine. I stress again, check out Dear Tonight from Brooklyn. also check out this band FLAGS similar to City of Caterpillar, Saetia. they are cool guys and don't live too far from me.

COME TO THIS SHOW////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////



LOVERS AND THIEVES are playing



also playing are:
CT's synth rockers WELCOME

more shows are listed HERE

Moving right along then:

This dude doesn't even get paid to look like a troll! ha



Here I am with my new friend at a medieval festival this summer at Moncontour, in the Bretagne area of France. This day was disneyworld for metalheads. ha!

here I am in france at a pagan site. large druidic rocks. sombre.


anyway... news: in order to have a vinyl release in europe Jonny Steady and I are pressing a "12 Kid Ginseng ep. we are putting it out on our own KRAFTJERKZ RECORDS with help from our friends, La La Land Records. it's going to be a while until we get the test pressings ect. but if you are a DJ who likes Kid Ginseng, bug us about it and we'll give you one for x-mas:) stay tuned to find out which fine mailorders and stores it will be in. it should be available in paris, brussels, den haag. why europe? vinyl is a great sounding alternative to the mp3 and they love it there. they hold electro down, more than anybody besides Detroit or Miami.
that's all for now... next up, Im going to write about the late, great Hot Cross.

:)-r KG!

Hilly Kristal CBGB founder dies at 75.

On August 29th, 2007, Hilly Kristal, CBGB founder, died of cancer at age 75.

Tina Weymouth, founding member of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club Had this to say:

Hilly was the best of men in the worst of places. Humble -- we think of him tranquilly sweeping the front sidewalk after long hours of hardcore mayhem -- he was impossible to intimidate. He kept his cool, first with the Hell's Angels, then with the punks, and finally, to the end, with the little bourgeois landlord who, not content with milking the city of millions with a phony "hospice" operation (the flop house upstairs), opted to evict him in favor of even more lucrative rents from some corporate chain store that, with ironic justice, has never materialized. (And who would dare? That hallowed block bounded by Joey Ramone Way is still too sacrosanct.)

It's a little too early to make history but Hilly's CBGB's is already a legend. Like some uncannily knowing art gallery collector, Hilly got things to happen by allowing them to happen. He instated blessedly few restrictions (the strictly pragmatic to keep the fire department happy) and he never EVER tried to impose his artistic vision on the musicians. Virtually devoid of greed and totally unfazed by the powers that be, Hilly was never much tempted to cash in on the success he was instrumental in helping his bands to achieve. Akin to our great UK favorite, Tony Wilson, his art was the artless willingness to support us to grow better utterly without favoritism.

Hilly was super cool. He led the kids not by lecturing but by example. For years and years he kept his day job, a backbreaking piano and refrigerator moving business, so as to keep the ticket prices low for the fans and the profits and sound systems optimal for the bands. He had a dream and he fulfilled it. When he was made to leave the Bowery he took it all with him -- graffitti'd walls, the stiletto etched bar, the neon signs with the greasy dust an inch thick, the toilets (never mind what still clung to them!) -- he took it all to be rebuilt in the seediest part of that revolting West Coast mecca of the decadent, Las Vegas. He did it for the kids. May they mosh forever as Hilly's spirit carries on through their own inspired enterprises.

Hilly was a big guy with a big heart. Personally, we're going to miss him like water. Our kids are going to miss him, too. CBGB's was the last place their hip little underground bands could play in Manhattan. They'll have to cross the bridges to the boroughs and to New Jersey now, same as all the other young artists attempting to make their way in NYC today. It kind of makes you wish for a big economic recession like we ourselves had that made CBGB's possible for Hilly and the 70's so great for the Manhattan art and music scene.

"Pornography"w/Mike Dextro, Ole, DJ Duckcomb @ Pianos, June 27th

middle: Mike Dextro

Here I am with LIGHTING BOLT’s second CD in the background. It’s distracting me from this review so I just turned it off. I went to Pianos on the lower east side of Manhattan and the music in the upper lounge embraced me. It was “Pornography” night, last wednesday, june 27th. OLE was spinning mash-ups and MIKE DEXTRO joined him for some 909 rave stuff. It was good laptop DJing. No “tan-man-with-spikey-hair” shit at all really:) Mike dropped a familiar Bucketheads (Kenny Dope Gonzales) house track, and also the JUSTICE remix of Daft Punk’s “human after all.” Mike makes his own tracks that you can listen to HERE. Next up after Mike was DJ DUCKCOMB spinning only vinyl. He spun some minimal disco that I hadn’t heard before plus some mainstream disco classics. Everyone listen to BANGKOK IMPACT on Holland’s BUNKER RECORDS. His sound quality is deep. Mike Dextro has his own parties (MAGAZINE MAGAZINE, HEROINE CHIC) and DJ Duckcomb has his SHAREGROOVE events with Shakewell.

