Tampa Calling

Having an objective and effective band biography can be a challenge for many bands. Often, the bands write these bios themselves (they are usually better at playing their instruments than at using basic grammar), and so the bios tend to be full of overly flowery explanations of the band’s origin, their mission, their sound, their myriad influences. Sometimes, these monoliths are multiple pages long and include detailed background information about each band member.

Your bio doesn’t need to be so detailed. Save that for books about your legacy and magazine feature articles. Keep it short and punchy. Like a brand statement or company overview. While I’m not claiming to have the answer to the perfect and entrancing band bio formula, I can impart some tidbits of advice that will make your bio much more powerful and relevant.

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It was fated that one day they’d collaborate. Audioslave (and former Rage Against the Machine) guitarist Tom Morello and Boots Riley, rapper for the Coup, are two of the most stridently radical musicians to ever plug in. Get ’em together and you get Street Sweeper Social Club, 11 songs and nearly 40 minutes of unremitting agitprop set to thunder beats and monster guitar riffs.

Every song rails against something: bosses, politicians, capitalism, materialism, the System. Virtually every song advocates the violent overthrow of oppressive forces, the gathering of guns, the whole ain’t-taking-shit-NO-more thing.

Unless you’re planning to cause trouble at the next G8 summit, this kind of rhetorical and musical onslaught can wear your ass out. But give Morello and Riley big ups for commitment — and big up Stanton Moore for providing the crushing funk-rock grooves.

Rap-metal is a worn-out subgenre, and to some extent the Morello/Riley team (along with drummer Stanton Moore) sags under the weight of stylistic orthodoxies. There are only so many new ways to approach a heavy guitar riff, only so many variations on funk-rock beats. Read the rest of this entry »

This release from Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha and former Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore came out back in July 2008. I think its interesting to see what some jam sessions lead to among career musicians. At a mere 5-songs, the repetitive yet inspired debut eponymous EP seems like a good weekend jam that was captured and carved into entrancing neo-funk hip hop riff rock, without guitars. You can check them out at www.onedayasalion.org. Thanks to Disqo for the tip.