The Buddha Den Showcase Presents: Vanity Theft-Tonight @ South Park Tavern

...hey kids, if yr looking for some good free fun tonight in Daytonia, we've got you covered. Head on down early to South Park Tavern to catch this month's installment of The Buddha Den Showcase. Closing out January in style, we've got the ladies of Vanity Theft, who Don Thrasher at the Dayton Daily News nominated for Best Local Debut of 2008. Yeah, they're pretty good. And we're bringing them to you for FREE!!! Music starts at 9 PM sharp, so be sure to make us yr first stop of the night....

Dayton Goes SXSW...

...we'll be the first to admit that after the year that we had in Dayton in 2008, we had pretty high hopes for some of our local bands spilling out into the national scene. Nowhere would this have been better to see than at the granddaddy of all US music festivals, South by Southwest in Austin, TX. Sure, it's an overhyped mess of non-stop shows and parties, but let's be honest: it's still a big deal....

...well, being the people we are here at The Buddha Den, we went searching to see if any Dayton bands had been selected to perform at South by Southwest. Now, you have to keep in mind that there are numerous shows outside of the "official" scope of SXSW that take place in Austin during that week that can be, and often are, just are high-profile. Well, we did find a couple of Dayton bands selected to play SXSW. That said, we're a little bemused as to their selection. First, we have the christian/screamo outfit, The Devil Wears Prada. Admittedly, they're a little off our radar but seem to be deserving of the spot nonetheless...

...It was the second selection that utterly baffled us, however. Scoping down the list, we came across Tony's Hotel from Dayton, OH. To be honest, we'd never heard of him. Even after conducting our due diligence, we still aren't sure how this came to pass. If anyone can offer any further insight, we're all ears....

PROFILE: Hans Condor

...we know you still have a thing for rock n' roll. So do we. That' why we're so excited to bring you this little interview we did with Nashville's Hans Condor. We spoke with guitarist/vocalist Charles Kasper in between tour stops. Enjoy...

The Buddha Den: How about we hit rewind for a minute and get a little Hans Condor history? How did you all meet up in Nashville? What led to the formation of Hans Condor? Where'd you get that name???

Charles Kasper: I came to Tennessee from Iowa via Alaska. Eric (Elsner/drums) came down from Rochester by way of Seattle, and Erik (Holcomb/bass, singing) moved to TN after Alabama and Texas. Everyone wound up living in East Nashville, working, drinking, wasting time, and trying play in different bands. Over time we all eventually played shows together or wound up working the same jobs and got to know each other while serving time in that particular microcosm. Hans Condor had been trying to get off the ground for a while and when our other projects dissolved/lives went to shit, we said fuck it all and took flight. The name refers to the sex move the "Hans condor" also called the "caged bird","dirty bird", "foul fowl" or the "randy pigeon".

TBD: Within a few seconds it's pretty obvious you guys are pretty into Detroit rock a la The Stooges/MC5. What other influences do you hold dear? Any contemporaries yr hot for?

CK: Silverhead, Motorhead, NWA, Meat Loaf, Jack Oblivion, Billy Joel, The Pogues, James Carr, Electric Light Orchestra, Rose Tattoo, The Animals, The Kids, Dr. Hook, Warren Zevon, Mudhoney, ... you can see we listen to everything except the man. We hope that comes out in our music, ya know hatin' up the man and all, but also the unlikely elements one might not immediately associated with our move. Most popular music kinda sounds like the man. Contemporary artists...hmmmm. We like bands that we get to play shows with and get Cd's/records from. We've met so many great musicians over the past months and they all have their own powerful swagger and that's what really incites us to keep our moves alive and powerful. That's beautiful. the people we meet and play with along the way, they jam, they drink with us, they aren't in that damn box and that makes them more relevant to us and what we like doing than the man's music.

TBD: Looking at yr itinerary it seems like yr a band that loves the road. How much time do you spend out? What keeps you out on the road so much? Do you see yourselves as more of a touring band than a studio band?

CK: We don't have homes, jobs, or much else to lose, so we just try to stay moving. We are also ready to rip the lid off some new tunes. We enjoy the studio as much as the road, so we will probably let the van take a nap and track some moves we've been stepping into.