Shakewell (left) Duckcomb (right)

Thanks to mike for the party pix:)

Also,thanks to XIAOTING for helping me find my way around that night, as usual. She is a music journalist (among other things) from China covering a large variety of rock. She has written for China's Rolling Stone and works for Annex, at the moment. She is constantly branching out in the indie music scene. she lives in new york and is illmad-rad, in general:)

:)-r KG!

Kaiju and Nick:)

First hand experience working on KAIJU BIG BATTLE from NICHOLAS DES JARDINS, an integral member of the Kaiju force:)

"Really any live show is going to be fun. There is so much build up to them with writing scripts, matches and practicing, and building buildings, props, sets, and costumes, and so much stress over how the show will go. When it all begins and Louden begins his introduction, this adrenaline rush of calm washes over, and it doesn't leave till the fans do. I mean the calm doesn't mean that I'm not running around backstage yelling at people waving about monster hands and heads, as I shove them out into the spotlight, but a calm to my nervousness of... will the fans like us/get us."

"As for more in-depth sort of info, shows usually involve at least a month of set up before hand. On the day of we load in, set up the ring, set up backstage, have matches walk throughs and whatever other practice people feel they need, a final talk through and wait nervously as an opening band usually plays."

"My favorite monster is Gomi-Man. He is big, so impressive, he's a bad guy so more fun to play (you get to drench people in "toxic sludge"), and one of the few costumes that I feel have an expression on their face. He is also made of "trash" so the easiest and most fun to repair."

thanks for everything nick!

:)-r KG!

last friday, june 15th Rubulad loft party (brooklyn) + KG news

ok, news update
The Kid Ginseng track featuring Paul of Hope has been recorded. we had a great time in the session and in addition to his voice, he contributed lyrics. The 3 layer, harmonized crew vocals sound illmad rad. expect it to be on my MYSPACE, mixed and mastered within the next 2 weeks:) take a minute and check out Paul's band SIGNS OF HOPE positive attack,GO!

Moving along,
The Rubulad party had a great ambience. it all took place in a multi-room, 2 story loft, plus a rooftop. at first, the ornate decorating made me think it would be a hippie party, but no. it was a diverse DIY, and fun crown. There were 2 rooms with stages for bands, and then 2 DJ rooms.

The main dancefloor seemed to start off with funk/soul, then disco. and around 2 or 3am some moroder stuff came on! That is when I danced:) sorry funk/soul, I need arpeggios. then around 4-5am there was techno. it sounded good and i danced but the deep quality of the italo vinyl definately won. in the other room, the DJ seemed to play punk/hardrock like joan jet or the Slits.

one highlight of the party was the "igloo." it is a structure near the main dancefloor which is made out of paper mache, and lots of pillows. there are little nooks that you can climb inside. there is a bottom-floor nook, a 2nd story nook, and then the top of the igloo where one can watch the dancefloor. This tiny chillout area is where you are forced to meet people, which is a pretty cool idea. I liked it:)

the DJs consisted of:
Gimme Gimme Dan
Marty Violence
Sports Casual
Catalyst
B Dub
Justin Carter

The party is located on:
Flushing ave. between Classon and Taaffee
L train to Bedford ave. B61 bus on Driggs to Flushing ave.
then left under BQE. Rubulad is on your right just past the gas station

you can find out about Rubulad and more at DJ SMALLCHANGE.COM

Crystal Castles FUN party @ Studio B 5/25/07

photo by Stuart Pillinger

So, when I saw CRYSTAL CASTLES weeks ago at Studio B I felt very comfortable. I missed seeing ADULT. there earlier this year due to crunch-time recording:( Anyway, Crystal Castles had stage presence due to their singer (alice?) doing NON-STOP jumping/jogging. The syllables were spaced in a way which allows her to move her body while shouting. at this show it was a 3-piece with a live drummer. so he was there along with singer, and hunched sequencer/programmer dude (ethan?). the singer had on a "T-Ball" childrens shirt, along with stretch jeans, but MORE important was the strobe-light! I believe it was the Bangers spinning. I didn't study the DJ's hard enough but dancing when that shit dropped was really fun. there was a moment of loud disonance that I remember. so I had a great night. special even. I was with my friend KELLY HERESY. in '05 we put together a HONG KONG COUNTERFEIT and THE MR MOVE show. He's got some europian dates! sick bra.

Anyway, here is youtube footage from the studio B may 25th show!

CRYSTAL CASTLES LIVE w/strobe!

so...more up-to-date info about artists, and KID GINSENG will be coming soon!

:)-r KG!

RANDOM:

KELLY


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