Issue7.QXD 9/27/05 7:51 AM Page 1 Issue7.QXD 9/27/05 7:51 AM Page 2 Erik Siljander Chad Weis 612.685.6296 612.501.8595 Issue7.QXD 9/27/057:51AMPage3 CONTENTS OCTOBER 2005 ISSUE 7 INTRO 002 MUSIC FEATURES CHARIOTS by Rich Horton 004 ROBERT SKORO by Jen Parshley 006 DESDEMONA by Christine Mlodzik 008 COLUMNS NOWHERE BAND: Back From the Dead by Keith Pille 010 AND JUSTICE FOR ALL by Galen Eagle Bull 012 MUSIC SCENE COOL LOCAL MUSIC WEBSITES 011 LOCAL MUSIC AT SOUND UNSEEN 2005 013 CD REVIEWS 018 MUSIC BUSINESS/ADVICE AUDIO INSERT: Will You Still Hear Me Tomorrow by Chad Weis 014 RECORD LABEL: Afternoon Records by Rich Horton 016 Issue7.QXD 9/27/05 7:51 AM Page 4 INTRO What Comes Around, Goes Around. ISSUE 7 As Rift Magazine enters its seventh issue, it transitions into a new era. We've been around for more then a year now and I haven't given up yet, RIFT MAGAZINE which is a good sign. Instead of messing around and releasing issues at October 2005 erratic times, I've opted to take the magazine into overdrive status and get it on the stands each month. Loyal readers, you'll no longer have to wait EDITOR IN CHIEF around for two, sometimes three, months to get a healthy dose of Rift. RICH HORTON Of course this means I'm likely going to end up crazy in a mental insti- FEATURES COPY EDITOR tution, but a mind is a terrible thing to waste, so I am going to do my best to AMBER CORTEAU exercise it. Better to push it to the limit while I'm young than when I'm 40 and PROOF READING can no longer think. CHRISTINE MLODZIK What have I've learned over the last six issues and all my experiences ART DIRECTION / LAYOUT is that it's not easy doing anything creative independently. I've watched EMILY UTNE countless artists and musicians sacrifice themselves and their money to cre- COVER ART ate something important to them. Many of us can't get past the full-time job, RICH HORTON part-time passion hump and those who risk diving into the creative fray full ADVERTISING SALES time brave a lifestyle with little money and no health care or other important RICH HORTON benefits. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rift wants to embrace that spirit and get the word out, so maybe local CHAD WEIS, CHRISTINE MLODZIK, KEITH PILLE, RICH musicians and creative people can see a light at the end of the tunnel. We HORTON, DAVID BRUSIE, GENTRY BOEKEL, JACK EVANS, JEN PARSHLEY, AND GALEN EAGLE BULL. want to make the impossible dream seem less unattainable; making it appar- ent that selling your soul to the "man" isn't your only option. CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ILLUSTRATORS EMILY UTNE, COLIN STRANDBERG, 301 STUDIOS AND To fans who are content just indulging in music and art, rather than cre- ANDY BERNDT. ating it, this is what you can do: Purchase local music whenever the chance ALL ADVERTISING INQUIRIES PLEASE E-MAIL: arises. If you're at a club and see an amazing band, support them by buying [email protected] a CD. When you attend art show and see a cool print or poster, purchase it if you can. This is the only way to support these artists, which encourages FOR GENERAL INFO E-MAIL: [email protected] them to keep creating. The same thing goes with Rift. Check out our advertisers and let them PLEASE SEND ALL MUSIC FOR REVIEW AND PROMOTIONAL ITEMS TO: know you saw them in Rift, so we keep getting the backing we need to sur- RIFT MAGAZINE vive. Send us an e-mail from time to time to let us know how we're doing and P.O. BOX 18700 MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55418 where we can improve. We're all consistently striving for better, more (612)978-1527 informed pieces and we want you to come along for the ride. We appreciate WWW.RIFTMAGAZINE.COM all the support so far and thank you all, the readers, for supporting local music. ©2005 RIFTMAGAZINE RICH HORTON RETRACTIONS & CORRECTIONS: EDITOR IN CHIEF LUCAS SAUGEN WAS NOT CREDITED FOR THE OLD-TIME MUSIC SCENE PHOTOS. 