TBD: We're very excited that you've buddied up with Daytonians The Northwest Ordinance for a few dates following yr stop through Dayton late last year. How did you two bands hook up?

CK: I think I was on the computer randomly listening to music this past summer and found their tunes, dug it, and started talking to them about doing a show together. Though that summer was hazy, so those creeps might have a different story. We lived it in November. We'll live it again. It sounds good and we're looking forward to it.

TBD: With so many bands out there these days, what sets Hans Condor apart from the pack? What keeps you guys motivated to keep on?

CK: An extra testicle, toilet humor, and speed...lots of speed.

TBD: Anything else you'd like The Buddha Den readers to know???

CK: We all are electrically charged. We all are troubadours. We all wield the sword of song and live a few feet off the ground. We are often mistaken for gentlemen. We will all tear this curtain away and see a new sun rise. Free-fall speed doesn't lie, but the man does.

...Hans Condor will be rolling into Oregon Express this Saturday, January 31. Along for the ride are locals The Northwest Ordinance and Mountain Screamer...

VIDEO: Southeast Engine "Black Gold"

...we were very excited to come across this earlier today, courtesy of Stereogum. Southeast Engine is poised to release their fourth album, From the Forest to the Sea, on Misra Records February 17 and this video for the track "Black Gold" [directed by Thomas R. Britt] showcases Adam Remnant's world-weary voice and thinly veiled stabs at America's conspicuous consumption. Check this out now and be ready when the album drops and the band celebrates its release in Dayton in March...

All For Me

...we've been getting pretty lucky here in The Buddha Den as of late with new arrivals. Late last week we received a disc from Cleveland's The Dreadful Yawns. With their latest disc, Take Shape, out on Exit Stencil Recordings, TDY tap into some of our favorite sources: you've got the exuberant twee twisted by searing shards of noise driven by unrepentant rock n' roll and finally topped off with boy/girl vocal exchanges that keep the whole thing sublime. The band head out to the East Coast this week and will be dropping into Peachs in Yellow Springs on Valentine's Day. We're hoping to bring them to Dayton proper before too long. Tune in now....

PROFILE: Everyday Is Like Sunday [A Tribute to The Smiths/Morrissey]

...sometimes, yr plans just work out. In the case of DJ MisterKid (aka Louis Wood, Jr.) this weekend's Everyday Is Like Sunday tribute to The Smiths/Morrissey comes right as the enigmatic frontman releases his new album, Years of Refusal, which, according to some reports, may close the book on his musical career. Either way, the timing seems perfect to revisit the music of The Smiths/Morrissey. Here's what the organizer had to say about it all...

The Buddha Den: How did you decide to do a tribute to The Smiths/Morrissey? How much did your own DJ background play into this?

DJ MisterKid: I remember dancing at clubs like 1470 West in Dayton to songs like "How Soon Is Now" from The Smiths and stuff like "Just Like Heaven" from The Cure. I liked dancing to alternative music like that because you could be yourself on the dancefloor and express yourself however you wanted to with your own made up moves and people wouldn't give you crap for it. I remember wanting to be a DJ because of alternative music like that. I went to a normal dance party once and tried dancing by myself and people teased me for it. They asked me why I was dancing by myself and I told them I always did at places like 1470 West in downtown Dayton and The Warehouse in Cincinnati.

I think that kind of music connects with a lot of people because it touches on a lot of subjects that people don't generally hear in normal pop music. It gives me a rush and a push, no pun intended. I think it's good for people to go beyond the norms in music like The Smiths and Morrissey did and do, and people seem to be attracted to it because they have the same feelings of things like loneliness, isolation, intellectual despair and heartache. It's also not as mainstream as some pop music lyrically, instrumentally, so it stays unique by not getting too over exposed. DJ Mike Dangers, now the resident DJ at the Dock nightclub in Cincinnati, and former goth night resident DJ at the warehouse, began teaching me how to mix good alternative music towards the last days of the warehouse there in Cincinnati. It was very exciting and a rush much like a musician experiences during a live performance. It's great seeing people react and get physical towards music you enjoy as well. It felt great getting people to dance with music from groups like the Smiths and Depeche Mode. I feel like I have/had a purpose doing it and it make me feel good helping people have fun and enjoy dancing the night away. Music is a big passion of mine, and doing a tribute like this to one of the greatest modern bands like this is a treat to me and the others working on this project right now. It only took me two days to have ten bands on this lineup and people knew what songs they wanted to cover before I even had the chance to ask them what they had ideas for. I knew then that this was going to be a great music festival which is what I am calling it since its six hours long, with over 13 performances from many different genres of artists statewide.

TBD: Once you put out the call, how did bands respond? Did you work closely with the bands to select material or did you leave them to their own devices?

DJMK: I recomended some songs personally that I would like the bands to perform to help make this event fun and exciting, but for the most part like I said, they knew the songs/material they were going to cover. I was very impressed by bands like The Northwest Ordinance, ZAS, Bitchpipe, Dripfeeder, and Gunsucker and the others. They seemed very passionate about it. They didn't ask how much they were going to make at this show and just cared about doing it. That was an incredible feeling as a promoter and show organizer at the DDC and other venues. Next month I am doing a Cure tribute show and people already feel the same way about that too. I think I am doing the right thing by tributing great acts like The Smiths/Morrissey and The Cure. They mean a lot to people, and these two bands especially some people live their lives to the lyrics and music, which isn't a bad thing in my view. They provide a release to people that is well needed is such an intellectually lonely world.

TBD: With the event running 6 hours, how did you decide what bands/DJs to have involved? How much material will everyone present?

DJMK: I wanted first off to see how many genres of music to be presented in this particular show. I thought that was most important so the audience didn't get bored with it, I also wanted to be unbiased when it came to the genre of music I personally like. I want the audience to make up their minds of what they think of the performances. I told the performers not to "Panic" if their set didn't sound perfect to them. I also told them to have fun with it and do it the way they wanted to. I told them they had complete artistic control and I didn't believe in any form of censorship. At first I wanted to have the acts perform about 25 minutes each, but that evolved into about 3-4 songs per band/artist. Its kinda hard to learn this material honestly. One time I heard Johnny [Marr, guitarist for The Smiths] say in a magazine that he himself had trouble playing his tunes after he himself wrote them. I told the artists performing to just have fun with it ad at least make somewhat of an attempt. The bands have been very confident in their abilities to say the least though, which with the groups that called and I asked to do this isn't a big surprise. A couple of bands are only doing a couple of songs, and another only one song. I think that is cool though and I'm glad they are at least doing that, very glad actually.

TBD: How has the Dayton Dirt Collective staff responded to the event? What can people who have never been to the DDC expect from the venue?

DJMK: The staff is super stoked. They have been very helpful and energetic about it. I couldn't ask for any more help. They made me feel confident about this show, technically and artistically. I feel as though I can call anyone at anytime at the DDC and get an answer or help right away. I honestly can't ask for anything else. I am glad the DDC exists and I think it's a wonderful thing. Dayton should feel lucky they have a venue like this. The DDC is all about the music. We don't have to worry about making a certain amount of alcohol sales like most bars/clubs. We are for non profit, and that is a great thing. We are all doing this because we are passionate about it, and for the music/acts/collective like I just said. When people come to the DDC I think they will notice a lot more patience and enthusiasm for the music and people performing. The staff isn't as nerve racking as you see in a lot of bars and clubs. We have deadlines and and goals like a lot of other music venues, but we are confident in our mission and what we are doing for the Dayton community. We are doing this for the performers and city, not just to make money, not that that is a bad thing honestly.

TBD: How do you see the music of The Smiths/Morrissey fitting into the modern musical climate? What impact do you feel that music continues to exert on the current crop of practitioners?

DJMK: I think even the earliest Smiths material sounds fairly modern. One of the DJ's performing this night, DJ Joesph Nicholson, told me once that a lot of the 80's music he spins sounds modern to where people cant tell its not new. This is same for The Smiths. You can usually tell when a band or artist is ahead of its time. Kinda like filmmaking for instance, like films from Directors Stanley Kubrick or Ridley Scott. Their material doesn't look quite dated yet and will be enjoyed for generations probably. I know I will enjoy it for the rest of my life, it's simply timeless, and I plan on living my life to Morrisey's lyrics as much as I can, but I eat Meat though.