2 RIFT MAGAZINE Issue7.QXD 9/27/05 7:51 AM Page 5 GALEN EAGLE BULL ATTORNEY AT LAW Intellectual Property, Business/Corporate, Entertainment, General Practice. Galen Eagle Bull - 651-636-9049 [email protected] Selected by MN. Law & Politics as a Rising Star for 2005 in Arts and Entertainment Law. Take your project from Mic to CD! Premium, digital recording solutions for those who wish to work in a clean, private, suburban setting free from corporate hustle and bustle. We charge by the project, not the hour, so you know exactly what your CD will cost you! Our complete recording package includes: Recording Engineering Production Mix down Future Lisa O Test Drive Mastering Mention this ad Available at Cheapo Records and save 10%! Request Test Drive on 89.3 the current 651-989-4893 Contact Tim 763-420-8321 [email protected] www.futurelisa.com www.alignmentrecording.com [301STUDIOS] Presents: THEFUTUREOFMUSIC I: ELECTRONIC [A TWIN CITIES COMPILATION]www.301studios.n t et " Your NE Neighborhood Music Source! " 924 Lowry Ave NE (Central & Lowry) Available now... Featuring tracks from: NE Mpls • 612/781-3404 www.301studios.ne DEATH BY DROWNING, JSL, Hours: Mondays: Closed HELIOSPHERE, LITTLE TIN BOX, Tuesday - Saturday: 11 to 7 • Sundays: 12-4 THOSQUANTA, WORD CLOCK, AND MANY MORE... Issue7.QXD 9/27/05 7:51 AM Page 6 EMILY UTNE EMILY BY RICH HORTON here’s a certain feeling you get as you unwrap the new CD of a band you’ve never heard. Sometimes it’s followed up with a 30-second listen of a few tracks, ejected, then tossed aside. Other times, there’s an album like “Congratulations” by Chariots (America, North), which didn’t leave my T stereo for days, as I absorbed the heavy and vio- lent drum beats interlaced with thick bass lines, Heavy and violent drum beats noisy guitars, background keyboards and interlaced with thick bass lines, processed vocal screams. noisy guitars, background keyboards It made me feel warm all over, reminding me of past heavies like Jesus Lizard and most of the and processed vocal screams Amphetamine Reptile catalog. Catching Chariots live show at the Triple Rock was my next revela- tion. It mimicked the recording perfectly, only the added visual of the band’s performance exploded in front of me. I saw vocalist and keyboardist Travis Bos frantically spew out each lyric as he 04 RIFT MAGAZINE Issue7.QXD 9/27/05 7:51 AM Page 7 bounced from floor to air like a grasshopper and then landed flawlessly back at his keyboard to fill in the sound with a layer of organ notes. A few days after the show, the band’s guitar play- er, Eric Odness, jetted off to live in New York. Chariots are taking it in stride, however. The guys anticipate a long-distance relationship where Odness will visit in two months for rehearsal and then a short, East-Coast tour. Bos said Chariots didn’t want to seek a replace- ment for Odness because the band’s chemistry was already set. Writing new songs could prove to be a bit more of a challenge. In the past, the whole band worked on 30- second blasts of music and then blended them togeth- er to create cohesive songs. Now, along with Bos, drummer Matt Kepler and bassist Blain Finders will partially assemble and record those spots and send them to Odness so he can work in his parts. Chariots have a new album in the works, but can’t say when it will be done. The band doesn’t want to rush it. Since Bos has made relationships with a few labels through previous bands like Song of Zarathustra, he’s confident someone will be there to put the new record out when the time comes. Troubleman Unlimited released “Congratulations,” on CD and vinyl and the label has done an excellent job of getting the album into the right hands. As for the addition of “America, North” to the band’s name, the guys explain they were forced to do it because of the gluttony of bands with Chariots in their name. Chariots elected “America, North” to fend off any confusion. For example, one of the bands using Chariots in their name is overtly Christian, which Bos and Kepler confirm they are not. The band has been nominated for a Minnesota Music Award in the punk rock category, but their sound might line up better in the hard rock category. Chariots are better described as a subgenre of the two, where the rawness of punk rock unites with the heavy sound of hard rock. Bos and Kepler say it has been difficult to define and explain their sound to people. It seems that Chariots has things pretty well fig- ured out. Finders is perfectly happy with his day job, Kepler and Bos have temporary jobs and they all agree Chariots is a good place for them. All twenty-something and Midwestern, they have no misconceptions about playing music. This is what allows them to create the music that they want to create, without compromising for the sake of a major record label or anyone else. www.chariots-music.com Issue7.QXD 9/27/05 7:51 AM Page 8 ROBERT SKORO CAMERON WITTIG BY JEN PARSHLEY ike many well-meaning parents, my mom had a dream that one of her children would become a piano prodigy.