Be sure to head on down to the Dayton Dirt Collective this Sunday to check out Dayton's ode to one of rock n' roll's most influential bands...

We Travel On The Backs Of Whales

...for those about to rock, you may want to make the introduction of Columbus outfit, Black Owls. We were fortunate enough to have the band's debut, Lightning Made Us Who We Are, come across our desk the other day and, quite frankly, we're rather enamored with it. Chocked full of windmill-worthy tracks, Black Owls sift through their collection of Cheap Trick, Bowie, and The Who albums and serve up something distinct from their respective source material. No worries though, this is much more than a retro trip. These guys seem to have a pretty good sense of humor which keeps the whole thing firmly in the fun department. You like fun with yr rock n' roll, right?

...go ahead and dig in now. Black Owls will be at Oregon Express this Saturday with fellow Columbus power-poppers Paper Airplane and one of our favorite locals, Hospital Garden...

Uke or Die!

...in a musical era where virtually anything goes, we were still somewhat shocked to come across something as unusal as Henrique Cuoto on the local landscape. Although we're not often sort on verbiage, I think we're best to let Henrique speak for himself. Enjoy...



...if you wanna experience this in a live setting, head over to Pearl on Thursday night. You've been warned...

The Forecast/The Story Changes/Vows/All Alliteration Aside-TONIGHT @ Blind Bob's

...there was a recent venue shift over to Blind Bob's for this one and we wanted to make sure that all interested parties were made aware. Yes, we know it's Monday, but it will be early start. We're guessing music will get going somewhere around 8:30. Headliners The Forecast are in from Peoria, IL and locals The Story Changes, Vows, and newbies All Alliteration Aside are sure to make it an evening worth of yr attendance...

New Eat Sugar Track "Seeing Red"

...this just came across our desk, and we're pretty excited about it, so we thought we'd spread the love. One of our Cincy faves, Eat Sugar (who we featured at The Buddha Den Showcase back in December), have a new track up for sampling called "Seeing Red". Recorded by none other than John Schmersal, the song pulstates between seductive synth-bass bleeding into a searing fuzz bass (both courtesy of Jim Reynolds) Although singer Aidan Bogosian turns in a relatively subdued performance, his measured restraint only further heightens the songs inherent seedy tension. The perfectly lo-fi drum attack of Greg Poneris simultaneously grinds and grounds the track as keyboardist Mike McBride splashes the whole thing with eerily hypnotic synths. The band made sure to point out that this is an unmastered preview, so keep in mind this is just a sneak peek. We're waiting for word of the band's next release, so stay tuned...

The Buddha Den Showcase Presents: Vanity Theft @ South Park Tavern 1.31.09

...well kids, it's a new year and we're excited about the possibilities. If you've been following us for a while, you know what we're up to and how we go about it. One of our favorite events has been The Buddha Den Showcase at South Park Tavern. We've been fortunate enough to bring some much-deserved attention to some great up-and-comers from Dayton and beyond over the last several months. We're gonna do our best to keep this trend going into 2009. Up for the January Showcase will be the all-female quartet, Vanity Theft. The group has been getting some buzz for their debut album, Post Script, Pace Yourself. Don Thrasher over at the Dayton Daily News even gave it a nod as best local debut for 2008. Tune in now and be sure to come check them out with us on Saturday, January 31 at South Park Tavern. As always, it will be a FREE/ALL AGES show...

...poster by Mark McMillon of The Story Changes

REVIEW: XL427 "Yesterdays Forever" EP

...as founder of upstart Dayton label Poptek Records, Andy Ingram seems acutely aware that his passion for pop music is not always in vogue. Although primarily serving as drummer for perennial indie pop faves Reutschle, the elusive pop talent Kris N., or the teenage Wake Up, Mordecai, Ingram has finally stepped out to front his own outfit, XL427, on the Yesterdays Forever EP...

...throughout the disc, XL427 revels in a wide rang of unapologetic pop flavors. On opener "Killers No More", the stark shoegaze and barely-there vocal delivery ebb and flow around the elegant fizz of a loping guitar. It's Ingram's economical application of sumptuous pop hooks that propel Yesterdays Forever. From the haunting, reverb-drenched piano line on "Lover's Leap" to the Anglophilic melodic descent on "The Privileged", XL427 display an amazing command over the pop textbook. With an acoustic windmill call-to-arms, the bedroom anthem "It's Not Just Pink, It's New Wave Pink" finds Ingram at his most infectious. Blending bubblegum and Britpop into a potent pastiche, the track serves as an unabashed pop manifesto with the lyrical payoff: "These are the best days of all time". On "I Like the Quiet in You", the band cash in some of their goodwill for introspective drone. As the longest track on the album, it's bulk sags the disc near the end. Fortunately, the bounce of "The Privileged" rebounds and exits before wearing out its sunny charms. With it's chorus of "On our most perfect days/All your ways are pure", XL427 strike a perfect assessment of what is best in perfect pop music...

Dayton City Paper Changes Owners

...late yesterday we received word that longtime Dayton City Paper publisher Kerry Farley had sold his interest in the paper to Therapy Cafe owner, Medhi Adineh. According to our source at the DCP, "Kerry is quite confident in his decision for Medhi is a huge fan of the [Dayton City] Paper and its artistic mission." As one of the few media outlets in Dayton, the Dayton City Paper (and it's previous incarnations as The Dayton Voice and Impact Weekly) has long provided ample coverage to the local music scene. Let's hope that trend continues under the new ownership...

The Stooges' Ron Asheton Dies at 60

...while we're hardly the first to break this story, we'd like to take a minute to acknowledge the passing of a rock legend, Ron Asheton. Serving on guitar for the Stooges first two and then again on their final album (The Stooges and Fun House, and The Weirdness, respectively) and on bass for their third album, Raw Power, Asheton's work serves as a blueprint for much of what passes for rock n' roll these days. Likewise, there's more than a few practitioners around these parts that owe a huge debt to this guy. Odds are, you probably do too...

Good Morning, Whiskey Breakfast

...we can admit when we're a little slow. This is one that we've been hearing about for quite a while now and, well, we just got a little lazy spending any time with it. Finally, we took time out and dug into The Esther Caulfield Orchestra's Good Morning Whiskey Breakfast. Culling from a veritable smorgasboard of vintage influences (The Kinks, Cream, Barrett-era Floyd, etc...), this disc seems to be sowing similar soil to contemporaries Dr. Dog or Dungen. The diversion, however, comes in TECO's unrepentant infatuation with the countrified rock served up on The Byrd's classic, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Also, their particular brand of psychedlia doesn't trade in substance for style. Hopefully we'll be hearing more from these guys soon...

...oh, you can pick the disc up on a donation basis from The Esther Caulfield Orchestra RIGHT HERE!!! It also comes with complete artwork and liner notes!!!

The Magpies-Tonight @ Trolley Stop

...whether yr rested and ready to fire it up again or yr still carrying on from the new year celebration, yr best served by heading over to Trolley Stop tonight. In from Cleveland, The Magpies will be dishing out some good old fashioned rock n' roll tonight. The band kicks off a month-long tour tonight that will stretch out to the Rockies and back. As one of the best touring bands we saw roll through Dayton in 2008, we'd highly recommend you start 2009 off right with these guys....

Holidayton 08 in pictures...

...Happy New Year, everyone! We figured rather than have us ramble on again about Holidayton, we'd let the images speak for themselves...

...this batch is from Richard Wait

David Payne


New Vega


Jordan Hull


After the Accident


Mascot


Andrew & the Pretty Punchers


Joe Anderl


The Story Changes


Nightbeast


Here's a few from Austin Radcliffe...

Astro Fang


Crowd




...for those of you that haven't already grabbed it, you can still grab the FREE DOWNLOAD of The Buddha Den Holidayton 08 Sampler RIGHT HERE...